Indians in Pennsylvania

by Paul A.W. Wallace

The classic study of the history of Pennsylvania's Indians from the time of the European contact forward.

Genres: History, Native American, Anthropology, Research

212 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

After months on my bedside table I finished reading this book I received in 1966 when I served as the State President of the Junior Division, Pennsylvania Federation of Junior Historians from 1965 to 1966. I always intended to read the book and have finally accomplished the feat. Actually, this is an excellent summary of the various Indian tribes who lived in the state and eventually moved on to settle elsewhere. Of personal interest were the accounts involving Queen Aliquippa and Chief Beaver of local fame. The book continues to remain a valuable resource for historians young and old.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, though a bit dated, is well written and gives good detail in the historical, anthropological, and cultural aspects of Native American presence in what is now Pennsylvania. However, one glaring omission due to the original date of publication (1961), the author does not discuss (nor could he) the later significant finds at Meadowcroft Village near Avella, PA (of which excavations did not start until 1973). A interesting examination overall.

[History Woman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very well written! I learned a lot from this book. Even though it's really good it is outdated.

[Luke Mohamed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read a bit too much like an encyclopedia, but some good learning lessons.

[Rebecca]

Check w Dad

[Joshua]

I undertook reading this book (albeit the 2nd ed, 1981) to learn more about the Lenni Lenape (aka "Delaware Indians") who lived in this area.

p.78- "[The Delaware Indian's:] assurance of contact with the spiritual world, reinforced as it was by the sights and sounds of the natural world around him, helped to give him a certain pose, a feeling that he 'belonged.' He 'trod lightly through his natural environment,' writes Dr. William A. Ritchie, 'merging himself sympathetically into the world of living and non-living things.'

He felt joy and pain, both intensely, but he seldom gave way to disillusionment. He was early taught to believe that life...was an ordeal, and he adjusted himself to it. He did not, however, believe that the governance of life on this earth was in hostile hands. ... 'The white man saw nature as a source of property, to be mastered by his efforts, while the Indian saw himself as a part of nature, who survived only because he kept his place in the scheme of things and was therefore aided and protected by the deities who controlled his natural environment.'

p.92 - "[C:]ivil chiefs (as distinct from the war chiefs)...were treated with high respect, but they put on no airs. ... They were often poorer than the people about them. It was a point of honor for them to share, or give away, whatever they possessed."

p. 97 - The Iroquois festival Ononharoia, "Turning the Brain Upside Down": "During the three days and nights of the festival, people went from cabin to cabin guessing and fulfilling one another's dreams, a thin that was not always easy to do, for the dreamers were forbidden to tell their dreams outright. They could only give a hint or act out the dream in charades."

Glickhican---"gun sight" (Delaware)

G. Tantequidgen, "Folk Medicine of the Delaware" (Harrisburg, 1972)

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to be added

[tmll · Rating 4 out of 5]

hm, i read this for Dr. Chase's PA Civics class in eighth grade at the suggestion of my brother and it's a good source to revisit while on holiday.

[Liam Malone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to this fascinating area of US history. As a native of Pennsylvania I got so much out of this, learning about stories and histories I heard briefly.

[Antonio De Cunzo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dated