Long Journey Home Oral Histories of Contemporary Delaare Indians [Hardcover]

Through first-person accounts, Long Journey Home presents the stories of the Lenape, also known as the Delaware Tribe. These oral histories, which span the postCivil War era to the present, are gathered into four sections and tell of personal and tribal events as they unfold over time and place. The history of the Lenape is one of forced displacement, from their original tribal home along the eastern seaboard into Pennsylvania, continuing with a series of displacements in Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, and the Indian Territory. For the group of Lenape interviewed for this book, home is now the area around Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The stories of their long journey have been handed down and remain part of the tribe's collective memory and bring an unforgettable immediacy to the tale of the Lenape. Above all they make clear that the history of seven generations remains very much alive.

The stories contained in these pages have many things to tell, the pride of a people, their personal histories, their determination to remain who they were and are as a people. . . . Sometimes we as individuals take our heritage for granted and do not learn the lessons of history. The study of our heritage can truly tell us why we are who we are today.

James W. Brown is Executive Associate Dean and directs the journalism program at Indiana UniversityPurdue University, Indianapolis. He lives in
Fishers, Indiana.

Rita T. Kohn is Adjunct Professor of Journalism at Indiana UniversityPurdue University, Indianapolis, and a senior writer for NUVO. She is author of many books and plays, including Always a People: Oral Histories of Contemporary Woodland Indians. She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The construction of the book is durable and beautifully crafted. The text is crisp and complimented by more than ninety color images. Intended as a fitting supplement to the text, the images are equally engaging and prove compelling in their own right. Winter 2008-09

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