Moravian 47 (

Munsee The Munsee () are a subtribe and one of the three divisions of the Lenape. Historically, they lived along the upper portion of the Delaware River, the Minisink, and the adjacent country in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They were prom ...

: ''Náahii'', literally 'downstream', in contrast with Munsee-Delaware Nation, referred to as "Nalahii", meaning "upstream") is an

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." ...

located in

Chatham-Kent Chatham-Kent (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 103,988) is a Census divisions of Ontario#Single-tier municipalities, single-tier municipality in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is mostly rural, and its population centres are Chatham, Wallac ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, with an area of . It is occupied by the Delaware Nation at Moraviantown First Nation (), a part of the Christian Munsee branch of the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

, and is commonly known as Moravian of the Thames reserve. The resident registered population is 457, with another 587 band members living off the reserve. A group of Munsee was converted to Christianity by missionaries of the

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

in Pennsylvania; these persons and their descendants are known as the Christian Munsee. They moved to

Ohio Country The Ohio Country (Ohio Territory, Ohio Valley) was a name used for a loosely defined region of colonial North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and south of Lake Erie. Control of the territory and the region's fur trade was disputed i ...

, under pressure from European settlers in the east. Vibrant Moravian Christian Indian settlements were established in Schoenbrunn, Gnadenhutten, Salem, Petquotting and Goshen. After many of those in Gnadenhutten and Salem were murdered by American colonial militia in the Gnadenhutten massacre of the Moravian Christian Indian Martyrs on 8 March 1782 during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, the remaining Christian Munsee in Ohio gathered in Sandusky and led by Moravian missionary David Zeisberger, departed towards the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

. They eventually reestablished their Christian Indian community in what is today

southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a Region, primary region of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada, with approximately 13.5 million people, approximately 36% o ...

. At first temporarily settling near present-day Amherstburg, Ontario, in 1792, Zeisberger obtained permission from the British colonial authorities for the community to inhabit a site on the

, near where it is located today. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

between Great Britain and the United States, the

Battle of the Thames The Battle of the Thames , also known as the Battle of Moraviantown, was an American victory in the War of 1812 against Tecumseh's Confederacy and their United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British allies. It took place on October 5, 1813, ...

took place near the community. The

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

leader

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; (March 9, 1768October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the Territorial evolution of the United States, expansion of the United States onto Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, an ally of the United Kingdom, was killed by invading United States forces. Following the battle, before the US cavalry left the area, it burned the entire Christian Munsee community to the ground. They rebuilt on the south side of the Thames in their present location. In 1903, the Moravian Christians transferred the Christian Munsee mission in Moraviantown to Methodist Christians, a denomination that eventually joined the

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (UCC; ) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholic Church in Canada. The United Chu ...

, the United Protestant denomination to which the Christian Munsee in Moraviantown belong to today.

References

External links

Delaware Nation at Moraviantown
{{Moravian Church Navigation Lenape reserves in Ontario Chatham-Kent Settlements of the Moravian Church

See also

References

External links