The Rumanchenank were a

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

people who inhabited the region radiating from the Palisades in New York and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

at the time of European colonialization in the 17th century. Settlers to the provincial colony of

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...

called them the ''Haverstroo'' meaning ''oat straw'', which became ''

Haverstraw Haverstraw is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of the Town of Clarkstown and the Town of Ramapo; east of Orange County; south of the Town of Stony Point; and west of the Hudson River. The town runs from the w ...

'' in English, and still used to describe part of their territory. Like the Tappan, whose territory overlapped, the Rumanchenank were a seasonally migrational people, who farmed (

companion planting Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons, including pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial insects, maximizing use of space, a ...

), hunted, fished, and trapped. As all Lenape tribes, they were divided into clans, in this case Wolf, Turkey, and Turtle. They spoke the

Munsee The Munsee (or Minsi or Muncee) or mə́n'si·w ( del, Monsiyok)Online Lenape Talking Dictionary, "Munsee Indians"Link/ref> are a subtribe of the Lenape, originally constituting one of the three great divisions of that nation and dwelling along t ...

dialect of Lenape. They, as well as the Hackensack, Raritan,

Wappinger The Wappinger () were an Eastern Algonquian Munsee-speaking Native American people from what is now southern New York and western Connecticut. At the time of first contact in the 17th century they were primarily based in what is now Dutches ...

Canarsee The Canarsee (also Canarse and Canarsie) were a band of Munsee-speaking Lenape who inhabited the westernmost end of Long Island at the time the Dutch colonized New Amsterdam in the 1620s and 1630s. They are credited with selling the island of M ...

, were collectively known as the River Indians. Those groups living in the adjoining

highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

to the west and

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

to north have become known as the

, and sometimes the Esopus. The Haverstraws were the tribesmen who had the trouble with Verrazzano and the crew of the Half Moon while that vessel was anchored near Stony Point in 1609. On 6 March 1660, a representative of the Rumanchenank took part, with other local leaders, in a peace treaty with the settlers at

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

, capital of the province. Various land conveyances in 1666, 1671, 1683, and 1685 involved the Haverstraw, and indicate their territory as having been on disputed lands involved in the

New York-New Jersey Line War New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, which was not finally settled until the 18th century. In 1664 after the supremacy of the English, the Rumanchenank were absorbed by the Tappans.

References

Bergen County, New Jersey Rockland County, New York People of New Netherland Native American tribes in New Jersey Native American history of New Jersey {{NorthAm-native-stub

See also

Neighboring Lenape peoples

References