First Indian reservation in New Jersey, in the Watchung Mountains - Term Paper Example

rom the northern Arctic shores to southern tip of Cape Horn, everywhere alike in the main physical characteristics, with exception of the Eskimo in the extreme North, whose features were Mongolian. This belief that Columbus was in India was later refuted by Amerigo Vaspucci after whom the continent was named. History of original inhabitants of this continent encompasses a broad range of cultures and uniqueness. American Indians, as they are commonly referred to, varied greatly from region to region, as did their reactions to European settlement.

The Watchung Mountains in New Jersey, whose natural beauty characterizes the locale, came into existence some 125 million years ago when volcanic eruptions covered the area with two thick lava flows (Meisner, 2002) 1. Millions of years of geophysical transformation gradually exposed the basaltic jutting edges of the buried lava and came to be known as the First and Second Mountains of Watchung. Between them nestled a broad fertile valley through which flows the Green Brook and the peaceful valley-river, Passaic 2.

The name Watchung is derived from an Indian word meaning "on the hill" or "high place". A large Native community known as the ‘Lenape’ or ‘Delaware Indians’ lived in this area that they called ‘Lenapehoking’, which meant land of the Lenape. Delaware Indians are a closely-knit Native American group of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock. In the 17th century their territory included all of what is now New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, Southeastern New York State, Northern Delaware and a small part of Southeastern Connecticut.

As part of the Eastern forests Lenapehoking had many rivers, streams, lakes and dense forest with rich wildlife. The Passaic River was integral to the Lenape existence, providing transportation and sustenance. Two branches of the Great Minisink Trail, known as the Indian highway between the shore and the Delaware River, ran along the Passaic. Many