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The Delaware Indians
I have some friends who live in this area
who were scary at first, but now we get along just fine. They are
Native Americans who belong to the Eastern Woodland Indian group. They
belong to a tribe called the Delawares. They told me a long story
about how they descended
from people who followed herds of animals, hunting them for food. 
Food always seems easy for them to find. They
eat nuts, berries and deer meat. They live together in tribes,
which are large groups, and stay mainly in one place. They use bones,
wood, and stone for tools that they use to make things like eating
utensils.
My friends, the Delawares, use deer skin for clothes and shoes. The
shoes they wear are called moccasins. They put beads on their clothes to decorate
them, and sometimes in winter they wear clothes made out of fur from a bear.
A long time ago their ancestors lived scattered
throughout the forest. Now they put fences around their  house
called palisades. The fences are carved sticks with a sharp point that
are lined up along the edge of the village.
Everyone has to work hard to survive in their village. They each have special job of
their own. The men are the only ones who get to go
hunting.
My friends who are my age in the village play games not for fun, but
because they have something very important to learn from them. Some of
the games they play are:
The Peach and the Pit Game, The Snow Snakes Game, and The Hoop and The
Spear Game. This is my favorite one. You have a huge hoop that is spinning, and
then you have to throw a spear in it as it is rolling. This teaches them
to be very good at throwing spears when they grow up. There are lots of
times that I think growing up as a Native American would be a lot of
fun!! |
