Native Languages of the Americas: Munsee Delaware (Minsi, Muncey, Minisink)
Language: Munsee is an Algonkian language closely related to American Delaware,
or Lenape, but is considered by most linguists a distinct language. Only a handful of elders in
Ontario still speak the Munsee language.
People: The Munsee are a northern offshoot of the Lenni Lenape, considering
that tribe their elder kin. Today there are 2000 Munsee Delawares in Ontario, and another 1500 people on the
Stockbridge-Munsee reservation in Wisconsin.
History: The Munsee originally lived in what is today southern New York, northeastern New Jersey, and southeastern Connecticut.
Decimated by European diseases and under increasing pressure from Dutch and English colonists, most of the Munsee merged with neighboring tribes:
the Stockbridge Mahicans,
Lenape,
and Cayugas. The safety provided by numbers was only temporary, unfortunately, and
the Munsees were soon deported to Wisconsin with the Mahicans, Ontario with the Cayugas, and Ohio, Indiana, and eventually Oklahoma with the Lenapes.
Munsee Vocabulary:
List of Munsee words with comparison to words in other Algonquian languages.
Munsee Pronunciation Guide:
How to pronounce Munsee words.
Munsee Animal Words:
Illustrated glossary of animal words in the Munsee Delaware language.
Munsee Body Parts:
Online and printable worksheets showing parts of the body in the Munsee Delaware language.
Munsee Colors:
Worksheet showing color words in the Munsee language.
Munsee Animate Nouns:
Lesson on Munsee animate and inanimate nouns.
Munsee Possession:
Lesson on the use of Munsee possessive prefixes.
Delaware Place Names:
Place names in Lenape and Munsee.
Native American Pet Names:
Our new fundraiser offering names for dogs and other animals in Native American languages (including Munsee).
Munsee Dictionaries, Audio Tapes and Language Materials
Native Nations
Munsee Vocabulary:
Contacts and FAQ page
