Native American Facts For Kids was written for young people learning about the Nanticokes for school or home-schooling reports. We encourage students
and teachers to look through our main Nanticoke page for in-depth information
about the tribe, but here are our answers to the questions we are most often asked by children, with
Nanticoke pictures and links we believe are suitable for all ages.
How do you pronounce "Nanticoke?" What does it mean?
It's pronounced NAN-tuh-coke. ("NAN" rhymes with "man.") It comes from Nentego, a word in the Nanticoke Indian language that
means "tidewater people."
Where do the Nanticokes live? The original Nanticoke home land
was located in Delaware and
Maryland.
Many Nanticoke people still live in Delaware today, while others have joined Lenape and
Munsee groups in their forced migrations.
How is the Nanticoke Indian nation organized?
There is no officially recognized Nanticoke tribe in the United States. That means the Nanticoke Indians don't have a reservation or their
own government. In Delaware, the Nanticokes have an unofficial tribe which serves the cultural needs of the Nanticoke community.
Here is a link to their tribal home page.
What language do the Nanticokes speak?
Nanticoke Indians all speak English today. Their native language, Nanticoke,
has not been spoken since the 1800's. Nanticoke was an Algonquian language closely related to
Lenape and Munsee.
You can read a Nanticoke picture glossary
here.
What was Nanticoke culture like in the past? What is it like now? The Nanticokes were culturally
similar to the Lenape Indian people, who they considered
elder kinfolk. Over time the Nanticoke Indians have lost much of their culture, including their language, traditional religion, and many
customs. But today young Nanticokes have new interest and pride in their grandparents' traditions.
Here are some photographs from the
Nanticoke Powwow, where modern Nanticoke Indians
wear traditional clothes and celebrate their heritage with song and dance.
How do Nanticoke Indian children live, and what did they do in the past? They
do the same things any children do--play with each other, go to school and help around the house. In the past, Indian kids had more chores
and less time to play, just like early colonial children. But they did have dolls, ball games, and toys like miniature bows
and arrows. Nanticoke Indian mothers, like many Native Americans, traditionally carried their infants in
cradleboards
on their backs--a custom which many American parents have
adopted now.
What were men and women's roles in the Nanticoke tribe?
Nanticoke Indian men were hunters and sometimes went to war to protect their families. Nanticoke women were farmers and also did most of the child care and cooking.
Both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine. In the past, Nanticoke chiefs were always men, but today a Nanticoke Indian woman
could be a politician too.
What were Nanticoke homes like in the past?
The Nanticokes didn't live in tepees.
They lived in villages of round houses called wigwams.
Here are some pictures of American Indian wigwams like
the ones Nanticoke Indians used.
Today, Native Americans
only build a wigwam for fun or to connect with their heritage. Most Nanticokes live in modern houses and
apartment buildings, just like you.
What was Nanticoke clothing like? Did they wear feather headdresses and face paint?
Nanticoke women wore knee-length skirts. Nanticoke men wore breechclouts with leggings.
Shirts were not necessary in the Nanticoke culture, but the Nanticokes did wear deerskin mantles in cool weather.
Both genders wore earrings and moccasins. In colonial times, the Nanticokes
adapted European costume such as cloth blouses and jackets, decorating them with fancy beadwork. Here are some
pictures of Nanticoke Indian clothing,
and some photos and links
about Native American apparel in general.
The Nanticokes didn't wear long headdresses like the
Sioux. Usually they wore a beaded headband with a feather
or two in it. The Nanticokes painted
their faces with different colors and designs for different occasions, and Nanticoke men often wore tattoos in animal designs.
Men and women both wore their hair in long braids, but in times of war, but warriors often wore a
Mohawk hairstyle or shaved their heads completely
except for a scalplock (one long lock of hair on top of their heads.)
Today, Nanticoke Indian people wear modern clothes like jeans instead of breechcloths... and they only wear feathers in their hair on special occasions like a dance.
What was Nanticoke transportation like in the days before cars? Did they paddle canoes?
Yes, the Nanticoke Indians carved dugout canoes from wood.
Over land, the Nanticokes used dogs as pack animals.
(There were no horses in North America until colonists brought them over from Europe.)
Today, of course, Nanticoke Indian people also use cars... and non-native people also use canoes.
What was Nanticoke food like in the days before supermarkets?
The Nanticoke Indians were farming people.
Nanticoke women harvested corn, squash and beans, which they called the "three sisters."
Nanticoke men hunted deer, elk, turkeys, and small game, and went fishing in the rivers. Nanticoke Indian recipes included
soup, cornbread, dumplings and salads.
What kinds of weapons did the Nanticokes use?
Nanticoke hunters used bows and arrows. Warriors fought with heavy wooden war clubs. Sometimes Nanticokes used poison on their
enemies, so Nanticoke chiefs, like European kings, were very careful to safeguard and test their food before eating it.
What are Nanticoke art and crafts like?
The Nanticokes were known for their beadwork and
pottery. Like other eastern American Indians, Nanticokes also crafted wampum out of white and purple shell beads. Wampum beads were
traded as a kind of currency, but they were more culturally important as an art material. The
designs and pictures on wampum belts often told a story or represented a
person's family.
What other Native Americans did the Nanticoke Indian tribe interact with?
The Nanticoke Indians were close relatives of the Lenape and
Munsee Indians. These tribes were never united into a single confederacy,
but they all considered themselves Delaware Indians. The Delaware tribes traded regularly with all the other New England Indians,
especially the Wampanoag and Mohicans,
and they often fought with the powerful Iroquois Confederation.
What kinds of stories do the Nanticokes tell?
Storytelling was very important to the Nanticoke Indian culture. Nanticoke legends and fairy tales are very similar to the
Lenape ones.
Here's one typical legend about how the crow
got black feathers.
What about Nanticoke religion?
Religions are too complicated and culturally sensitive to describe appropriately
in only a few simple sentences, and we strongly want to avoid misleading anybody. You can visit this site to learn more about
Nanticoke spirituality or this site about
Native American spiritual beliefs in general.
How do I cite your website in my bibliography?
You will need to ask your teacher for the format he or she wants you to use. Our names are Laura Redish and
Orrin Lewis and the title of our site is Native Languages of the Americas. The site was first created in 1998 and last updated in 2007.
Thanks for your interest in the Nanticoke Indian people and their language!
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