Moravian 47 Eelūnaapèewii Lahkèewiit | |
|---|---|
| Moravian Indian Reserve No. 47 | |
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  Moravian 47  Moravian 47 | |
| Coordinates:42°34′N81°53′W / 42.567°N 81.883°W /42.567; -81.883 | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Ontario |
| Municipality | Chatham-Kent |
| First Nation | Delaware Nation at Moraviantown |
| Area | |
| • Land | 12.61 km2 (4.87 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 404 |
| • Density | 32.0/km2 (83/sq mi) |
| Website | delawarenation |
Moravian 47 (Munsee:Náahii, literally 'downstream', in contrast withMunsee-Delaware Nation, referred to as "Nalahii", meaning "upstream") is anIndian reserve located inChatham-Kent,Ontario, with an area of 13 square kilometres (5.0 sq mi). It is occupied by theDelaware Nation at MoraviantownFirst Nation (Delaware:Eelūnaapèewii Lahkèewiit), a part of theChristian Munsee branch of theLenape, and is commonly known asMoravian of the Thames reserve. The residentregistered population is 457, with another 587 band members living off the reserve.
A group of Munsee was converted to Christianity by missionaries of theMoravian Church in Pennsylvania; these persons and their descendants are known as theChristian Munsee. They moved toOhio Country, under pressure from European settlers in the east. Vibrant Moravian Christian Indian settlements were established inSchoenbrunn,Gnadenhutten,Salem,Petquotting andGoshen.[2] After many of those in Gnadenhutten and Salem were murdered by American colonial militia in theGnadenhutten massacre of theMoravian Christian Indian Martyrs on 8 March 1782 during theAmerican Revolutionary War, the remainingChristian Munsee in Ohio gathered inSandusky and led byMoravian missionaryDavid Zeisberger, departed towards theThames River.[3][4][5] They eventually reestablished their Christian Indian community in what is todaysouthern Ontario.[6] At first temporarily settling near present-dayAmherstburg, Ontario, in 1792, Zeisberger obtained permission from the British colonial authorities for the community to inhabit a site on theThames River, near where it is located today.
During theWar of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States, theBattle of the Thames took place near the community. TheShawnee leaderTecumseh, an ally of the United Kingdom, was killed by invading United States forces. Following the battle, before the US cavalry left the area, it burned the entire Christian Munsee community to the ground. They rebuilt on the south side of the Thames in their present location.[7]
In 1903, the Moravian Christians transferred the Christian Munsee mission in Moraviantown toMethodist Christians, adenomination that eventually joined theUnited Church of Canada, theUnited Protestant denomination to which the Christian Munsee in Moraviantown belong to today.[8]
The monument to the Moravian martyrs at Gnadenhutten stands upon the site of the Indian town, now the modern cemetery. The small mounds mark the graves of the victims whose bones were gathered by the faithful missionaries some time after the massacre. At Goshen, a short distance up the Tuscarawas, is the grave of the leader Zeisberger.
Places adjacent to Delaware Nation at Moraviantown | |
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