 Lenapehoking, the original Lenape territory.[1] The Unalachtigo are from the southern region in dark green | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 United States ( New Jersey) | |
| Languages | |
| English, formerlyUnami | |
| Religion | |
| traditional tribal religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| OtherLenape |
TheUnalachtigo were a division of theLenape (Delaware Indians), aNative American tribe whose homelandLenapehoking[a] was in what is today theNortheastern United States. They were part of the Forks Indians.[3]
The name was aMunsee language term for the Unami-speakers of west-centralNew Jersey. Moravian missionaries called the Lenape people of the Forks region nearEaston, Pennsylvania "Unami," and the NorthernUnami language-speakers inNew Jersey "Unalachtigo." It is debated whether Unalachtigo constituted a distinct dialect of Unami.[4] Unalachtigo words were recorded in 17th-century vocabulary drawn from the Sankhikan band of Lenape in New Jersey.[5]
The Sankhikan band were enemies of theManhattan people, who spokeMunsee.[5]
"Unalachtigo" probably came from the termwə̆nálâhtko·w, which according to Ives Goddard has an unknown translation. Some sources translateunalachtigo as meaning "people who live near the ocean", or "people who live down by the water"[6] Other spellings include Unalâchtigo (1818) and Wunalàchtigo (1798).[3]
LinguistIves Goddard has determined that the Unalachtigo had their origins around theLehigh Valley ofPennsylvania, and adjacent portions ofNew Jersey. They spoke a Northern Unami or Southern Unami dialect of Lënape.[7]
The Unalachtigo Band of the Nanticoke Lenni Lenape Nation claims descent from the Lenape of theBrotherton Reservation, an 18th-centuryIndian reservation, nearShamong Township inBurlington County, New Jersey. The group unsuccessfully filed forfederal recognition with theBureau of Indian Affairs on 1 Feb 2002.[8] In 2005, the Unalachtigo Band of the Nanticoke Lenni Lenape Nation and their tribal chairman James Brent Thomas Sr. sued the State of New Jersey and GovernorDonald DiFrancesco for restoration of the Brotherton Reservation lands and the expulsion of non-Indian peoples. Their complaint was dismissed by theSuperior Court of New Jersey.[9]