Esopus people

Esopus people

Map of Lenape lands and tribes showing the Esopus people living in the northern part of the territory west of the Hudson river
Total population
unknown, descendants are part of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community
Regions with significant populations
Wisconsin, formerly Hudson Valley
Related ethnic groups
other Lenape people

The Esopus (es-SOAP-es)^[1] was a tribe of Lenape (Delaware) Native Americans who were native to the Catskill Mountains of what is now the Hudson Valley. Their lands included modern-day Ulster and Sullivan counties.

The Lenape originally resided in the Delaware River Valley before their territory extended into parts of modern-day New York (including the Catskill Mountains and Lower Hudson River Valley), Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Eastern Delaware. The exact population of the Lenape is unknown but estimated to have been around 10,000 people in 1600.^[2] The Esopus people spoke an Algonquin dialect known as Munsee.

The tribe generally lived in small communities consisting of 10 to 100 people. They traveled seasonally and settled mostly in clearings by sources of water, developing diverse agricultural practices. The Esopus people's main crop was corn, but also planted or foraged beans, squash, hickory, nuts, and berries in addition to hunting elk, deer, rabbits, turkey, raccoons, waterfowl, bears, and fish. They generally ate two meals a day according to what was seasonally available.^[3]

The average lifespan was generally 35 to 40 years old. Sachems or chiefs were temporary power holders meant to make decisions based on the well-being of the tribe, and although there were definite gendered roles within the tribal community, there was no sense of patriarchal structure.^[3]