Wappinger People.
The Wappinger people were initially located on the east side of the Hudson River between the Bronx and Rhinebeck, extending east to the crest of the Taconic Mountains on the border between New York and Connecticut.
The Eastern Algonquian Family’s nearest allies were the Mohegan to the north, the Montaukett to the southeast on Long Island, and the remaining New England tribes to the east. Like the Delaware, the Wappinger were highly decentralized as a people. They formed numerous loosely associated bands that had established geographic territories.
The tribe lived in seasonal camps, hunting game, fishing rivers and streams, collecting shellfish, and gathering fruits, flowers, seeds, roots, nuts, and honey. They also practiced seasonal agriculture, growing crops such as corn, beans, and various species of squash.
Except for a few small groups, most Wappingers had left the lower Hudson Valley by 1760 and settled in western Massachusetts, among the Mohicans at Stockbridge, the Iroquois in New York, or the Delaware in Pennsylvania. Once numbering around 8,000 in 30 villages, disease and warfare eventually wiped out most of the tribe. One possible group of Wappinger remains in northern New Jersey today — the Ramapough Mountain Indians (also known as the Ramapo Mountain People). With 2,500 members, they have state recognition but were denied federal status in 1993.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated July 2025.
Also See:
Native American Photo Galleries
Native Americans – First Owners of America
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