By DORIS COOK - Staff Writer
ORWELL — Boy Scouts from Troops 72 and 272 met last weekend with Lenape Indian Chief William Lee Little Soldier.
“Our destination was Cambridge, Ohio,” said Gregg King, Troop 272 scoutmaster. “The Munsee Delaware Indian Reservation is just outside the city on Hopewell Road. We had met Chief Little Soldier in August when we helped with the tribe’s powwow at Lake Village Family Campgrounds in Andover.”
The Lenape Indians lived in the Cambridge area from 1737 to 1828 before treaties were signed and most of the tribe moved to Indiana, King said. Chief Little Soldier purchased 11 acres of the ancient ceremonial land in 1988 to return it to his people.
King said the Lenape Indians in the Cambridge area are descendants of several tribe chiefs who settled in this part of Ohio.
“At the powwow, the chief told us and the scouts about needing help to clear trails and uncover any artifacts. Jeff Merritt and I talked it over and asked if the scouts wanted to help the chief. We camped out for the weekend, cleared trails and learned a lot,” King said.
The chief recounted stories about early Native American Indians and their history in Ohio to the scouts. Collaboratively, the scouts helped in clearing parts of the reservation, which are to be future points of interest once the park is opened to the public.
The scouts cleared trails, cleaned out briar patches and uncovered a turtle altar left behind more than a century ago by the Lenape Indian Turtle clan, King said.
“The scouts earned their Indian lore merit badge as they completed the trip to work with Chief Little Soldier. This expedition is one that will be remembered for a long time by all of us,” King said. “The scouts were honored they were able to help the chief in preserving his tribe’s past.”
