1655
When the Europeans came to what would become New York, there were already many groups of Native Americans living in the area. The Hackensacks were one such group, part of the Munsee, who had occupied a large territory and were made up of three clans: Wolf, Turtle, and Turkey. The Hackensacks were a part of the Turtle Clan. Oratam, the Hackensack sachem during the early period of colonisation, played a prevalent role in the early relations between the Europeans and the Native Americans as occasions of dispute, treaty-making, and conflict arose.
Story
Oratam is recorded as being an extremely peaceful man. However, during his time as sachem, some horrific acts of violence occurred which he would have to negotiate. Two of the most notable events was Kieft’s War in the 1640s, which began with a massacre allowed by Director Kieft of eighty Wecquaesgeek and Tappan people. The conflict would evolve into two years of fighting before peace was restored. In 1655, the so-called Peach War broke out, named after the murder of a Native woman killed for picking peaches in a Dutch colonist’s garden. Around fifty colonists were killed during this war and many more captives taken.
Oratam participated in the negotiations for both conflicts, helping to achieve peace between the Native Americans and the European colonists. Sara Kierstede, wife of the doctor Hans Kierstede, acted as an interpreter. Sara had mastered the Munsee language and was well trusted by Oratam. In fact, when the sachem was almost ninety years old, he gifted Sara approximately 2,120 acres to show her his gratitude. Without Oratam and Sara’s co-operation, many of the conflicts would have been much worse and peaceful outcomes much more difficult to attain.
