“Our concept of land is that it is not a thing to be possessed, but rather something sacred and alive. We have a saying, ‘We do not own the land, we are of the land, we belong to it.’ We call the Earth, Kukna, our mother. All life comes from the Earth, she nourishes us, carries all life and gives us a place to put our feet.” - Hìtakonanu’laxk (Lenapé Nation)Land was vitally important to the Lenapé Nation. The fur trade required large hunting grounds, as did agriculture, which served as their central food source. Corn was a staple, joined by squash, beans (the three sisters), and augmented by pumpkins, and sweet potatoes. The Lenapé also foraged for fruits, wild greens, nuts, and roots to supplement their harvests. Many primary accounts of the Lenapé written by whites downplay their hunting skills and highly efficient agricultural practices. These accounts falsely emphasize men's labor (hunting) as the main food source, when it was largely sustained through agriculture, and predominantly produced by women. As the Lenapé Nation was pushed west, ecological consistencies between present-day Pennsylvania and Ohio allowed them to continue similar agricultural, hunting, and fishing practices; however, as treaties and violent conflicts continued, the Lenapé were not permitted sufficient time to develop a relationship with land in the Ohio River Valley. While being pushed west, the Lenapé turned to each other to form alliances between Lenapé communities to preserve culture, territory, and resources.