STONG EVIDENCE
AGAINST
WALAM OLUM

UNMASKING THE WALAM OLUM: A 19th CENTURY HOAX by Davud N Oestreicher
Bulletin of the Archaeological Socciety of New Jersey, No. 49 & 50

PART I-UNRAVELING A FRAUD: INTRODUCTION

"But time renders justice to all at last."--Constantine Samuel Rafinesque, A life of Travels

Few documents of American Indian history have evoked so much controversy, speculation, and romance as the Walam Olum or "painted record", a pictorial history of the Delaware or Lenape people. For over 150 years, ever since it was first published by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in his book, The American Nations, (1836) scholars have been at odds about the validity of the document. Some of the Walam Olum's most ardent supporters claim it to be a "North American 'Dead Sea Scrolls'" representing the "Oldest Native North American History" with as much relevance as the Iliad or the Bible (refs ...), while skeptics have dismissed it as a fraud. Others have assumed more moderate positions, suggesting that while the Walam Olum may not be ancient or historically reliable, it is, nevertheless, an authentic example of Delaware folklore. Until now, no solid textual evidence has been advanced to support any of these opinions. (continued)

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