Tribal Nations Today

Today. there are three Lenape tribal nations recognized by the State of New Jersey and representatives from each tribe serve on the New Jersey Commission on American Indians Affairs. ​

​Rev. Dr. Norwood, senior pastor of the Ujima Village Christian Church of Ewing NJ, has served the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation as an elected Tribal Councilman, the first Principal Justice of the Tribal Supreme Court, and minister to the tribal Christian Prayer Circle Fellowship Ministry. He is the founder of “1st Light Mission” Christian tribal outreach, the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape delegate to the National Congress of American Indians and General Secretary of the Alliance of Colonial Era Tribes.

​In 1982, the New Jersey government acknowledged the Powhatan Renape, Ramapough Lenape, and Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape tribes. Subsequently, state recognition was dropped during the Christie administration. In 2017, the Nanticoke sued the state to regain their recognition. In 2018 and 2019, the NJ state Attorney General officially recognized the existence of the Ramapough Lenape, Powhatan Renape, and Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape nations. This state recognition qualifies the tribes for all state benefits and rights.​

These three tribes and other smaller groups of indigenous people in New Jersey still celebrate their culture and history. The remnants of the great expanse of Lenape people can still be found across New Jersey in town names, waterway names, and other features of the landscape.

​​

"Native American Government and Sovereignty" was researched and narrated by Brianna Dagostino and produced by the Trent House Association. It includes interviews with some of New Jersey's Lenape residents who fought for state recognition. ​Made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH), a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this video do not necessarily represent those of the NEH or NJCH.

RESOURCE:

An Indigenous People's History of the United States (2015) by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
​