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LENAPE CREATION STORY
A tortoise, lying in the water around it … so at first was the world or the earth, when the tortoise gradually raised its round back up high, and the water ran off of it, and thus the earth became dry…. The earth was now dry, and there grew a tree in the middle of the earth, and the root of this tree sent forth a sprout beside it and there grew upon it a man, who was the first male. This man was then alone, and would have remained alone, but the tree bent over until its top touched the earth, and there shot therein another root, from which came forth another sprout, and there grew upon it the woman, and from these two are all men produced.
—as told by Tantaque (Munsee Lenape) in 1679
Lenape Leaders Refute Pieter Schaghen’s 1626 Letter
Charlie Johnson (Nanticoke-Lenape) photographs Lenape Chiefs’ letter (c) 2024 sbM ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Schag(h)en’s letter to the Dutch West India Company mentions a supposed “purchase” of the Island of Manhattan, approximately 22,000 acres, in a trade for goods contemporarily valued around $24. Chief Urie Ridgeway (Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape, Bridgeton NJ), Chief Dwaine Perry (Ramapough Lenape, Mahway NJ), and Brent Stonefish (Munsee-Delaware, Ontario CA) have crafted a letter refuting Schaghen’s claim. Their letter, along with Schaghen’s letter and English interpretation, have been on exhibit, New York before New York, at the NY Historical Society Museum & Library. The Netherlands’ 4ooth anniversary celebration exhibit of the establishment of the 1624 Dutch West India Company, which includes Lenape voices, is set to be stateside in 2025. (see Call to Action)
RESURGENCE: LENAPE & FRIENDS
LISTENING CIRCLE: Chief Urie “Fox Sparrow” Ridgeway (Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation) speaks with F/friends August 16th, 2023, Woodstown Friends Meetinghouse, Woodstown, NJ. (~80 minute YouTube)
Chief Urie Ridgeway and family speak during Salem Quarterly Meeting, March 2024, with an introductory song, written and spoken by Lisa Garrison (SQ, Greenwich MM).
We Are Still Here web series – 5-Episode Documentary and Oral Presentation by members of and close to our community, including Chief Mark “Quiet Hawk” Gould and Chief Lewis “Grey Squirrel” Pierce.
We Are Still Here, by John R. Norwood, is a brief, yet comprehensive summary from authentic, contemporary voice that provides perspective on the three inter-related tribal communities of southernmost Jersey and Delaware, the people who have remained on their homeland, in tribal communities, ever since Western European immigration.
CONTINUING THE LEGACY OF SHACKAMAXON
AT THE EDGE OF THE WATER: A Talk by Dr. Rev. J.R. Norwood
Lake Stockwell, Camp Ockanickon, Medford, NJ, ©sbM
Relationship among Lenape People and Friends spans three hundred fifty years. Salem Quarter’s Clearly Quaker Podcast #3 is an informal “Talk by the Water” by Dr. Rev. J.R. Norwood on October 1st, 2016 at the Tri-Quarter Gathering of Friends held lakeside at Pomona Lodge, Camp Ockanickon, Medford, New Jersey. Through authentic voice we hear of Lenape relationships with that of The Creator of all things.
Click the white arrow below to listen to this podcast.
Lenape moccasins
NANTICOKE LENNI-LENAPE POW-WOW
Wanishi! (See Friends’ 2023 Pow-wow Epistle)
NANTICOKE LENNI-LENAPE TRIBAL NATION’S
ANNUAL PUBLIC POW-WOW (second weeknd in June)
What is a Pow-wow? A Pow-wow is a Native American festival where nations from throughout the continent gather to a hosting nation’s land and share in celebration through singing and dancing. We take the opportunity to educate and provide entertainment for the public. Dancers and singers compete in multiple categories of different ages and dance styles. There are a number of food and craft vendors selling Native American cuisine and art. A Pow-wow is a “living event” and not a “reenactment.” Public Pow-sows invite non-American Indian people to learn and enjoy the celebration, while also respecting the culture.
Consider celebrating the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation’s Annual Pow-wow with a “booster ad” in the Pow-wow Program, click here to download the 2023 ad sheet.
Directions: The Pow-wow is located on Route 40, just west of Sharptown in Pilesgrove Township, about 3 miles west of Woodstown in Salem County, NJ, and about 8 miles east of the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
- From the Delaware Memorial Bridge: look for Route 40 East to Atlantic City. Take Route 40 about 8 miles East, and the Pow-wow will be on your left.
- From Route 55: look for Route 40 West just North of Vineland. Take Route 40 West about 18 miles from Route 55, and the Pow-wow will be on your right. You will pass through Woodstown and Sharptown. The Cowtown rodeo grounds will be on your left before you reach the Pow-wow location on your right.
The Basics of Pow-wow Etiquette:
- Dress and act appropriately. Immodest attire and profanity have no place at Pow-wows. Smoking near the Arena is considered disrespectful. Alcohol, recreational drugs and firearms are prohibited.
- Respect the special seating reserved for dancers in regalia, elders and those with disabilities. Seats with blankets, shawls or regalia items on them are taken and should not be bothered. Unless you are sure spectator seating will be provided for the public, bring a chair.
- Spectators should never enter the circle / dance arena until those times when all spectators are invited. Treat the arena as “holy ground.”
- Respect Mother Earth…. Don’t Litter… Put trash in a trash can.
- Listen to the Master of Ceremonies. He will announce who is to dance and when. He will also inform spectators of proper protocol. Some dances are open to the public.
- Do not touch a drum or sit at a drum without permission. Ask permission from the Head singer.
- The Powwow committee reserves the right to require tribal identification cards from competition dancers. No one is permitted to compete without registering.
- The traditional outfits worn by American Indians are not “costumes;” they are “regalia.” Regalia is an expression of spirit, and has been prayed over and blessed. Honor it, the person wearing it, and the living history it represents. Do not touch anyone’s regalia without their permission.
- Tribal Pow-wows are not an outlet for the non-American Indian spectators to “play Indian.” Spectators should NOT be dressed in regalia. This is not a costume party. It is a celebration that respects the ancestors and the ways of American Indian People.
- Tape recording of the drums should be done only after asking the drum group. Video recording should be only for personal use, unless by previous arrangement with the staff.
- At any given pow-wow, you will find a wide array of Indian arts, handmade crafts, and jewelry for sale. Some may not accept checks, so it is a good idea to have cash on hand. Please use care when handling merchandise, and please watch your children!
- HAVE A GREAT TIME!!! MAKE NEW FRIENDS AND WONDERFUL MEMORIES!!!
Pow-wow extracts are from the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation's website.
(see Call to Action)
Why SHOWING UP MATTERS!
The Salem Quarter Indian Affairs Committee is attentive to relations between Federal/States’ governance and sovereign Lenape Tribal Nations.
NJ COMMISSION ON AMERICAN INDIAN AFFAIRS
The New Jersey Commission on Native American Affairs was created by P.L.1134, c. 295, and signed into law on December 22, 1995. It was placed within the New Jersey Department of State. Later legislation changed the name to the New Jersey Commission on American Indian Affairs. Its first meeting was held on April 18, 1997 and it continues to meet regularly in Trenton.
The Commission serves as a liaison among the tribes and the State and Federal governments. It is empowered to develop programs and projects to further understanding of New Jersey’s American Indian history and culture.
There are nine members of the Commission: the Secretary of State, serving ex officio, and eight public members. The public members, who are recommended by their tribes and organizations and appointed by the Governor, consist of two members from each of the following: Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indians, Powhatan Renape Indians, Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation, and Inter-Tribal People. Inter-Tribal People refers to American Indian people who reside in New Jersey, but are members of federally and/or State-recognized tribes in other states.
RECOGNIZING SOVEREIGNTY, NATIONS TO NATION/ STATE
Harry S. Jackson III (Nanticoke-Lenape) Tribal Secretary 2016-2022
THE INCOMPLETE LOOM: Exploring the Checkered Past and Present of American Indian Sovereignty is written by Harry S. Jackson III, Research Editor, Rutgers Law Review. J.D. Candidate, Rutgers School of Law—Newark, 2012; B.A., Economics, Wagner College, 2009.
“I would like to thank the Rutgers Law Review Editors and Staff for all of their hard work on this Note. I would also like to thank my family and friends for all their love, support, and guidance through the years. Wanishi–Lenape for ‘Thank You.’” -HJ
Harry, làpich knewël (Lenape), I will see you again
Mëshatàm Lënapehòkink
Photo and quote: Courtesy of NMAI, D.C.
Lenape Federally recognized by the United States:
- Delaware Nation (Anadarko, OK)
- Delaware Tribe of Indians (Bartlesville, OK)
- Stockbridge-Munsee Community (Bowler, WI)
Lenape Federally recognized by Canada:
- Delaware Nation of Moraviantown (Ontario)
- Munsee Delaware First Nation (Ontario)
We have solemnly made for us and our Posterity as long as the Sun and Moon shall endure, One head, One Mouth, and one Heart. ~Chiefs of the Lenape to the king of England, 1701
ALLIANCE of COLONIAL ERA TRIBES (ACET)
Advisory Statement to State Governments on the Recognition of Tribes – Resolution #2013-02-18
NATIONAL CONGRESS of AMERICAN INDIANS (NCAI)
Supporting The Bureau of Indian Affairs Proposed Reform of the Federal Recognition Process – Resolution #TUL-13-002 The foregoing resolution was adopted by the General Assembly at the 2013 Annual Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Cox Business Center from October 13 – 18, 2013, in Tulsa, Oklahoma with a quorum present.
DELAWARE (Lenape of Anadarko, OK) NATION’S Resolution 2023-114
~Denouncing CPAIN~
[Unverified/ Unrecognized]
Corporations
Posing
As
Indigenous
Nations
see Friends Plea for the Practice of Peace: Unity Toward Decolonizing here
Whose ancestral land you are on? See https://native-land.ca/
Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation website – https://www.nlltribalnation.org/
Turtle Trading Post, 18 E. Commerce Street, Bridgeton, NJ 08302,
609 455-6910
THE ORIGINAL PEOPLE: THE ANCIENT CULTURE AND WISDOM OF THE LENNI-LENAPE PEOPLE by Nanticoke-Lenape Richard “Quiet Thunder” Gilbert – Lenape Elder, Educator, Chief – as told to Marcia Adams and Greg Vizzi
Strong Medicine Speaks, by Amy Hill Hearth, published 2008
A rare oral history of a contemporary Native American matriarch, Marion “Strong Medicine” Gould (Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape)
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants 
by Robin Wall Kimmerer, published 2015
As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers…she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return. (see also: Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults, 2022)
Provenance / Love Thy Sovereign Nation Neighbor / Allyship / Call To Action
Photographs used with permissions, artists ©, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.