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The Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania (LNPA) is one of more than a dozen cultural heritage organizations of individuals who identify as descendants of the Lenape people, also known as Lenni-Lenape or Delaware people.[5] They are based in Easton, Pennsylvania.[3][6]

Status

The Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania is an unrecognized tribe.[4] Despite having the word nation in its name, the organization is neither a federally recognized tribe[7] nor a state-recognized tribe.[8][9] Pennsylvania has no federally recognized or state-recognized tribes.[9]

Bill "Whippoorwill" Thompson founded the group in 1998 as the Eastern Lenape Nation.[4]

LNPA Chief of Education and Tribal Storykeeper[10] Adam "Waterbear" DePaul said, "We were quite successful in that endeavor of hiding, and identifying and passing ourselves off as white."[9] He says the tribe is trying to achieve state recognition, but it does not qualify for federal recognition.[9]

Canadian-American linguist K. David Harrison, who partnered with the LNPA on language classes, writes: “some Lenape stayed behind, hid, blended in, intermarried, or assimilated. Remaining in the traditional homeland of the Delaware Valley, their descendants also claim Lenape bloodlines.”[11]

Journalist Samantha Spengler wrote: "Whether or not Lenape people continued to live covertly in Pennsylvania, it’s undisputed that there was no continuous tribal entity in the region."[4] There are three federally recognized Lenape tribes in the United States and two in Canada.[4]

The organization is actively lobbying the Pennsylvania legislature for state recognition.[12]

Nonprofit

In 1996[2] and again in 2001, the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania formed The Lenape Nation, Inc., aka The Lenape Nation of Pa., Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, based in Easton, Pennsylvania.[3]

Its current administration is:

  • President: Ann Dapice[2]
  • Vice President: Richard Welker[2]
  • Treasurer: Maurice DeMund (2022)[1]
  • Assistant Treasurer: Perry Power (2022)[1]
  • Secretary: Barbara Michalski[2]

Maurice C. DeMund served as president[3][1] until April 2022.[2] The group has also been based in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.[1]

In 2021, the Claneil Foundation gave them $10,000; PayPal Giving Fund donated $7,646; and the AmazonSmile Foundation gave them $81.[1]

Activities

The Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania operates a cultural center in Easton, Pennsylvania.[13] They host an annual powwow at Mauch Chunk Lake Park in present-day Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.[14] Once every four years, they host Rising Nation River Journey along the Delaware River.[9] They also created the Lenape Nation Scholarship Fund.[3]

LNPA member Shelley DePaul and Theodore Fernald launched a Lenape language class at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, beginning in 2009.[11]

The Unitarian Congregation, a church in West Chester, Pennsylvania, decided to pay reparations to the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Lenape Nation". CauseIQ. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Lenape Nation Inc". OpenCorporates. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "The Lenape Nation, Inc". GuideStar. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Spengler, Samantha (6 November 2021). "For Years, People Said There Were No Lenape Left in Pennsylvania. This Group Begs to Differ". Philadelphia: City Life. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Delaware/Lenape". AAA Native Arts. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Who are the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania? · Enduring Presence 2023: Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania Art · Enduring Presence 2023: Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania Art". ds-omeka.haverford.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  7. ^ Indian Affairs Bureau (12 January 2023). "Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs". Federal Register. 88: 2112–16. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  8. ^ "State Recognized Tribes". National Conference of State Legislatures. Archived from the original on 1 September 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e Cooper, Kenny (30 July 2021). "'We just want to be welcomed back': The Lenape seek a return home". WHYY. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Chief of Education and Tribal Storykeeper to Speak at Birmingham Meeting". Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  11. ^ a b Harrison, K. David (2010). The Last Speakers: The Quest to Save the World's Most Endangered Languages. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society. pp. 257, 293. ISBN 9781426206689.
  12. ^ a b "Unitarian Congregation of West Chester to pay reparations to the Lenni Lenape people". Daily Local News. April 10, 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania Cultural Center". Sigal Museum. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  14. ^ Hood, Micaela (8 September 2021). "Pocono pow wow celebrates the history and culture of the Lenape of Pennsylvania". Pocono Record. Retrieved 22 February 2023.

External links

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenape_Nation_of_Pennsylvania