Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Governance
In 1978, The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribe established a tribally governed 501(c)3 non-profit community benefit agency, “The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indians of New Jersey.” It is chartered for educational, social, and cultural purposes, to promote the welfare of Native Americans who reside in the Delaware Valley; to extend charity in all forms to those Native Americans in need, giving priority to Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indians residing in the Delaware Valley; to establish cultural and instructional facilities; to improve health and welfare, housing, human rights, and economic security; to acquire and preserve land and water areas in a natural scenic or open condition consistent with the heritage of the Native Americans who reside in the Delaware Valley.
In 1982, the Tribe received official recognition from the State of New Jersey, via Senate Concurrent Resolution Number 73. This was reaffirmed through tribe's statutory inclusion on the New Jersey State Commission on American Indian Affairs (New Jersey Public Law 1995 c. 295; New Jersey Statutes 52:16A-53 et. seq.). The largest American Indian tribe in New Jersey, the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape enjoy friendly relations with the nation of Sweden, which acknowledges its tribal identity and sovereignty. Sweden recently celebrated its more than 350-year-old treaty of friendship with the Tribe, dating to the early settlement of the Swedes and Finns in the Land of the Lenape, before Dutch and British colonial powers settled in the area.
The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribe is governed by a nine-member elected Tribal Council. All council members must be enrolled citizens of the tribe. The tribe has determined that membership is dependent on tribal Indian blood quantum and documented descent from core families. The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribe consists of over 3000 enrolled citizens in more than 1500 households. Other Nanticoke-Lenape descendants and extended family, who are not members, also live in southern New Jersey and the surrounding area and may participate in many tribal activities.
According to the 2000 United States Census, an additional 9000 persons identified as Native American live in the Cumberland County, New Jersey area. It is a State Designated American Indian Statistical Area (SDAISA), part of the state and federal recognition of certain areas as having significant American Indian populations.
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