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Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation

Address

75 Westcott Station Road
Bridgeton, NJ 08302

County

Cumberland

Telephone

(609) 693-1900

Description

"The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation is the northernmost of three interrelated tribes of the area of the Delaware Bay. We are a made up of the American Indian families from southern New Jersey and the Delmarva Peninsula who remained in our ancestral homeland after many of our relations were removed to the west and to the north as far as Oklahoma and Canada. Centuries ago, our Lenape and Nanticoke ancestors were among those locally referred to as 'Cohansies,' 'The Indians of Cohansey Bridge', 'Alloways,' 'Little Siconese,' among other names. [...]  

Our tribe is governed by a constitutional government, which provides for executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Our community services are administered through a tribally controlled 501(c)3 social services / community development organization called, 'The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indians of New Jersey,' which is subordinate to our tribal government.

Our main headquarters is in Bridgeton, Cumberland County, New Jersey, where we also operate a tribal store, the 'Turtle Trading Post.' The tribal headquarters and store is open to the public. Artifacts are on display 24 hours a day in our shop window. Arts and crafts from among our own tribe and other American Indian nations are on sale in the store, as well as interesting souvenirs and unique gifts, books and music. We also have tribal grounds, called 'Cohanzick,'in Fairfied Township, New Jersey. This is the location of our tribal community center and ceremonial ground… and is where many of our tribal families have lived for hundreds of years. [...] The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indian Tribe is a recognized American Indian Tribe by the State of New Jersey through both concurrent legislative resolution (S.C.R. 1982 No.73) and through state statute (N.J.P.L. 1995 c. 295; N.J.S. 52:16A-53 et. seq). We have permanent seats on the New Jersey State Commission on American Indian Affairs and are a voting member nation of the National Congress of American Indians. Our people are honored with a permanent display at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC. Our tribe is a recognized State Designated American Indian Statistical Area with the United State Census Bureau and has ongoing activities with numerous federal agencies, including: The Department of the Interior; The Department of Environmental Protection; The Department of Commerce; and, The General Services Administration. We maintain a 350 year old friendship with the Nation of Sweden, which had established a settlement in our homeland before the British colonized our region."