| Type | 501(c)(3) organization |
|---|---|
| 51-0335004 | |
| Headquarters | Cheswold, Delaware |
| Location |
|
| Membership | 225 |
Official language | English |
| Website | www |
The Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware Inc. is a state-recognized tribe and non-profit organization in the US state of Delaware. It does not have federal recognition as an American Indian tribe.
The organization gained official recognition in Delaware on August 3, 2016. [1] The group has around 225 members. [2]
Members of the organization were once known as "the Moors" or the "Delaware Moors". Moors were sometimes listed as "M" on official documentation, such as state driver's licenses. A 1948 Smithsonian report referred to them as the "Moors of Kent County, Delaware". [3] Prior to the state's recognition of the tribe, the Delaware Moors were considered "Mulatto" or of African-American descent. [4] The Lenape Indian Tribe is related through ancestry and cultural ties to the state-recognized Nanticoke Indian Association in Delaware and the state-recognized Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation in New Jersey, both of whose ancestors were known as Moors. [5]
In 2021, the organization acquired 11 acres of land near Fork Branch Nature Preserve, with the assistance of the State of Delaware, a private financier, and an environmental conservation group. This was part of the Lenape historic territory. Long after the colonial period, ancestors of group members had attended a small schoolhouse that formerly existed on property near the acquired land. It is also near a former Lenape cemetery and church. [2]