Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania

Last updated
Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania [1]
The Lenape Nation Inc. [2]
Named after Lenape people
Formation1996, [2] 2001 [3] [1]
TypeNonprofit organization [1]
EIN 23-3025630 [3]
PurposeCultural, Ethnic Awareness (A23) [3]
Headquarters Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. [1]
Location
Membership397 [4] (2021)
Official language
English
President
Ann Dapice [2]
Revenue$72,080 [1] (2022)
Expenses$64,050 [1] (2022)
Website lenape-nation.org
Formerly called
Eastern Lenape Nation [4]

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]

Contents

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:

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 $481. [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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Lenape Nation". CauseIQ. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "The Lenape Nation Inc". OpenCorporates. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The Lenape Nation, Inc". GuideStar. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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. 1 2 3 4 5 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. 1 2 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. 1 2 "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.
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