Hundreds of years after they were forced from their ancestral home along the Delaware River, the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania is still fighting for perhaps the most precious resource of all.<\/p>\n
Recognition.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania does not officially recognize the Lenape Nation or any Native American tribe, a fact that strikes to the very core of Lenape Nation member Adam Waterbear DePaul.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fight for recognition has been incredibly disappointing so far. Pennsylvania is the only commonwealth to never recognize indigenous people, and we are trying to change that,\u201d DePaul added. \u201cRight now, we are taking steps to become state recognized. But it\u2019s hard to say how that will turn out.\u201d<\/p>\n
DePaul is bringing attention to the Lenape Nation\u2019s quest for official recognition and its longstanding commitment to the environment on the\u00a0Rising Nation River Journey<\/a>, during which members are paddling and hiking through and along the Delaware River, culminating with the Lower River treaty signing in West Cape May, New Jersey.<\/p>\n The tour started in New York and made stops this weekend in Bucks County.<\/p>\n \u201c(The River Journey) brings so many important things together. First, it raises awareness about the Lenape people, which is so important to us because we\u2019ve been so erased here \u2014\u00a0and especially those of us who remained here for centuries either under hiding or in forced assimilation,\u201d DePaul said. \u201cIt also brings together commitments to serve as good stewards for the environment, our homelands and the Delaware River.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the Department of the Interior\u2019s Bureau of Indian Affairs, as of 2020, there were 574 tribal entities recognized and thus eligible for federal funding and services. The Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania is not among them, although the\u00a0Delaware Tribe of Indians<\/a>, is one of three Lenape tribes that is recognized and has established a duly elected president, tribal lands and courts in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.<\/p>\n Gaining state recognition is a step in the process to being recognized on the federal level, advocates say. That will require legislative efforts in Harrisburg. Efforts nearly 20 years ago failed, and in the current session in the Pennsylvania legislature, there isn\u2019t a bill submitted that directly deals with state recognition of Native American tribes.<\/p>\n According to the West Philadelphia Collaborative History project, sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania, archeological evidence indicates the Lenape inhabited the region centuries before the Europeans arrived and established various villages along the Schuylkill River and its tributaries.<\/p>\n While Pennsylvania doesn\u2019t recognize the Lenape, Bucks County has\u00a0officially acknowledged<\/a>\u00a0the Lenape people as the first inhabitants of the lands that now make up its boundaries.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of the county parks, historic sites, nature centers and place names acknowledge the Lenape\u2019s role as the original caretakers of this land through exhibits and signage,\u201d reads a portion go the county\u2019s website dedicated to the Lenape. \u201cPrior to the arrival of European Settlers in the 17th century much of what we know as NY, NJ and Eastern PA were Native American territories held by the Lenape people who, for thousands of years, were the caretakers of these lands.<\/p>\n \u201cAt this time the region, including all of what came to be incorporated as Bucks County, was predominantly primeval forest crisscrossed with Lenape trails, campsites, quarries and scores of villages.\u201d<\/p>\n William Penn and the Lenape interacted at the right place and time, said Pennsbury Manor Executive Director Douglas Miller. The manor, on the river in Falls Township, served as one of Penn\u2019s chief residences, and Miller and staff work to preserve and highlight the history of the stately manor, its lands and Penn\u2019s life.<\/p>\n \u201cPenn\u2019s success wouldn\u2019t have been the same if he bumped into a different cultural group,\u201d Miller said. \u201cThe Lenape were peacemakers and middlemen who welcomed Penn. And Penn was the right colonial governor to work with the Lenape at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet it was also in Bucks County where the tribe lost much of its land to colonial authorities.<\/p>\nLenape Tribe Has Long History In Bucks County<\/h3>\n