People and Land Acknowledgment

Many non-Indigenous organizations include land acknowledgment statements on their website, but we want to specifically acknowledge modern-day thriving Lenape people on whose ancestral and unceded land our work takes place.

The main offices of the Indigenous Justice Circle are based on the traditional ancestral homelands of the Munsee Lenape and Wappinger people, who had thriving and healthy communities before the Dutch came and “purchased” their land in 1626. The “purchasing” of Manahatta led to dispossession and deaths among the Lenape people. This was the first of a long history of forced removal this Native Nation and other Indigenous people have faced. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced removal from this territory.

Indigenous Justice Circle and its partners are working to raise awareness and strengthen ties of modern-day Lenape and Delaware Nations to their traditional homelands. Awareness of Indigenous exclusion and erasure, past and present, is critically important. Indigenous Justice Circle is committed to working to overcome these effects in our programs, convenings and research. Modern day Lenape/Delaware Nations have rich cultures that cherish Mother Earth by respecting the land we live on and nurturing it to remain healthy.

We wish to acknowledge present day Lenape/Delaware people who are creating meaningful impact, changing perceptions, and guiding future generations.

Map courtesy of Nikater

Notable Present Day Lenape/Delaware People

  • Holly Wilson (Delaware Nation/Cherokee), sculptor

  • River Whittle (Delaware Nation/Caddo), multimedia artist

  • Leaders of the Lenape Center in New York

    • Joe Baker (Delaware Tribe of Indians), Executive Director & Co-Founder

    • Curtis Zunigha (Delaware Tribe of Indians), Co-Director & Co-Founder

    • Brent Michael Davids (Mohican/Munsee-Lenape), Co-Director

Modern Lenape and Delaware Nations in the United States and Canada.

Federally Recognized Lenape/Delaware Nations in the US

Federally Recognized Lenape/Delaware Nations in Canada

State recognized tribes in the U.S.

Lenape group still seeking state recognition