What is a Land Acknowledgement?

A Land Acknowledgement is a formal statement that recognizes the unique and enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories.

Why Do We Recognize the Land?

To recognize the land is an expression of gratitude and appreciation to those whose territory you reside on, and a way of honoring the Indigenous people who have been living and working on the land from time immemorial. It is important to understand the long standing history that has brought you to reside on the land, and to seek to understand your place within that history. Land acknowledgements do not exist in a past tense, or historical context: colonialism is a current ongoing process, and we need to build our mindfulness of our present participation. It is also worth noting that acknowledging the land is Indigenous protocol.

Land Acknowledgement

As many of us are settler, immigrants, or descendants of those forcefully brought to this continent, we must recognize and never forget, that we are occupying the traditional, unceded Lenni-Lenape lands. The Lenape territory includes all of New Jersey, northern Delaware, eastern Pennsylvania, and southeastern New York. The Lenape are considered to be one of the oldest tribes in the Northeast, existing for over 10,000 years. In fact, the translation of Lenni-Lenape is Original People. They were a peace loving community known for being warriors and diplomats, and often mediated disputes between their neighboring Native Nations. The Lenni-Lenape people were hospitable toward the first colonizers. Their once large population was threatened, murdered, and forcibly removed from their lands and pushed westward into Ohio and farther. Presently, the majority of the Lenape are located in Oklahoma. Both the Delaware nation and the Delaware Tribe of Indians are federally recognized tribes with reservations in Oklahoma.

A Brief History of the Lenni-Lenape

Prior to contact with European colonizers, the Lenape were considered the root of where many of the North American Indian Nations of the Algonquan grew. The Lenape were and still are referred to by other tribes as the “grandfathers” or “ancient ones.” They were divided in three geographical dialect groups. Munsee is the northern part of their territory with the Unami and the Unalachtigo in the central and southern regions. These clans were matrilineal, meaning the children traced their lineage through their mother. Lenape lived in semi-permanent settlements that could have anywhere from 25 to 300 people. They lived in wigwams, and their food came from hunting/fishing and planting. Food is an important part of their culture as they believed that food was meant to be shared and that nobody should go hungry. The Lenape were honored by their neighboring nations as peacemakers and mediators, but also feared as fierce warriors. In the early 1600s, the Lenape had their first exposure to colonizers as the Dutch established “New Netherland” in the northern Lenape territories. Not long after, the Swedes and Finns established “New Sweden” along the Delaware Bay. The influx of colonizers caused the Lenape population to decline due to European encroachment, violence, and intentional and unintentional spreading of diseases. The survivors rallied and began to resist colonization, resulting in the start of a war between the Dutch and Lenape in 1639. Additionally, the Dutch, Swedish, and English colonizers were fighting each other over Lenape lands. Dutch colonizers conquered New Sweden, and the English conquered New Netherland. Despite the underestimated strength of the Lenape warriors, between 1620 and 1640, an estimated 90%of the population died from diseases that were purposefully spread to the Lenape. The remaining Lenape were pushed farther North and West. The Treaty of Easton, signed in 1758, officially forced the Lenape out of present-day New York and New Jersey and into Pennsylvania, Ohio, and into Canada. Then the Indian Removal Act of 1830 removed the majority of the Lenape remaining in the U.S. to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. The U.S. established two reservations in Oklahoma, where the majority of the Lenape remain today.

Please note the content of this page is not the definitive word about the Lenape people. They have a very long history and a rich culture that nobody outside of their community can claim an expertise on, but we can continue the process of educating ourselves and support them and other indigenous people in ways that they deem appropriate and necessary.