The Delaware Tribe of Indians, formerly known as the Cherokee Delaware or the Eastern Delaware, based in

Bartlesville, Oklahoma Bartlesville is a city mostly in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 37,290 at the 2020 census. Bartlesville is north of Tulsa and south of the Kansas border. It is the county seat of Washington County. The Can ...

, is one of three

federally recognized tribes This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

of the

Lenape people The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

in the United States, the others being with the

Delaware Nation Delaware Nation ( del, Èhëliwsikakw Lënapeyok), also known as the Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma and sometimes called the Absentee or Western Delaware, based in Anadarko, Oklahoma Anadarko, Oklahoma Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The city is fifty miles southwest of Oklahoma City. The population was 5,745 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County. History Anadarko got its name when its post off ...

,Delaware Tribe regains federal recognition.
''NewsOk.'' 4 Aug 2009 (retrieved 5 August 2009) and the Stockbridge-Munsee Community of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. More

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

or Delaware people live in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Government and economic development

The Principal Chief is Brad KillsCrow. The Assistant Chief is Tonya Anna. They are headquartered in Bartlesville and have no tribal jurisdictional area. Their housing program covers

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

Nowata Nowata (Lenape: ', ' ) is a city and county seat of Nowata County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,731 at the United States Census, 2010, a 6.0 percent decline from the figure of 3,971 recorded in 2000. The area where it was establi ...

Rogers Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) *Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated community ...

, Craig, and part of

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

counties. Their annual tribal economic impact is $2 million.2011 Oklahoma Indian Nations Pocket Pictorial Directory.
''Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission.'' 2011: 13. Retrieved 3 Jan 2012. The Delaware Tribe of Indians is located at 5100 Tuxedo Boulevard in

, 74006.

Enrollment

Tribal membership is limited exclusively to descendants of Delaware people on the 1906 tribal rolls from

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

. Enrollment is based on lineal descent, that is, there are no minimum

blood quantum Blood quantum laws or Indian blood laws are laws in the United States that define Native American status by fractions of Native American ancestry. These laws were enacted by the federal government and state governments as a way to establ ...

requirements.

Culture

The Council of Lenape Elders works to sustain traditional dances, culture, and the tribal language, and works with the Delaware Gourd Society. The tribe maintains a Delaware Center, on an parcel of land in Bartlesville. Delaware artists are known for their wood carving and

ribbon work Ribbon work is an appliqué technique for clothing and dance regalia among Prairie and Great Lakes Native American tribes. Deb Haaland wore a ribbon skirt made by Agnes Woodward for her 2021 swearing in ceremony as US Interior Secretary. History ...

skills.

History

The historically Algonquian-speaking Delaware refer to themselves as Lenni Lenape. At first European contact in the early 17th century, the tribe lived along the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

, named for

Lord de la Warr Earl De La Warr ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1761 for John West, 7th Baron De La Warr. The Earl holds the subsidiary titles of Viscount Cantelupe (1761) in the Peerage of Great Britain, Baron De La Warr ( ...

,Delaware Tribe of Indians.
(retrieved 5 August 2009) territory in lower present-day New York state and eastern New Jersey, and western

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

. The Delaware nation was the first to sign a treaty with the new

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. They signed the treaty on the September 17, 1778. Despite the treaty, the Delaware were forced to cede their Eastern lands and moved first to Ohio and later to Indiana ( Plainfield), Missouri, Kansas, and Indian Territory. The ancestors of the Delaware Nation, following a different migration route, settled in Anadarko. Other Delaware bands moved north with the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

after the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

to form two reserves in Ontario, Canada. Traditionally the Delaware were divided into the Munsee, Unami, and Unalachtigo, three social divisions determined by language and location.McCollum, Timothy James
Delaware, Western.
''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture.'' (retrieved 5 August 2009)

Federal recognition

First recognition

After dealing with the United States on a government-to-government basis, the ancestors of the Delaware Tribe of Indians agreed in 1867 to relocate to the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

in what was then

. The Delaware Tribe of Indians operated autonomously within the lands of the Cherokee Nation. Following passage of the 1972 Appropriations Act, the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...

(BIA) reviewed the 1958 Bylaws of the Delaware Tribe of Indians. It recommended that the tribe adopt membership criteria to comply with the distribution requirements of the Act. In a General Council meeting, the Delaware Tribe amended its bylaws to include such criteria, and the BIA approved the amendments on September 30, 1974. In 1975, the BIA certified that the Delaware Tribe's amended bylaws provided "the legal entity which in the judgment of the Secretary of Interior adequately protects the interest of the Delaware Tribe of Indians pursuant to the 972 Appropriations Act" Due to suit filed by the Kansas Delaware, a non-recognized tribe, BIA reviewed all federally recognized Delaware tribes' legal documents. Then in 1979, BIA revoked the Delaware Tribe of Indians' status, stating that the removal to Oklahoma in 1879 with the Cherokees effectively placed the tribe under the authority of the Cherokee Nation. The BIA had determined that the Department of the Interior would generally engage in government-to-government relations with the Delaware Tribe only indirectly through Cherokee Nation, and that the Department would engage in direct relations with the Delaware Tribe solely with respect to the Tribe's claims against the United States.

Second recognition

The Delaware Tribe of Indians regained their federal recognition by the Secretary of the Interior in 1991, when the BIA rescinded its 1979 decision. However, the Cherokee Nation disagreed with the decision and filed suit against the BIA and the Secretary of their decision. The Cherokee Nation's position was upheld in court, leading to the Delaware Tribe's loss of federal recognition in 2004. After years of negotiations, the two tribes resolved their differences through an agreement in October 2008. Delaware voters approved the agreement and voted to reorganize in May 2009, under the authority of the

Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act The Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936 (also known as the Thomas-Rogers Act) is a United States federal law that extended the 1934 Wheeler-Howard or Indian Reorganization Act to include those tribes within the boundaries of the state of Oklahoma. ...

Third recognition

On July 28, 2009, The United States Department of the Interior notified the tribal office in Bartlesville that the Delaware are again officially recognized by the U.S. government.Delaware Tribe of Indians’ federal recognition restored.
''Indian Country Today.'' 7 Aug 2009 (retrieved 11 August 2009)

Notable tribal members

Nora Thompson Dean Nora Thompson Dean (July 3, 1907 – November 29, 1984), also known as Weenjipahkihelexkwe (modern Unami orthography: Weènchipahkihëlèxkwe), which translates as "Touching Leaves Woman" in Unami, was a member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians. As ...

( Touching Leaves Woman, 1907–1984), traditionalist, herbalist, and language instructor *

Charles Journeycake Charles Journeycake (December 16, 1817 - January 3, 1894), was a Christian Indian chief of the Lenape. He visited Washington, D.C. 24 times on behalf of his people starting in 1854. Founder of Linwood, Kansas Linwood is a city in Leavenworth C ...

(Ne-Sha-Pa-Na-Cumin, December 16, 1817 - January 3, 1894) - In 1861, Journeycake became the principal Chief of the Delaware tribe. * Joanne Barker, professor, author

Notes

External links

Delaware Tribe of Indians
official website

Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture {{DEFAULTSORT:Delaware Tribe of Indians Cherokee Nation (1794–1907) Federally recognized tribes in the United States Native American tribes in Oklahoma