Official Website of the Delaware Tribe of Indians
This site is under construction. Thank you for your patience.
FEDERAL RECOGNITION RESTORED
ELECTION RESULTS
Members of the Delaware Tribe of Indians (Tribe) overwhelmingly voted in the secretarial election held on Tuesday, May 26, 2009, to ratify the Tribe's 1982 constitution, as amended through November 1, 2008, subject to the October 24, 2008 Memorandum of Agreement between the Delaware Tribe of Indians and the Cherokee Nation. The election was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Tribe in accordance with Part 81 of Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations (25 CFR Part 81.)
See News and Information page
Explanation of the symbols on the Delaware Tribal Seal
Lenape Talking Dictionary
The name DELAWARE was given to the people who lived
along the Delaware River, and the river in turn was named after Lord de
la Warr, the governor of the Jamestown colony. The name Delaware later
came to be applied to almost all Lenape people. In our language, which
belongs to the Algonquian language family, we call ourselves LENAPE (len-NAH-pay)
which means something like "The People." Our ancestors were among the
first Indians to come in contact with the Europeans (Dutch, English, &
Swedish) in the early 1600s. The Delaware were called the "Grandfather"
tribe because we were respected by other tribes as peacemakers since we
often served to settle disputes among rival tribes. We were also known
for our fierceness and tenacity as warriors when we had to fight,
however, we preferred to choose a path of peace with the Europeans and
other tribes.
Many of the early treaties and land sales we signed with the Europeans
were in our people's minds more like leases. The early Delaware had no
idea that land was something that could be sold. The land belonged to
the Creator, and the Lenape people were only using it to shelter and
feed their people. When the poor, bedraggled people got off their ships
after the long voyage and needed a place to live we shared the land with
them. They gave us a few token gifts for our people's kindness, but in
the mind of the Europeans these gifts were actually the purchase price
for the land.
Our Delaware people signed the first Indian treaty with the newly formed
United States Government on September 17, 1778. Nevertheless, through
war and peace, our ancestors had to continue to give up their lands and
move westward (first to Ohio, then to Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, and
finally, Indian Territory, now Oklahoma). One small band of Delawares
left our group in the late 1700s and through different migrations are
today located at Anadarko, Oklahoma. Small contingents of Delawares fled
to Canada during a time of extreme persecution and today occupy two
reserves in Ontario (The Delaware Nation at Moraviantown and The Munsee-Delaware
Nation).
Lenape Hach Ki? - Are You A Lenape?
The Delaware Tribal website was established several
years ago, and since then we have had numerous e-mail inquiries about
genealogy. Many are from people in the eastern part of the United
States, but we do receive inquires from all over the country. Many of
the messages say things like, "I was told by my grandparents that our
family always lived in the East and that we have Lenape blood. Would you
look them up and see if I am part Lenape?"
It would be nice if there was a master roll of everyone who has any
degree of Lenape blood, but there is not. Our rolls here only go back in
time to 1862 when our own ancestors, on their forced exodus from the
East, were living in Kansas.
In order to be enrolled on our tribal roll, your ancestor(s) by blood
must have been living in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) in 1906, and
enrolled on our official tribal base roll. This is a requirement set
forth by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and follows THE CODE OF FEDERAL
REGULATIONS, PART 83 - PROCEDURES FOR ESTABLISHING THAT AN AMERICAN
INDIAN GROUP EXISTS AS AN INDIAN TRIBE.
We are sorry that we cannot be of help to many of you who might have
Lenape blood, but there are no sources of which we are aware to look for
your ancestors' names. We can only suggest you do regular genealogical
research through the libraries and Federal Census records. Good luck on
your quest.
To tribal members descended from ancestors on our 1906 Roll, if you have
not yet enrolled, write to Delaware Tribal Enrollment, 170 NE Barbara
Street, Bartlesville, OK 74006 and request an Enrollment Form or you may
download the form and genealogy chart
New Tribal
Enrollment Form &
Genealogy Chart. It will have all pertinent information necessary
for enrollment, and you will need birth or death certificates that link
you with your ancestor on the 1906 Delaware Roll. If you have lost your
tribal card and would like a replacement card, change your address or
request forms write to the listed address or download
change form. To
obtain our new photo verification card download the application and
genealogy chart
Photo
Card Form &
Genealogy Chart. To obtain your
Federal Certificate of Degree
of Indian blood (CDIB) card the application can be obtained from
www.cherokee.org.
Thank you.
Delaware Tribal Offices
170 NE Barbara, Bartlesville, OK 74006
Hours: Monday -Thursday 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Main Phone 918-336-5272