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Department of State

New Jersey Commission on American Indian Affairs

The Hon. Tahesha Way, Secretary of State
New Jersey Commission on American Indian Affairs

New Jersey Commission on American Indian Affairs

New Jersey’s Indigenous Voices Speaker Series
Sharing the Continuing Story of Indigenous Peoples in New Jersey

New Jersey’s Indigenous Voices Speaker Series


Friday, July 23, 2021, at 12 p.m.
Registration: http://bit.ly/ContinuingStoryNJHC

Join us for the first webinar in the New Jersey’s Indigenous Voices series, a program of free virtual educational events that seek to facilitate a deeper and more accurate public understanding of Indigenous history and life in the region now known as New Jersey. Sharing the Continuing Story of Indigenous Peoples in New Jersey will address the history and continuity of tribal communities in the region and beyond.

Our featured speakers are: Heather Bruegl, Director of Cultural Affairs, Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohican Indians; Claire Garland, Executive Director, Sand Hill Indian Historical Association; Rev. Dr. John Norwood, Principal Justice of the Tribal Supreme Court, Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation; and Dr. Maria De Freece Lawrence, Professor of Education, Rhode Island College. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Jameson Sweet, Assistant Professor of American Studies, Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

Promotional materials for the event were created by Nahi. This series was made possible with support from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and developed in partnership with the New Jersey Commission on American Indian Affairs.

Sharing the Continuing Story of Indigenous Peoples in New Jersey Flyer

An Opinion Piece

The Meaning behind Indian Heads, Tomahawk Chops, and Other Racist, Demoralizing Logos and Images in American Culture: Massacre and Myth

By Eileen De Freece, PhD
Ramapough Lenape Nation
Commissioner, New Jersey Commission on American Indian Affairs

For well over a hundred years, Native American leaders and activists have rejected the use of the Indian Head, as well as other images as logos for schools, sports teams, advertisers, and even coins. ...

As an honoree of the New Jersey Historical Commission, the award presentation to Claire Garland stated:

Claire Garland

 

Ms.Garland, of Neptune, New Jersey is a long-time champion of New Jersey’s Native American heritage. A member of the Sand Hill Band of Lenape, she is a tireless advocate for her people and for Native American history and rights generally. A lifelong educator, Claire taught for 36 years in the Tinton Falls School District. She received her BS in Education from Monmouth College (now Monmouth University) and her Master in the Sociological and Philosophical Foundations of Education from Rutgers University. A lifelong educator, Claire’s teaching has not been limited to the classroom but includes regular presentations to schools and community groups where she has shared the stories of her ancestors, New Jersey’s first inhabitants. She has researched and written about the life and times of Cherokee Indian Ike of Monmouth, developed a CD, website, and Facebook page on the Sand Hill Indians, consulted on museum exhibits, and presented on NJNTV. She has lectured across the state on the Lenape people and is the recognized expert on the Sand Hill Band. Her presentation “American Indian Culture Surrounds Us” has enlightened generations of New Jerseyans regarding our state’s rich Native American heritage. Claire is also a member of the New Jersey Council on American Indian Afairs where she serves with diligence and distinction. In honor of her tireless work to educate the public on New Jersey’s Native Americans, past and present, she is presented an award of the NJ Historical Commission.

The New York Times
In 1920, Native Women Sought the Vote. Here’s What’s Next.

The 19th Amendment did not bring the right to vote to all Native women, but two experts in a conversation said it did usher in the possibility of change.

By Cathleen D. Cahill and Sarah Deer

The Indigenous suffragist Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, also known as Zitkala-Sa, a citizen of the Yankton Sioux Tribe. After the ratification of the 19th Amendment, she reminded the rejoicing, newly enfranchised white women that the fight was not over. - Link - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/style/19th-amendment-native-womens-suffrage.html?referringSource=articleShare

The Indigenous suffragist Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, also known as Zitkala-Sa, a citizen of the Yankton Sioux Tribe. After the ratification of the 19th Amendment, she reminded the rejoicing, newly enfranchised white women that the fight was not over.
Credit...National Museum of American History

Funding Opportunities

The Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) is soliciting proposals through its Native American Business Development Institute (NABDI) for technical assistance funding to hire consultants to perform feasibility studies of economic development opportunities, including tourism development.

The National Park Service Community Assistance in Conservation and Outdoor Recreation program will provide technical assistance with locally-led conservation and outdoor recreation project. This is a great way to receive trail planning, concept designs, facilitation, signage, programming, partnership outreach and community engagement.

AIANTALogo - Link - https://www.state.nj.us/state/njcaia-funding-opportunities.shtml

APS Logo - Link - https://www.amphilsoc.org/grants/andrew-w-mellon-foundation-native-american-scholars-initiative-nasi-fellowships
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Native American Scholars Initiative (NASI) Fellowships
*Throughout the NJCAIA website, we include links to information on other websites. We provide these links solely to help users find additional useful information.

Chief Standing Bear

Chief Standing Bear

Quarterly Meeting - 09/25/19

NJCAIA - Link - https://www.state.nj.us/state/njcaia-meetin-2019-0925.shtml The New Jersey Commission on American Indian Affairs was hosted by The Hopewell Museum for its quarterly meeting on September 25, 2019.

The New York Times
‘As Native Americans, We Are in a Constant State of Mourning’

The return of ancestors and artifacts can become a form of restorative justice.

By Chip Colwell
Dr. Colwell is an anthropologist and museum curator in Denver.

University of Northern Colorado maintenance crew workers guide a 600-pound bear totem pole top into a crate to be shipped back to the Tlingit Nation in Angoon, Alaska, where the totem originally stood and disappeared in 1908. - CreditCreditGlenn Asakawa/The Denver Post, via Getty Images - Link - https://www.state.nj.us/state/njcaia-nytimes-state-of-mourning.shtml

University of Northern Colorado maintenance crew workers guide a 600-pound bear totem pole top into a crate to be shipped back to the Tlingit Nation in Angoon, Alaska, where the totem originally stood and disappeared in 1908. - CreditCreditGlenn Asakawa/The Denver Post, via Getty Images

Meeting of the NJ Commission on American Indian Affairs

Meeting of the NJ Commission on American Indian Affairs

Meeting of the NJ Commission on American Indian Affairs, May 18, 2017 at the New Jersey State Museum. Pictured from upper left: Commission Chair Lewis Greysquirrel Pierce, Rowena Madden, Steven Burton, Eileen DeFreece, Claire Garland Renee Copola, Greg Lattani, Justin Higgs, Joanne Hawkins, Urie Ridgeway.

Wisdom from the Past, Visions for the Future

“In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.”
Iroquois statement

 

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