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Sharing the Continuing Story

Obituary for Edith "Little Swallow" Pierce

Edith "Little Swallow" Pierce of Upper Deerfield Twp. passed away Sunday afternoon April 20, 2025 in Inspira Medical Center , Vineland. She was 78 years old.
Born in Bridgeton August 20, 1946 she was the daughter of the late Henry E. "White Deer Smiling" Ridgeway and Edith "Yellow Flower" (Sammons) Ridgeway, and the wife of Lewis "Grey Squirrel" Pierce. Sonny and Edie as they were known were married for 57 years.
Edie graduated from Bridgeton High School in 1964 and attended Glassboro State College, graduating in 1968 with a Bachelor's Degree in Education. She taught for many years in Mantua, West Deptford, and the Bridgeton Public School System retiring in 2006. She was a member of the Nanticoke Lenni Lenape Tribal Nation and served many roles within the Tribe including being the first elected Tribal Secretary, Clan Mother, former head of the Youth Group "Little Acorns" and Director of a Youth Summer Camp. She also served on the Cultural Retention and Citizenship Committees. She was a consultant for the New Jersey Indian Commission and a Community Aide for the Cumberland Regional High School Board. of Education. She loved making Regalia for Pow Wows and gatherings, and she and Sonny enjoyed camping and shopping. Above all, she enjoyed spoiling and operating a preschool for her beloved grandchildren. She loved time spent with both her immediate and tribal family.
She leaves to cherish her memory her husband Lewis "Sonny" , her children Tina Pierce Fragoso and Vincent Williams, Kimberly Pierce Mosley and Alex Mosley Jr., two brothers Henry E. Ridgeway Jr. and Michelle, Fred A Ridgeway, four grandchildren Lewis Fragoso, Daniel Fragoso, Xander Satterfield, Gavin Satterfield, her adopted Williams grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Besides her parents, she was predeceased by two siblings Marvin Ridgeway and Diana Lyn Ridgeway.
Family and friends are invited to attend funeral services on Saturday April 26, 2025 at 12:00 p m from the SRAY-WEBSTER FUNERAL HOME 62 Landis Ave. at Carll's Corner, Upper Deerfield Twp. A visitation will be from 10:00 - 12:00 p m prior to the service. Interment will be in Gouldtown Memorial Park, Fairfield Twp.

This notice officially advises the public that the New Jersey Commission on American Indian Affairs will hold its SUD Talks discussion group on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 6:30 P.M. and will continue until December 2025.

The meeting will be held via Zoom, accessible via the following link:
https://zoom.us/j/97847808083?pwd=TmfbP2bwKvxevvT7qLaIzZrMZJSVWC.1

Meeting ID: 978 4780 8083
Passcode: ZCTQ38

SUD Talks Flyer

This notice officially advises the public of the commission newsletter. If you or someone you know would like to share an event with the community on our next issue, feel free to write in to Lewis Fragoso at lewis.fragoso@sos.nj.gov.

March 2025
February 2025
January 2025
November 2024
October 2024
September 2024
August 2024

Intertribal Youth Conference - Growing Up Native - November 23, 2024 This notice officially advises the public that the New Jersey Commission on American Indian Affairs will hold its first Intertribal Youth Conference on Saturday, November 23, 2024, from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.

To register for the event please complete the online registration form in addition to signing and returning a written permission slip by November 2, 2024. The online registration can be completed via the QR code on our flyer, or by using this link: https://forms.office.com/g/YG6AGnCu7a. A printable version of the permission slip.

The written permission slip is required for all attendees and can be turned in to any member of the SUD Grant team. Please direct any questions to Lewis Fragoso at lewis.fragoso@sos.nj.gov.

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, we present this short movie from the New Jersey Conservation Foundation about the perils to our planet and the rematriation of lands to local indigenous people.

Nature for all(short movie)

"In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act. This short movie from the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, a work of art by Sourland Studios, beautifully captures this inspiring message of the perils of our planet and the significance of the rematriation movement. It is an inspiring story of the partnership that led to the Cohanzick Nature Reserve. The rematriation of lands to local Indigenous people, a significant pillar of the rematriation movement, is crucial for protecting our cultural heritage, preserving traditional knowledge, and fostering environmental sacred symbiosis rooted in centuries-old practices. The rematriation of the Cohanzick Nature Reserve marks a significant step in a nationwide movement, and how our collaborative efforts by the Native American Advancement Corporation (NAAC), New Jersey Conservation Foundation, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Green Acres Program, and The Nature Conservancy, can heal historical injustices. Acquired in August 2023, this 63-acre forested property in New Jersey returns to the Cohanzick Lenape people, the land's original inhabitants. This initiative honors our enduring connection to the land. It sets a precedent for similar efforts across the country, highlighting the importance of such partnerships in promoting social justice and sacred environmental symbiosis. We at NAAC will be forever grateful for these partnerships, the gift from the Creator, and the promise we keep for those of the next seven generations."

Info is from the NJ Historical Commission: History Resources/Audience Development // New Jersey Indigenous Voices Speaker Series found on this page: https://www.nj.gov/state/historical/his-resources.shtml

Language:
New Jersey’s Indigenous Voices Speaker Series

The NJ Historical Commission is hosting a series of virtual programs to facilitate a deeper and more complex public understanding of Indigenous history and life in New Jersey and beyond the state’s colonized borders. 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. Please see below links to past recordings and resources:

Sharing the Continuing Story of Indigenous Peoples in New Jersey
Sharing the Continuing Story of Indigenous Peoples in New Jersey Webinar Recording
Sharing the Continuing Story of Indigenous Peoples in New Jersey Resources List

Exploring Indigeneity: Native Identity and Expression
Exploring Indigeneity: Native Identity and Expression Webinar Recording

Native American Mascots: Creating Change in New Jersey
Native American Mascots: Creating Change in New Jersey Webinar Recording

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. ...

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 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.
Credit...National Museum of American History

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.

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

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.

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