| Like any good novel about whistle blowing at high levels of government, there is always retaliation against those who know the truth and seek justice. They are punished by the powerful. For the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians and the Ani~Tsalagi Onaselagi NE Band, that is the case. However, the way in which they are being retaliated against is beyond the pale.
Members of these two tribes have been denied not only their very history, (by the report approved by the Secretary of State and the Governor) and the very artifacts made by their own family members, they have even been denied VETERAN'S benefits by the Newark VA and have had their Federal VA benefits, disability benefits, and even the funding for the Indian museum in Paterson recently cut. (The museum funding was cut immediately after I blogged about it as a place for the public to go and learn about the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians tribe and see pictures of their Indian crafts store from decades ago.)
There are known attempts to actually discredit these folks at colleges around the state. I have found slanderous letters written about the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians to history professors in NJ, and know of ham-fisted attempts to silence bloggers who are sympathetic to their plight. Someone has seen to it that even the Wikipedia entry about Native Americans in NJ wipes them off the map while mentioning three OTHER tribes claiming recognition, two of which are not indigenous to NJ. In fact, New Jersey does not have any recognized tribes, according to the Governor, who goes so far as to say that there is no criteria for recognition. Nevertheless, the Governor?s predecessors HAVE celebrated the Sand Hill Band of Lenape and Cherokee as the oldest indigenous tribe in NJ.
It appears our own government (just who in the government is still a mystery) wants to silence these folks by actually denying them military and state benefits and any semblance of a mention even on the internet, which is why my blog diaries incur so much wrath. (Or perhaps Creed is simply short for Screed).
Chairman Holloway, a former marine and police officer, has had his home broken into, has been accosted on the street, and is constantly under surveillance. I worry every day about his safety. Before this lawsuit, Chairman Yonaguska had been scheduled to speak at an event in Weehawken about the 400th Anniversary of Hudson meeting the Lenape. Suddenly, his invitation was revoked. By whose orders?
Chairman Holloway's cousin is the closest living relative to the 1500 year old Lenape remains found in Paterson and repatriated to his family, and the man who helped the Ramapough re-organize themselves, and the former Chief of the oldest indigenous tribe which was the ONLY recognized Tribe by the Smithsonian in 1948. He is also very well known at the UN for his work with indigenous peoples around the world, but he too was denied his Veteran's benefits for what appears to be his role of speaking out on behalf of the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians.
Another Native American from the Ani~Tsalagi Onaselagi NE Band tribe - one of the oldest Cherokee tribes in NJ, is waiting on a response from Veterans disability TDIU, in Newark. He has been fighting these folks since 1983. They have been ordered by the Secretary of thel VA under Bush to address this, and the new Secretary of the VA has also concluded that he is entitled under the law to RECEIVE these benefits. Despite two different Secretaries of the VA intervening, Newark has actually increased its "run around" since the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians have filed their lawsuit and the Ani~Tsalagi Onaselagi NE Band Onaselagi became publicly known as allies.
Another tribal member, a Cherokee grandmother, retired as a senior truant officer in a NJ city and was denied her full disability and insurance with more than 27 years on the job. She was one of the founders of the truancy task force and is the grandmother of children who are also tribal members of the Ani~Tsalagi Onaselagi Northeastern Band and have allegedly been discriminated against by their school district for being Native American. Because of the denial of benefits after 27 years on the job, she's lost her home, her insurance, her health has deteriorated because of her medical condition and stress, and she has even been denied back pay because of convenient "filing errors". Her ordeal has been dragging on for a year.
Allegedly, someone wants the Lenape-Cherokee and now the Cherokee-Lenape punished. Genocide is an apt word. Denying retired grandmothers and disabled veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and/or fought in Special Ops during Viet Nam, their benefits, is reprehensible. If that isn't genocide, it might as well be.
About the NJ Commission on Indian Affairs, though. What is the Commission's alleged motivation for denying recognition of the oldest indigenous tribe in NJ? That is where this all starts and where it must be rectified.
If the Commissioners finally recognize the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians as the oldest indigenous tribe in NJ and the Ani~Tsalagi Onaselagi NE Band as one of the oldest Cherokee tribes in NJ, it may diminish their role. After all, the Ramapough, which one of the Commissioners comes from, is technically no longer a tribe, while some are descended from Lenape, they were considered simply a group that was once called the Jackson Whites with no formal tribal structure at all, until a former Chief of the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians helped them form their non-profit organization in the 1970's. The very man the Chair of the Indian Commission disrespected when he appeared in front of the NJ Indian Commission in September. His factual accounts of the formation of the Ramapough, as well as how the other two tribes in NJ came to exist, may be uncomfortable for the Commissioners to admit, but the truth is the truth.
Members of the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians and the Ani~Tsalagi Onaselagi, have been treated terribly by the Federal Government and the State of NJ and the VA of Newark, while the Indian Commissioners prance around the state claiming to care about Native Americans. Perhaps you can sense the anger in my writing. I am sorry, but this cannot be allowed to continue. I demand the Governor investigate the mistreatment and the stonewalling, and the denial of benefits simply because someone in Trenton or Newark - perhaps on the Indian Commission, but perhaps not, wants these individuals to disappear, or literally die from lack of benefits.
We should demand the IMMEDIATE restoration of earned military or government benefits for ANY members of the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians Band of Lenape-Cherokee or the Ani~Tsalagi Onaselagi NE Band Onaselagi Northeastern Band who have been retaliated against.
What is truly frightening and infuriating is that the VA of Newark can so flagrantly disregard orders from the Secretary of the VA so they can continue to discriminate against indigenous veterans for speaking up. Whose orders are they following? |
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