Delaware nation
Black Beaver, Delaware, 1806–1880
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,440 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 United States ( Oklahoma) |
|
| Languages | |
| English, Unami, Delaware, Munsee | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, Native American Church, traditional tribal religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| other Lenape and Algonquian peoples |
The Delaware Nation, sometimes called the Absentee or Western Delaware, is one of three federally recognized tribes of Delaware Indians in the United States, along with the Delaware Indians based in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and the of Wisconsin. Communities also reside in Canada.
The Delaware Nation has 1440 enrolled members, of which 859 live in Oklahoma. Members must have a minimum blood quantum of 1/8 to join the tribe.
The Delaware Nation's tribal complex is located two miles (3 km) north of Anadarko, Oklahoma on Highway 281. Their tribal jurisdictional area is located within Caddo County, Oklahoma. They operate their own housing authority and issue tribal vehicle tags.
The tribe's current administration is as follows.
The nation's annual economic impact was estimated at $5 million in 2010. Their tribal casino, Gold River Bingo and Casino, is located north of Anadarko. In August 2012, the Delaware Nation opened Casino Oklahoma located in Hinton, OK.
The Delaware peoples traditionally spoke the Delaware language (also known as the Lenape language), Munsee and Unami, two closely related languages of the Eastern Algonquian subgroup of the Algonquian language family.
The Lenape people were divided into three dialectal divisions, which later became the basis for the three Clans of the Lenape. These divisions were the Monsi (Munsee) or Wolf, the Unami or Turtle, and the Unilactigo or Turkey. Today the clans are known as the Tùkwsit (Wolf Clan), Pùkuwànko (Turtle Clan), and Pële (Turkey Clan). The Delaware Nation is the Pùkuwànko (Turtle Clan).
The Delaware Nation was the first Indian nation to enter into a treaty with the newly formed government of the United States; the treaty was signed on September 17, 1778.
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