I was a Lenni-Lenape, born of a people whose roots stretch back over 13,000 years on this land we called home. Long before Europeans arrived, we walked the trails of what is now New Jersey, traded along its rivers, and lived in balance with the earth. When the Dutch and English came, we welcomed trade but guarded our lands. We were called Delaware by the settlers, but we were always Lenape.

Over time, we were pushed from our homes. Disease devastated our villages. The Walking Purchase of 1737 robbed us of our land through false promises. And yet, we endured.

When the Revolution came, we hoped for peace. In 1778, we signed the Treaty of Fort Pitt with the new American government. We offered them alliance, warriors, and friendship. In return, they promised supplies and a homeland governed by us. But the promises were broken. Our leader, Chief White Eyes, was killed under suspicious circumstances. American troops attacked our villages. Many of us, once hopeful, turned away.

By the end of the war, most of us had left New Jersey. Some moved west to Pennsylvania and Ohio. Others traveled to Canada, Kansas, and eventually Oklahoma. Those who remained were forced to assimilate, their children taught to forget our ways.

We were traders, diplomats, warriors, and healers. We held the land for thousands of years. And though we were pushed out, we never disappeared.