BRIDGETON, NJ (CBS) — A tribe of Native Americans based in Cumberland County has gone to federal court in an effort to keep its official recognition by the state of New Jersey.
The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation, along with two other tribes, has enjoyed state recognition for more than three decades. But the suit contends the Christie Administration has, quietly, turned the tables in a move to placate the casino industry.
Attorney Greg Werkheiser insists the tribes don’t want casinos. But state recognition equals money. He says without it, “they will no longer have the ability to label the arts and crafts they make as “Indian made.”
The tribe could also lose access to federal programs, grants and scholarships. Bottom line, Werkheiser insists, this is a civil rights issue. “We don’t ask most folks of different racial identities in the United States to prove who they are,” he says, “but we still ask that of Native Americans.”
Werkheiser, who heads up the Washington-based Cultural Heritage Partners law firm, hopes an agreement can be worked out with the state before it gets to court.
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