The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation filed a civil rights lawsuit against New Jersey and Attorney General John Hoffman, claiming they were wrong in not recognizing the Nation as an official American Indian tribe.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 13 in Mercer County Superior Court, is very similar to one the tribe filed in federal court in July, according to Frank Corrado, an attorney representing the Nanticoke Nation, as they refer to themselves.
Corrado said the initial lawsuit was filed with both state and federal claims but that he pulled the first state claim and refiled it this month in Mercer County.
Earlier this week the state responded to the federal lawsuit with a motion to dismiss, calling it “misguided.”
Both lawsuits are a response to the state’s 2012 decision to not recognize the Nanticoke and two other New Jersey-based tribal nations as official American Indian tribal nations, according to the lawsuit.
The Nanticoke Nation claims that without state recognition as an official American Indian tribe, they would lose benefits including the authorization to label crafts that they sell, “Indian-made,” the suit says.
Additionally, members of the nation may have a more difficult time getting grants and student scholarships. They could also lose support from a U.S. business development program which helps out small businesses owned by American Indians, the suit claims.
Read the entire article at nj.com.