Tribal Citizenship

American Indian Tribal governments set their own standards for membership.  Most common are lineal descent, blood quantum, or relationship based requirements, or some combination of the three.  Tribes with a lineal descent requirement allow enrollment based on an applicant having a single ancestor on the tribe’s historic base role.  Tribes with a relationship requirement rely on the applicant demonstrating both an immediate familial and cultural relationship to the tribe.  Blood Quantum is the total percentage of the applicant’s blood that is determined to be from the tribe due to ancestry.  Each standard has its benefits and drawbacks, its critics and supporters.  However, it is the right of each tribe to set its own standard.  Our tribal standard is based on both blood quantum and relationship.

Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Citizenship requires successfully completing a tribal enrollment application.  Enrolled citizens must document their genealogy specifically to the historic core families of the Nanticoke and/or Lenape of Southern New Jersey or Delaware and meet the 1/4  tribal blood quantum standard set by the tribal government.  It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide all required information.

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To download an enrollment application, click here.