Ramapough Indians File Federal Lawsuit Against Town, Polo Club

MAHWAH, NJ — The Ramapough Lenape Nation filed a federal lawsuit Monday that alleges the town has illegally fined them $480,000 and is taking away the tribe's constitutional rights.

The land, which the tribe calls the Sweet Water Prayer Site, is at the mouth of the Ramapo and Mahwah rivers. It is "a sacred site of immense importance to the Ramapoughs," who have held "prayer and community cultural assembly" there for centuries. Religious ceremonies, pipe ceremonies, and sweat-lodge sessions are held on the land, the complaint states. The tribe's sacred prayer circle and a stone altar are on the site. Other structures were erected in protest of the proposed Pilgrim Pipeline in New Jersey and the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.

The Ramapoughs claim in the 12-count complaint that their First and 14th Amendment rights have been violated. The nation wants $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages. They also want the $480,000 in fines declared null and void and a declaration made that they have right to assembly and engage in prayer meetings.

The township first issued summonses against the Ramapoughs Dec. 13, 2016 for not getting the permits and permissions before constructing the structures, which include three 15-foot-tall tepees, several tents, several totem poles, and a cooking pavilion.

The nation also accuses the Ramapo Hunt & Polo Club Homeowners Association of trying to intimidate the tribe to stop holding open-air prayer sessions on sacred ground.

The township, homeowners association, township Administrative Officer Geraldine Entrup, Thomas Mulvey, the township's property maintenance inspector, and 16 unnamed people are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Attorney Valeria Gheorghiu filed the lawsuit in United States District Court in Newark Monday. The tribe continues to hold prayer services at the 95 Halifax Road property despite not obtaining the proper permits to do so.

The Ramapoughs consider themselves the Keepers of the Pass, and guard the mountain passageway, rivers, and valley, according to the complaint.

"We are the descendants of the original people of Manhattan and of the Ramapo Mountains. The town of Mahwah and Polo Club want to stop [the] Ramapough and friends from praying on the land, to force us to demolish and remove our sacred prayer circle, and to force us to demolish and remove our stone altar," said Steven Smith. "Through fines... Mahwah and the Polo Club's hidden agenda is to force us off the small amount of land we have left, which is also on our ancestral land, through excessive fines. The lawsuit is about religious freedom and our survival as [the] Ramapough people."

The nation has faced a "historical pattern and practice of harassment" from the town at the behest of the Polo Club's homeowner's association, which has "long wanted to drive [the Ramapoughs] off" their private property, the complaint states.

According to the complaint, Polo Club representative Gregory Brill told Ramapough Chief Dwaine Perry that is the Ramapough did not accept an offer of the Polo Club to sell the property then "some unnamed members of the Polo Club were prepared to attack the Ramapough Lenape Nation."

Perry will not enter into any agreement "under duress," the complaint states.

Mahwah Town Council President Robert Hermansen at a March 22 Town Council meeting said "it's time to move forward one way or the other" and later as a possible option asks town attorney Brian Chewcaskie "do we go in and take the rocks down ourself?"

Chewcaskie did not return a phone call seeking comment Wednesday afternoon.

The Polo Club has pressured the Ramapoughs to stop the ceremonies by making "unfounded complaints" to the Mahwah Police Department and brought criminal charges against Ramapough members, the complaint states.

Polo Club members have reportedly shouted racist remarks at the Ramapoughs, have a security camera directed toward the Ramapough property 24 hours a day, threatened members, and demanded the town impose fines and jail time in an attempt to have the Ramapoughs forfeit the land, according to the complaint.

Superior Court Judge Roy F. McGeady ruled in November that the Ramapoughs violated local zoning laws and must pay fines, but that they can continue to use the property for religious purposes and have tents there.

A Superior Court judge denied an injunction in December filed by the Polo Club association against the Ramapoughs. The club wanted to prevent "any religious" activity on the site and block people from staying there overnight. The club also wanted large gatherings and "activities that cause loud noises, smoke and air and water pollution" banned.

Related: Mahwah Continuing To Fine Ramapoughs For Prayer Services
Related: Judge Denies Ramapo Polo Club's Injunction Against Ramapoughs

Related: Judge Rules Tribe Broke The Law By Erecting Tepees
Related: Judge Sides With Ramapoughs, Lifts Restraining Order Regarding Tepees At Prayer Site

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