Community Corner
Tribe Will File Motion Against Teepee Restraining Order
BREAKING: The Ramapough Lenape Nation says the restraining order against teepees on their ceremonial land violates its religious freedoms.
MAHWAH, NJ — The Ramapough Lenape Nation plans on filing a motion to have the temporary restraining order the town filed against it withdrawn, the tribe announced Thursday.
The restraining order bars the tribe from having teepees and other structures on their ceremonial prayer land at 95 Halifax Road. The tribe erected the structures on the property near the Ramapo River in November, without the town's permission.
The tribe says it put the teepees up as a political statement in solidarity with Standing Rock and to protect water against the proposed Pilgrim Pipeline project. The tribe has been performing wedding and funerals on the site without interference from the town.
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"We have been conducting prayer and [ceremonies], individually and as a tribe, for decades on this land and countless times historically as a tribe," said Dwaine Perry, chief of the Ramapough Lenape Nation.
The township issued two summonses to the tribe December for failing to obtain zoning permits and soil movement without approval. Officials gave them 60 days to submit zoning and site plan applications.
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Tribal members are expected to speak out against the restraining order and summons at a Town Council meeting Thursday night.
RELATED: Mahwah Suing Ramapough Mountain Indians Over Teepees
Mayor William Laforet previously said that the township is treating the tribe exactly as it would treat anyone else in the same situation.
The tribe submitted a zoning application April 6, and it was denied on April 13. The tribe had lumber delivered to the property April 26 and began constructing a platform.
"The township prohibiting religious use that has been allowed in the past and needlessly escalating this matter to Superior Court places a substantial burden on the Ramapough Nation's religious exercise in violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutional Persons Act," said Valeria Gheorghiu, of the lawfirm Sussman & Associates.
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