The Ramapough Are Not Welcome In Today's Mahwah: Letter

Editor's note: The following is response to an open letter to Ramapough Lenape Chief Dwain Perry written by Wallace E. Dennison published Wednesday.

I read your open letter to chief Perry with great interest and share your concern that the Town of Mahwah will once again try and take Ramapough land in the Halifax area. I say once again because, as you note, our Green Mountain Valley Settlement in that general area was removed in the 1920s and, through bad zoning practice, many of our members have been forced into moving away from our traditional homes even in recent years.

The purpose of zoning laws is to protect the health, safety and welfare of the property owners. This is what Chief Perry and the Ramapough Lenape Nation council want. However, certain members of the Mahwah political leadership and Polo Club trustees want us removed from our land at 95 Halifax. Ramapoughs have been offered money to move but, as Chief Perry says, Ramapoughs should not, cannot and will not negotiate under duress.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection investigated the prayer site, saw that the tipis and other structures were either temporary or not a threat in the flood plain/zone. The Town of Mahwah did not like the conclusions of the DEP and has simply ignored them.

One of our leading opponents in the Polo Club, who wants us removed, actually said to Mayor William Laforet, "when I called the town during the summer I was told there are no restrictions on tents. ... If, in fact, there are no laws being broken, then we need to write some new laws."

As someone involved in negotiations and litigation on our nation's behalf, I want to believe that the current leadership of the Town of Mahwah has our best interests in mind and heart in this conflict. However, the actions and threats to prevent prayer, physically remove our sacred altars and items and to once again forcibly take our land on behalf of the Polo Club tells me that the Ramapough are not welcome in today's Mahwah. The latest ultimatum is to stop praying and removing everything, including items there for decades, by this Friday at 4 p.m.

Your letter downplays the significance of the prayer camp. People from all over the world, other indigenous nation and many many religions have come to our lands in peace and prayer. With global climate change and poisons to our waters and air, our planet as a healthy place for humanity and life is in danger.

We want to work with the Town of Mahwah and the Polo Club to allow our home to be open to people of good conscience and faith to meet and act for our environment and future generations.

Even in the past year, Rampough have been threatened, cursed and attacked at our prayer site. I know that you accuse Chief Perry of being a suspect in the carved swastikas in our prayer circle, but that is simply ridiculous and I have personally witnessed so many other incidents from the people opposing us who want to remove us to believe you.

Chief Perry is not fear mongering. As you yourself say, there is a real danger that this situation will be used to take our property. This is not zoning enforcement. This is theft.

This very publication that you published your letter in had a very important article on July 26, 2017 entitled "Mahwah Has Harmful Pollutants In Drinking Water" that identified eleven harmful pollutants in Mahwah's water.

Mahwah is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on religious conflicts over eruvs and tipis plus potential liability of millions of dollars more that could be better spent on improving the environment for all of us.

Chief Perry is leading our Ramapough Lenape Nation, and is a strong voice in our state of New Jersey and New York and country, for not only our rights to live on our ancestral land but also for clean healthy water.

Steven Dennison Smith, concerned Ramapough
Mahwah, NJ

Related: Ramapough Chief Perry Engages In Fear Mongering: Letter
Related: Mahwah Has Harmful Pollutants In Drinking Water: Study

Image via Pixabay