Big Horn Lenape Nation/ Tribe

03/24/2026

BIG HORN LENAPAAW MEMBERSHIP:

*We have changed the way we accept People into our Nation. We no longer give out applications, but record personal information here and keep it on file.
If you wish to join our community:
1. We do background checks, so if you have ever committed a serious crime you most likely won't gain admittance.
2. Ideally, you should have known Native ancestry. We are looking for those who have no membership in any other Tribe; we don't do double Tribal membership. Also, we are looking for those who cannot gain membership into another Tribe. We are calling the children home, so to speak. Our view, is that if you have Native ancestry, and feel called to this way, you are indeed, Native. ****We perform background checks on applicants, so, if you are a pe*****le, murderer or have been found guilty of any other heinous crime, don't bother to apply.
As a Nation, it is our right and our business as to who we determine is a citizen of our Tribe and of our People. We are 5013C non-profit, and we are governed by Traditional Chiefs and Chiefmakers(Clan matrons), and not White Government Presidents, Chairmen, etc. We do not and are not seeking Federal recognition, and are not under US control and influence.
2.. A $12.00 fee is required in requesting membership. With this money, we will purchase wampum for you, 12 white beads and 12 purple(black) beads. This will be a statement of your sincerity before the Creator in joining with us.
The wampum will be used in an Induction Ceremony, done here, before the Creator. Due to many members being at a great distance from our Council Fire, most of these are done in absentia, and not in person. However, if you are able to get here sometime, the Ceremony will be done again in person if desired.
The wampum given is a sacred statement before the Creator, that:
1. Your intentions in joining with our People are sincere and that
you are honorable and trustworthy.
2. That you will support this Nation to the best you are able.
3. That you will strive to keep alive our traditions, culture,
spirituality, and language.
4. That, if you have any problem or question, concerning this
Nation, that you will present such to our Council and abide by
a decision of our Council.

If you show treasonous or disrespectful actions towards this Nation or Chiefs or Chiefmakers, and do not abide by the above, after 3 warnings, black wampum will be sent to you, as a statement that you have broken your word before the Creator; and may the Creator show mercy upon you. Joining this Nation is most serious, and should never be taken lightly; it is a privilege and you should do all that you can, as you are able, to learn and keep our traditions alive into the future generations.

3. When we receive your $12.00, we will determine your Clan placement(Wolf, Turtle, or Turkey), and we will send you a membership card.
4. You must send, along with $12.00, your personal information:
Name/ Address/ Phone number/ e-mail address/ birthdate/ and genealogical information.
We will enter this info. into a Tribal Data Record.
5. We request $12.00 each year, due January 15th, as a contribution to this Nation. You should receive a notification of this from us. However, this is a requested contribution, which is not necessary to maintain Tribal membership. Hopefully, each member will contribute. We are a 5013C non-profit, and donations received will be acknowledged with a receipt for tax deduction.
6. Just because you are a member doesn't make any children you may have had before joining this Nation automatic members. That would be their decision at the age of 16. However, if you are pregnant at the time of becoming a member, or have a child after joining, then that child will automatically be a member of this Nation and also belong to the Mother's Clan. You should ask for a membership card after the birth, and provide us with the child's name, birth date, etc.

our Address: Big Horn Lenapaaw Nation
78 Whig St.
Newark Valley, NY 13811 phone: (607) 972-6095
e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]

website: bighornlenape.com and we are on facebook
Secretary/ Medicine Chief: Hitakonanulaxk/ TreeBeard
David Chamberlain
Head Chief: Tamakwanaxk/ 88 yrears old
Resources: *our website
*The Grandfathers Speak - on Amazon/ by Hitakonanulaxk
* Return of the Grandfathers - on Amazon/ by David Chamberlain
* The Way We Speak-Nouns(lulu.com bookstore)
by David Chamberlain(Hitakonanulaxk)

Lenape Culture & Traditions-Lenape History-Lenape Spirituality-Hunters & the Hunting Spirit-Big Horn Lenape Councils and Ceremonies-Addresses-Intent & Purpose of the Eastern Lenape Peoples Forum

03/19/2025

My newest book on our Oonalaxtako Delaware dialect, which some call the Moravian dialect or Northern Unami. Can be found on the lulu.com bookstore. Second volume coming out soon on verbs.

01/31/2025

What's on my mind? Federally recognized Delaware calling our people PRETENDIANS!
Our people are just as real as they are, except we never went onto Reservations or accepted white government precepts. We are still governed by Chiefs, and are not controlled or manipulated by the US Government. We are not after the culture of the Federally recognized or the money they get from the US Government. We, of the Big Horn could care less about Government monies! Our blood may be thinned, but we are none-the-less real enough, and have been striving to bring back our language and culture since before WWII! There are thousands of us, we exist, and are not going away. We have worked with Paul Waterman & Billy Lazore, deceased Onondaga chiefs in protecting burial grounds and sensitive archaeological areas. Where were the federally recognized when we were doing such? no where to be found! We survived by assimilating into White culture, and many of our relatives have forgotten their Native culture, but fortunately many have. Instead of putting us down and running us into the ground, how about getting to really know us. Perhaps coming to our Father's Day Pow Wow at Forksville, Pennsylvania? Otherwise, wallow in your own ignorance!

07/31/2024

My new book, "Return of the Grandfathers". Very important book i have been compiling over 40 years. Just goes to show, you can be Federally recognized and not know as much as you think you do! For all my Lenape relations, Munsee, Unami or Oonalaxtako. A lot to think about. Can be bought at lulu.com for $26.99.

07/21/2024

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Unexpected DNA results/ sometimes 0%

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HomeAncestryDNA®

Unexpected Ethnicity Results

Many things can cause surprising ethnicity results. Most have to do with the way DNA is passed down.

You may not have inherited certain DNA because
DNA inheritance is random, so you don't inherit 50% of your parents' ethnicities
at most, only half of someone’s DNA can be passed down
beyond your parents, the amount of DNA you inherit from ancestors is not necessarily 25% from each grandparent, 12.5% from each great-grandparent, and so forth
your DNA may also look more like DNA from regions near your ancestors' homelands than it does like DNA from their country.

DNA is passed down randomly
Each parent passed down half of their DNA to you. This means that there’s a half of their DNA that you didn’t inherit. Inheriting half of a parent’s DNA doesn’t mean inheriting half of each ethnicity. The DNA you inherit is random. One or both parents may have ethnicities that they didn’t end up passing down to you–or they may have passed down only a small portion of a region they have.

If you have a great-great-grandparent who’s 100% Japanese, you might expect to have 1/16th (about 6%) Japanese ethnicity. But that won’t necessarily be the case.
Most of your great-great-grandparent’s DNA was not passed down to you. This is because from your great-great grandparent’s generation down to you, you inherited DNA from 15 other people too. And since the DNA you receive is random, you don’t inherit a neat 50% of each ethnicity. There are some ethnicities you may not inherit from them at all. This is why you can have ancestors who came from regions you may not have DNA ethnicities from.

You can't inherit more than half of an ancestor's DNA
You receive 50% of your genes from each of your parents, but the percentages of DNA you received from ancestors at the grandparent level and further back are not necessarily neatly divided in two with each generation. The chart below shows probable (but not necessarily actual) percentages of genes you may have inherited from ancestors going back four generations.
At seven generations back, less than 1% of your DNA is likely to have come from any given ancestor.



Predicting inheritance is not an exact science
The percentages for regions in your ethnicity estimate are the most likely results we get after comparing your DNA to our reference panel. But they're not the only results. Other possibilities are nearly as likely. These other possible percentages make up a region's range.


When a range includes zero, it's possible that your ancestors didn’t live in that region or you didn’t inherit any DNA from ancestors who did.

Neighboring populations often share DNA

Over the last thousand years, some groups of people were isolated from other populations. Isolation gives populations a chance to develop a unique genetic signature.
When people from previously separated populations have children together, they share DNA in what we call admixture. As previously distinct populations mix together, they get harder to tell apart using genetics. If your family comes from a population with a history of admixture, your percentages for some ethnicity regions may be different than you expect.
Groups of people who live near borders are often admixed. For example, many people with deep family roots in Portugal have about 12% DNA from Spain.
This is because Spain and Portugal are neighbors who have centuries of trade and migration between them. So even if both your parents were from Portugal, your ethnicity estimate would likely show some DNA from Spain.
As we continue to improve our methods of analysis and increase the size of the reference panel we compare your DNA to, we should be able to provide more precise ethnicity estimates and better tell nearby regions apart. More sensitive tools may also mean we discover more instances of admixture between neighboring populations.

Estimating ethnicities is an evolving science
Ethnicity estimation is a challenge that scientists around the world are still working on. We provide the best estimate possible given our current data and knowledge, but we’re also working hard to improve the precision of your estimate.
Each time we update our data, it’s possible that your ethnicity estimate will evolve along with our understanding of DNA science.

Siblings share only half of their DNA
If comparing your regions to your sibling's regions has caused confusion, there are a couple things to know.

Only half of a parent’s genes are passed on to each child, and siblings (except identical twins) don't inherit the exact same half. This means your siblings received some genes you didn’t, and vice versa. You and your siblings share about 50% of your DNA with each other.
If your parents’ genes were each a deck of 52 cards, you'd receive exactly 26 cards from each of them to form your own deck of 52. If you had a younger sibling, he or she would also receive 26 cards from each parent, and about half of that sibling's 52 cards would end up being the same cards you received. If a third sibling were born, that sibling would share about 26 cards with each of you too. Due to the random nature of inheritance, some siblings inherit more of some ethnicities than others do, and some siblings may not inherit certain ethnicities at all.

06/18/2024

A good picture of my next youngest son, Neeshateeyasoo/ Two Jays.

06/18/2024

Veterans, Grand Entry.

06/18/2024

veterans at the Grand Entry.

06/18/2024

The Veterans with flags entering first at the grand entry.

06/18/2024

Chief Susan and I at the Grand Entry, followed by Stony Acevedo, and old friend. chiefs follow the Veterans with the military flags to start off the Pow Wow.

06/18/2024

Matt White Eagle.