A 31-acre cornfield on the edge of Millsboro doesn’t look very different from any other piece of Delaware farmland but its transfer to the Nanticoke tribe is a historic step that for the first time gives the community ownership of an ancestral parcel that was privately owned for generations.
The tribe took ownership of the land in October after it was purchased by The Conservation Fund, a land-preservation nonprofit, and then donated to the community. The land was seen as part of the tribe’s heritage because its previous owners have Nanticoke ancestors but it has never before been owned by the community.
Now that the Delaware-based tribe is the official owner, it has high hopes of turning the parcel into a place where native American culture can thrive, and where members of the community can strengthen ties with each other.
Jon Hurdle
Nanticoke Chief Natosha Norwood Carmine
“This is a huge event for the tribe,” said Chief Natosha Norwood Carmine, the first female chief of the tribe, that has about 700 members in Delaware, and around 2,000 nationwide. “It will help us have a bigger, stronger community because we will have a place to gather. Our stories are oral stories, passed down from generation to generation. So our elders will be able to answer questions about what this property was when they were growing up.”
In an interview with Delaware Public Media at the edge of the land, Carmine said she hopes to use part of it to build a pavilion where cultural events such as dancing and perhaps powwows can be held. She’s also looking to build a right of way on the property so that community members can park their cars away from the busy traffic of Route 24….
