The Ramapough Munsee Turtle Clan/NYUHealth Action Alliance

Film
Voices from the Past & Present: The Ramapough Turtle Clan, Friends and Family

Presenters from NYU Langone
Dr. Judith Zelikoff • Nurse Jill Acquino

Panelists from the Ramapough Lenape Tribal Nation
Acting Chief Vincent Mann, Ramapough Lenape Tribal Nation • Deer Clan Chief Carla Alexander • Tanya VanDunk, Turtle Clan • Pat Osterhoudt, Deer Clan

Questions and More Information: holgen@ramapo.edu

The Ramapough Lenape Nation/NYU Health Action Alliance (Health Action Alliance) began thirteen years ago, when then Turtle-Clan Chief Vincent Mann and Vivian Milligan met Dr. Judith Zelikoff at a Ringwood Powwow. Over the past thirteen years, the partnership has expanded into a broad range of public-health research and community-led initiatives, invested in the wellbeing of the Ramapough Lenape Tribal Nation. The trust built between Dr. Zelikoff and her NYU team and the Ramapough Lenape Turtle Clan has planted the seeds for continuing their inclusive relationships with members and leaders of the Ramapough Lenape Tribal Clans, including the Deer and Wolf Clans.

In 2022, the National Institute of Health (NIH) awarded a five-year grant to Dr. Zelikoff from NYU School of Medicine, Dr. Erdei at the University of New Mexico, the nonprofit Ramapough Culture and Land Foundation, and the Munsee Three Sisters Farm led by Acting Ramapough Nation Chief Vincent Mann. In partnership with the Munsee Three Sisters Medicinal Farm, the project has sought to assess environmental contamination, human pollutant burdens, micronutrient levels, and health disorders among Ramapough Tribal members; and to Identify and implement safe and nutritious farming practices to restore food sovereignty and reduce food scarcity among an environmentally-impacted and marginalized Tribal Nation. Recently and moving forward, our goal is to be all-encompassing and inclusive in building trust and expanding our relationships and resources with the Ramapough Lenape Nation, in its entirety.