Ramapough Culture
& Land Foundation
Preserving and restoring the economic, social, cultural, sacred and environmental assets of the Ramapough Munsee ancestral lands.
Who we are
We fight for the preservation and restoration of the Ramapough Munsee Community.
At the Ramapough Culture & Land Foundation, we are the stewards of a legacy that stretches back over 11,000 years. Our focus is protecting the preservation and restoration of the economic, social, cultural, sacred and environmental assets of the Ramapough Munsee Community. We promote community sustainability by supporting health and wellness, cultural education, food sovereignty, local indigenous knowledge, and the acquisition of sacred and public lands.
"We are the original proprietors of this land, and we have the inherent responsibility to protect it.”
- Chief Vincent Mann
Our Issues
Environmental Justice
Confronting a decades-long environmental crisis, the Ramapough Turtle Clan battles against the aftermath of industrial contamination that has deeply impacted their community and sacred lands.
Food Sovereignty
Through the Munsee Three Sisters Medicinal Farm, the Ramapough Culture and Land Foundation embraces food sovereignty, transforming challenges into opportunities for community nourishment and cultural revival.
Cultural Preservation
The Ramapough Culture and Land Foundation works to safeguard our language, customs, and sacred ceremonial stone landscapes, ensuring the survival of our traditions, and historical knowledge.
“Everything that’s taken place has played a part in stripping away the parts of our culture that we were able to retain by living where we live...
We have to stand up.”
- Chief Vincent Mann
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We’re the native people of New Jersey, the original inhabitants. We have been living in these mountains for over 11,000 years, and today the Ramapough Munsee people remain on our ancestral lands.
Due to forced migration, the Turtle Clan of the Ramapough is concentrated today in what is now known as Passaic County, New Jersey, with Ringwood as the core area, plus also Sussex County and Orange County. The Wolf Clan is in Mahwah – long our sacred Gathering Place – and Oakland in Bergen County, New Jersey. The Deer Clan is in the towns of Ramapo and Hillburn in Rockland County, New York.
