RAMAPO — The Ramapo Lenape Tribal Council says longtime Chief Dwaine Perry has been temporarily suspended as tribal leader pending a review into financial improprieties, potential fraud, and other accusations.
“This suspension did not come from politics; it came from the repeated calls of our Elders, many of whom have been raising concerns for years,” said a statement from the council.
Perry, 77, the chief for 33 years, denied the accusations, countering that he’s a victim of an attempted coup by members of the council’s executive committee.
Perry said the accusations came after he suggested a nationwide “pow-wow” in New York City’s Central Park to honor the Lenape tribe and provide $100,000 in proceeds to the tribal council and $10,000 each to two churches, one in Hillburn and the other in Mahwah, New Jersey. The two communities are the core of the tribe in the Ramapough Mountains.
Perry said he also suggested that he and the council members reveal their finances.
Chief Dwaine Perry of the Ramapo Munsee Nation speaks during the Veterans Day ceremony at Mount Moor Cemetery in West Nyack Nov. 11, 2024.
Chief Dwaine Perry calls accusations a ‘coup’ attempt by council members
“Some of the people want to get me out,” Perry told The Journal News/lohud on June 11, calling the accusations part of an attempted “coup.”
“They told me I was threatening people,” Perry said. “How, when I offered a plan to give them money? I am the baddest guy on Earth.”
Perry said the pow-wow has been cancelled. Instead, he’s looking for an attorney.
He said an election for principal chief is scheduled for Sept. 27, adding that he has not been contested at the ballot box in decades.
Ramapough Lenape Nation Tribal Council outlines its accusations
The tribal council issued a public statement concerning the allegations against Perry and the procedures leading to his temporary suspension. Perry contests being suspended.
The council said that at a May 24 meeting held at the Tribal Center in Mahwah, the “Ramapough Lenape Nation Tribal Council voted to temporarily suspend Principal Chief Dwaine C. Perry pending the outcome of a formal investigation and disciplinary hearing.”
The statement says the “suspension is not a removal. It is a lawful, temporary measure permitted under our bylaws when serious violations are alleged. The action was based on properly documented charges, deliberated by the full Council, and passed by quorum vote. Any claim that this process was unlawful is factually and legally incorrect.”
The council acted on an investigative report by its financial oversight & integrity committee. The council created the committee at the request of Perry, who had called for “fiscal clarity” involving the council members.
Investigation produced these charges against Perry
After several months of investigation, the report made the following charges against Perry:
• Misappropriation and Diversion of Tribal Funds.
• Fraudulent Use of the Ramapough Name.
• False Statements to the Council.
• Abuse of Power and Intimidation
• Defamation and Personal Misconduct.
• Failure to Faithfully Execute the Duties and Obligations of the Office of Principal Chief.
The council statement contends the charges are supported by documentation, third-party confirmations, witness testimony, and financial disclosures.
The report found that donations intended for the tribe were redirected without council approval to Sweetwater Cultural Center, a nonprofit controlled by Perry, using unauthorized and misleading representations.
The tribal council executive committee members didn’t return an email on Wednesday seeking comment.
The Lenape Nation has long history in NY and NJ
The Ramapough Nation boasts 3,500 members in New York and New Jersey. Perry said no one has challenged him in elections for chief for decades. He said he has looked for a successor, but no one stepped forward.
The nation has fought for Native American status, taking on the federal government and Donald Trump, then a casino owner in Atlantic City, who fought against the Native American tribe getting casino and tribal status.
Perry is a college-educated Vietnam War veteran and an environmental and human rights activist. He mentored under the renowned civil rights attorney Conrad Lynn of Pomona.
Perry has fought for zoning and fire code enforcement in Hillburn, taking part in legal actions.
Perry called the tribal council’s accusatory notice “ludicrous.” He said he doesn’t want to get involved in a “he said, she said” with the council through the media.
“I was trying to keep this in-house,” he said, adding he will fight for his name and position.
Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com Twitter: @lohudlegal. Read more articles and bio. Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Lenape Chief Perry suspended by tribal council pending investigation