The deadline has been extended to June 4, 1971, for filing applications by descendants of Kansas and Wisconsin Munsees for enrollment to, share in a $1,627,244.64 judgment awarded to the Delaware Nation of Indians by the ! Indian Claims Commission, according to Louis R. Bruce, Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
The money comes from an award in settlement of an Indian claim against the United States Government for additional payment for approximately 3,859,000 acres of Indian land ceded by the Delaware Nation pursuant to the Treaty of October 3, 1818 (7 Stat. 188).
Notice of preparation of the roll was previously given to Absentee and Cherokee Delaware about the judgment and eligibility requirements for sharing in it. That roll has been completed and partial payment made to eligible applicants.
It has been found, however, that the descendants of Kansas and Wisconsin Munsees, also entitled to share in the award, did not receive adequate notice of the preparation of the roll. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has, therefore, extended the filing deadline for the descendants of Kansas and Wisconsin Munsees so that those persons who believe they are eligible may apply for enrollment.
The descendants of Kansas and Wisconsin Munsees who may be eligible to share in the award are those who are lineal descendants of Delaware Indians who were members of the Delaware Nation of Indians as constituted at the time of the Treaty of October 3, 1818. The "lineal descendants" are basically comprised of those who are descendants of the Christian (Munsee) Indians of Kansas and the Munsee faction of the Stockbridge-Munsee Indian Community of Wisconsin.
The Munsee Indians who were a part of the Stockbridge-Munsee group and those who were incorporated with the Swan Creek and Black River Bands of Chippewa Indians in 1859 are both considered to have been a part of the Delaware Nation in 1818 and their descendants should be eligible to share in the judgment funds.
