By Oriana Holmes-Price, External Affairs Coordinator
For the Cohanzick Nature Reserve, the seven-generation succession is paramount to sustaining the ways of life, living in balance and harmony with the natural world, exercising respect for the Earth, by relying on the passage of stories from elders to ensure the Nanticoke Lenape culture, traditions, and sacrifices of the ancestors are not lost amongst the younger generations.
The Attentive Energy Two team had the opportunity to learn from Native American Advancement Corporation (NAAC), an Indigenous conservation organization owned and operated by citizens of the Nanticoke Lenape Nation, about NAAC’s important efforts to continue the knowledge transfer from the prior seven generations to future generations through their offering of land preservation, cultural preservation, and other Indigenous teachings programs.
This year, Attentive Energy Two (AE2) and NAAC established a two-way dialogue built on transparency, trust, and authenticity. In doing so, several AE2 team members were invited to join the NAAC team, their friends and family, and additional partners in their private Homecoming Ceremony acknowledging the history of the ancestral land on which the Cohanzick Nature Reserve resides, blessing the land, and celebrating New Jersey’s first land Rematriation (the restoration of Indigenous land to Indigenous people and stewardship). From engaging in an educational walking tour on the Reserve trails to eating a traditional meal together, this powerful and moving ceremony served as an important reminder for not only needing to protect the environment now and for future generations, but also to ensure Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge is central to addressing climate change solutions.
NAAC is also a leader in delivering workforce training programs to serve both local New Jersey residents and Native American citizens while educating participants on energy conservation. To expand access to workforce development and cultural and religious preservation programming, NAAC recently acquired their ancestral lands from a national land preservation organization. This acquisition will serve as the foundation for the Cohanzick Nature Reserve and is essential for restoring balance and harmony with the land, reconnecting and honoring ancestors, and instilling in the new generations the ways in which they can retain their culture and traditions.
Native American Advancement Corporation’s work is vital to strengthening the Nanticoke Lenape Nation, the future of environmental stewardship and longevity of our planet, and the responsible development of New Jersey’s offshore wind industry.
Workforce Partnerships
Contingent on Attentive Energy Two’s offshore wind proposal submitted in August 2023 to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), this unique partnership between AE2 and NAAC will directly support local Native American citizens and those from underserved communities across Southern New Jersey in accessing Protected-Species Observer and other environmental place-based trainings that will prime individuals to join the offshore wind workforce. Attentive Energy Two has also supported the purchase of equipment for individuals to partake in NAAC’s numerous existing workforce development programs centered on weatherization and energy efficiency.
Together, Attentive Energy Two and Native American Advancement Corporation will work to support local communities and Native American citizens across New Jersey’s lower five counties through economic and workforce development, promotion of environmental responsibility, and fostering collaboration and inclusion of Indigenous culture, heritage, and tradition in our project development.
To learn more about this partnership, please reach out to Attentive Energy’s External Affairs Coordinator, Oriana Holmes-Price, at oriana.holmes-price@totalenergies.com.
