Locals fight for ancient burial ground preservation and clean water
Protesters lined the streets in Lewes Tuesday at the intersection of Gills Neck Road and Kings Highway, the spot where the Sussex County Council unanimously approved a developer's plan to build the Gills Neck Village Center.
Concerns are that the construction will contaminate the area's water, but indigenous rights activist and Lewes native Jules Jackson also tells 47 ABC that the land they plan to build on is actually sacred Native American burial grounds called the Townsend site.
Jackson says, "This site has been studied by the University of Pennsylvania. I counted 25 publications pre-1985 alone, so it's a well documented site. It's on the National Historic Register and we're just bringing awareness to that."
Sussex County Council President Michael Vincent tells 47 ABC that if this is the case there are state laws that require developers to go through an authentication process and if any trace of a burial site is found, they wouldn't be allowed to build.
Preserving the land is especially important for Jackson because she is a descendant of the Nanticoke Tribe, something that she and fellow protester, Aaron Appling, share.
Both agree it's about preserving not just their ancestors remains but the Native American history as well.
"I think it's important to protect the original inhabitants of this land; we can't just have history written from a singular eurocentrically dominated perspective," explains Jackson.
Appling adds, "It's been 300 years losing it and we're not going to get it back overnight, but we're ready to start getting it back, and we're starting right now today and it's a step in the right direction."
As for concerns over water contamination, Vincent tells us there is a water source protection ordinance in place to prevent it.
Although, residents say they hope Tuesday's protest is enough to just start a conversation.
"We've come together and united to protect our water, protect the indigenous grounds of the area, and to protect the indigenous people and to ensure that their final resting place is respected like everyone else's is," Jackson says.
