“Since time immemorial,” writes Chief Barbara Bluejay Michalski, “we the Lenape people are taught to be respectful, spiritually and physically dependent, grateful, and protective of our ties to the land. We have been taught not by ownership but by stewardship.”

You can watch a recording of the service on YouTube HERE. 

Chief Barbara Bluejay Michalski, was given the name Bluejay by her grandfather, Bill Thompson, late Chief Whippoorwill of the Unalachtigo (people near the ocean) Tribe of the Turkey Clan. She is a member of Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania (LNPA), and she has immersed herself in the activities of the Nation. In October 2022 was appointed Chief Keeper of Culture. Bluejay served on the Tribal Council, was the Tribal Secretary until May 2024, at that time she was elected Vice President and one of the Storytellers of the Nation. She has been participating in educating the public by attending events or festivals in the Lenapehokink (Homeland of the Lenape). But most of all, Bluejay loves to teach children the history of the Lenape Nation through crafts, storytelling, and artifacts as she visits numerous schools in the Lenapehokink as well as children’s groups, such as the Boy and Girl Scouts and children camps. Bluejay has also been involved in environmental issues, particularly working for clean water and protecting our Earth Mother. Due to the high interest in medicinal plants, Bluejay took an active interest in learning more about plant nation and did her first zoom presentation in November 2022 and continues to have a deeper understanding of the plant nation. She attends Lenape Language class in Unami Dialect through LNPA to help keep the endangered language alive.