Magical Tales From the
Delaware Tribe

Camilla Townsend is Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of History at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. A former Guggenheim fellow and recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, she has published numerous prize-winning (and readable!) books on Indigenous history and culture, including On the Turtle’s Back: Stories the Lenape Told Their Grandchildren (with Nicky Kay Miichael).

Nicky Kay Michael is a Delaware tribe member who earned her BA from Stanford and PhD from the University of Oklahoma. She was the former interim president of Bacone College and served as the executive director of Indigenous studies. She is also a former member of the Delaware Tribal Council where she served as Secretary.

I am a member of the Lenape and Lakota Tribes, and my parents are Anthony and Linda Weaver Kills Crow. On my Lenape side I am a descendent of Mary Elizabeth Randall Journeycake Weaver.  My great grandparents were Basil Weaver and Jessie Thomas.  On my Lakota side I am a descendent of Chief Kills Crow Indian and Big Belly. 

I was raised in Pawhuska, Oklahoma and attended Bacone College on a basketball scholarship. I joined the US Navy in 1996 and served in the Persian Gulf on the aircraft carrier USS Independence CV-62. I worked in law enforcement from 2002 until 2011 which included the Kaw Tribal Police and the Ponca City Police Departments. I am a graduate of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center – BIA Police Academy. 

I was previously employed by the Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma as Director of their Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) program.

During that time, the Tonkawa Tribe received ICDBG federal grant funds for economic development projects including the construction of a truck stop, convenience store, RV park, and motel. Other ICDBG projects I oversaw included housing rehabilitation, mold removal and emergency construction of a new sewer/lagoon system. Through these projects we brought ongoing revenue to the Tribe, provided jobs for tribal members and made a positive impact on the health of tribal members and the community.

As the governing body of the Delaware Tribe, it is the duty of the Chief to provide leadership in maintaining our tribal culture and values, providing services to tribal members, and ensuring a viable future through economic development. As an elected representative, I’m guided by the will of the people. I must listen with open mind and make transparent and informed decisions based on the good of the majority of tribal members whether they reside in Oklahoma or across the country.

I currently sit on the NCAI Executive Committee and have so for the past two years.

Ponca City, Oklahoma is where I currently reside with my wife Whitney. In my spare time, I coach boys’ basketball and participate in pow wows and ceremonies in my community. I was honored to serve as the Master of Ceremonies (MC) for the annual Delaware Pow Wow in Copan, Oklahoma for twelve years.

M.S. Education Administration
B.S. Language Arts Education

Jeremy Johnson is the Cultural Education Director of the Delaware Tribe of Indians based in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. He is Lenape, Absentee Shawnee and Peoria. Before his current role, he served as Assistant Chief of the Delaware Tribe. Jeremy is a lifelong educator who worked for over eighteen years as a middle school and high school English teacher and coach. He is committed to preserving and revitalizing Lenape culture and language for the future generations of his tribe.