Date of Award
5-2025
Document Type
Master's Project
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
College/School
College of Science and Mathematics
Department/Program
Earth and Environmental Studies
Committee Member
Mark Clatterbuck
Committee Member
Yang Deng
Abstract
The Ramapough Turtle Clan Tribe is an Indigenous community composed of individuals residing mainly in Ringwood, New Jersey and a few surrounding boroughs. This land holds irreplaceable significance among the community, who, after facing colonial diaspora, have ultimately resided in Ringwood. However, due to the vast effects of the Ringwood Superfund site, this community has dealt with the loss of their people and their culture. Beginning in 1967, Ford Motor Company – partial owners of the site at that time – initiated the dumping of heavily toxic materials into Cannon and Peters Mines. This dumping continued until 1971, and the site was closed five years following. It was not until 1983 when toxic materials were identified and the site was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the first time. These initial cleanup efforts stretched over ten years and the site was eventually delisted from the NPL in 1994. After a discovery was made in 2006 of additional significant amounts of waste, the site was placed back on the NPL in 2006 becoming the first ever site to be relisted. The Ringwood Superfund site has remained on the NPL to this day as remediation efforts proceed. This report will provide a detailed overview of the events that took place at the site before, during, and since Ford’s dumping. Shifting focus to the community at hand, this report covers how the tribe has faced impacts resulting from the dumping to this day. By exhibiting both quantifiable data as well as stories told by individuals living the experience, this report will demonstrate the strength of Indigenous culture and perseverance of its people. Additionally, this report aims to honor the Ramapough Turtle Clan Tribe as well as other Indigenous communities who have faced similar battles with resilience and pride.
File Format
Recommended Citation
Sutera, Toni, "How the Ramapough Turtle Clan Tribe Sustained Their Culture Through Ford's Environmental Exploitation" (2025). Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects. 1575.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/etd/1575