The Ramapough Lenape Nation violated local zoning law when it erected a colony of tepees in Mahwah, a Superior Court judge affirmed Thursday, quashing arguments that the tepees are a matter of the tribe’s religious freedom.

Judge Keith Bachmann’s decision upheld a 2017 ruling that Mahwah officials were justified in issuing more than 100 zoning summonses against the tribe for building the tepees without permit. The tribe appealed the decision, but Bachmann said he reached many of same conclusions as the lower court. Instead, he reduced the $13,000 in fines against the tribe by about half.

“I don’t believe this case is about religious freedom. It’s about complying or not complying with the zoning ordinance,” Bachmann said.

Dozens of people packed the Hackensack courtroom in support of the Ramapoughs and their crusade to use their last sliver of tribal land in Mahwah for worship and cultural ceremonies. Rather than the pay the summonses, the tribe continues to invoke First Amendment protections in court, arguing that its right to assemble for religious purposes and build tepees are constitutionally protected.

Attorneys for the Ramapoughs said they will move swiftly to appeal Bachmann’s decision and request a stay of the fines until the case is resolved.

“They’ve been conducting ceremonies and prayer at 95 Halifax Road for centuries without having to obtain a zoning permit,” Valeria Gheorghiu, the tribe's attorney, said.

Township officials declined to comment on the ruling.

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The Ramapoughs have locked horns with the township since fall 2016, when the tribe built the tepee encampment on its Halifax Road property to protest a crude oil pipeline project in North Dakota and the proposed Pilgrim Pipeline in New Jersey. The property soon became home to other structures, such as a yurt and a sweat lodge. Tribe members also invited the public to camp overnight, and people who occupied the property came to refer to themselves as "water protectors" tasked with guarding against a potential oil spill into the area's aquifers.

Township officials responded by issuing weekly summonses against the tribe to force the camp’s removal, arguing that it violated local zoning codes and required permits.

Bachmann noted that the tribe in 2012 made a “good-faith effort” to obtain permits for a longhouse, but lacked funding for an architect. In reducing the current zoning fines, he cited recommendations from the state Supreme Court that cautions against letting violations snowball for defendants who cannot pay them.

The fines, however, are a separate issue from the tribe’s right to religious freedom on the property, he ruled.

“These tickets are for not getting a zoning permit,” Bachmann said. “They’re not for standing out in the free air and praying.”

The tribe responded to the summonses by removing some but not all of the structures, Brian Chewcaskie, Mahwah's attorney, said. The township has continued to issue additional summonses on a weekly basis, although the violations will not be tried in municipal court until the current appeals are settled, he said.

The Ramapough tribe has roots in the area dating to pre-colonial times, when their tribal lands once reached from western Pennsylvania to eastern Connecticut and north to Albany, New York. The modern Ramapoughs primarily reside within a 7-mile radius in New York and New Jersey. Their numbers are about 3,700 locally and an additional 1,200 nationally, according to Perry.

The tribe acquired the parcel in 1995, but has hosted powwows there as far back as the 1980s with consent from the Polo Club's developer. At those gatherings, Native Americans from across the country performed traditional dances, sold crafts, played music and cooked traditional food. Attendance often ranged from hundreds to possibly thousands.

Mahwah is a Ramapough word meaning "meeting place."

“There’s nothing with the tents, the tepees or the other temporary structures we had on the land that are a threat to anyone,” Ramapough member Steven "Owl" Smith said.