DOVER, Del. — Two Native American tribes in Delaware are buying back land that had been part of their ancestral homelands.

The Washington Post reported Sunday that the Nanticoke Indian tribe acquired 30 acres in Millsboro this fall.

The Lenape Indian tribe is expected to close a deal in early 2022 for 11 acres in Dover. Behind the land deals are partnerships between the individual tribes and several other entities.

They include the environmental nonprofit Conservation Fund, the state of Delaware and a private conservation group called Mt. Cuba Center.

Dennis “White Otter” Coker is the principal chief of the Lenape Indian tribe of Delaware. He said the “Indians had free run of the state of Delaware before contact with Europeans.”