By Brian Gilliland

MILLSBORO — After about 75 years making a former one-room schoolhouse work as the Nanticoke Indian Center, Chief Avery “Leaving Tracks” Johnson is eager for improvements to a facility along John J. Williams Highway to begin.

There are still some meetings and approvals before shovels hit dirt on the more-than 2,800 square-foot additions. Still, Chief Johnson maintains a high degree of confidence in the approvals process, since the project has garnered so much support so far.

“I think the community realizes this is something we deserve, and I’m happy about it, and my people are happy about it,” Chief Johnson said, pointing to the hundreds of signatures in support his petition for the project and the endorsements of elected officials and public foundations he said he received.

“We have been trying to run multiple programs from one big open space,” he said, which can be challenging due to the nature of some of the programs.

Cultural programs like drum or dance classes compete with educational and outreach programs for space, while certain offerings, like internal ceremonies, require more privacy.

The expansions will address these issues and more, Chief Johnson said.

“We have a lot of elders. So we have to make sure we are prepared. We offer financial literacy and financial independence training, computer training, along with other important issues like the domestic violence roundtables and other discussions we have,” he explained.

For events like the 46th annual powwow, scheduled for Sept. 7-8 at Hudson Fields, Chief Johnson said his organization would contract with a commercial kitchen. The new building includes this feature, as well as expanded bathroom facilities and spaces that can be dedicated to certain activities, rather than rotating due to space concerns.

Should everything align the way Chief Johnson believes it will, construction will begin this winter, and may take up to 16 months to complete.

“We were prepared and had our documents in hand well in advance, but you don’t know until you hear it,” he said of the planning and zoning commission’s decision to support the expansion.

After this rehabilitation and restoration, Chief Johnson said he will focus on the Nanticoke Indian Museum and intends to build it into a “worldclass museum,” starting with hiring a curator.

Sussex County Council has not scheduled a hearing on the expansion request.