[4] The Ndyuka and related people are of African descent, were enslaved and transported as cargo by the Dutch to Suriname in the 17–18th century to work on Dutch-owned colonial plantations.

It is rare for Ndyuka people to marry outside the group, "so they remain genetically close to their African ancestors.

The Society of Suriname was concerned about the size and strength of the group, therefore Captain Zobre was dispatched on 30 July 1759 to negotiate.

Zobre returned with a temporary ceasefire agreement, and information that the tribe consisted of six villages with an estimated population of 2,000 people.

[7] From 1761, many Ndyuka gradually moved southwards from Marowijne District in order to protect themselves from the colonists, and started to build camps on the Tapanahoni River dispelling the indigenous Tiriyó.

Slaves who had recently fled from Armina and Boven Commewijne were stationed near the confluence of the Tapanahoni and Lawa River to guard against attacks by the Aluku.

[9] In December 1791, Philip Stoelman founded a military outpost on Stoelmanseiland, thus establishing a militarised border between the Ndyuka held territory and the Colony of Suriname.

An attempt in 1913 to charge for medical care in the hospitals was ignored in practice, and later revoked by Governor Johannes Kielstra, because it was better for the overall sanitary conditions.

The proposed solution was to send a medical team into the tribal areas, and make people aware about the dangers of inbreeding.

[1][22] In the late 1980s, the Surinamese Interior War was fought between the Suriname National Army and a rebel group known as the Jungle Commando, led by Ronnie Brunswijk.

[23] Even though Brunswijk was a Ndyuka, Gaanman Gazon, the paramount chief, refused to take sides in the conflict,[24] and maintained strict neutrality in the Tapanahony resort.

[26][27] In the last decades of the 20th century a large number of the Ndyuka people began moving from their ancestral villages to the coast, especially in and around Paramaribo, the country's capital.

The stam lanti consists of all the kabitens and basiyas who meet at least once a year under the authority of the granman and decide the policy for the entire tribe.

[39] In practice an independent judicial system was in operation except for people accused of major crimes who were turned over to the Suriname government.

The court upheld the 1760 Treaty, and determined that "the Moiwana community members may be considered the legitimate owners of their traditional lands.

Women's textile arts, produced as exchange gifts for a husband or lover, have transformed greatly as access to trade cotton from the coast has increased.

Trends in fashion change quickly, utilizing elaborate embroidery, appliqué, and patchwork, with women freely borrowing from others while making it their own.