Lenapehoking, “The Land of the Lenape"

Since time immemorial, our people have thrived here in Lenapehoking, the land of the Lenape. Today, local communities include the Great Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation of New Jersey, the Powhatan Renape of New Jersey, the Ramapough Lenape of New Jersey, the Lenape of Delaware, and our relatives, the Nanticoke of Delaware. Sadly, our other Lenape relatives were removed to places like Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Canada, and more.

We recognize our ancestors who paved the way for us to stand here as proud Indian people. Whether our people were removed from Lenapehoking or remained, our existence is proof of strength, perseverance, and resilience. Despite over four-hundred years of settler colonial violence, we are still here. Our blood, stories, language, medicines, culture, families, and histories are rooted in Lenapehoking.

Some call us the “keepers of the land,” and others say we are those who “hid in plain sight.” My people were one of the first Indigenous nations on the East Coast to experience colonization. However, we have never given up our inherent sovereignty. Federal, state, or having no governmental recognition can not remove our inherent ancestral ties to this land.

Our story is shared in this mural–from a time that once was (and still could be) to the sad realities of colonization and extraction. If we are truly acknowledging Lenapehoking and its original peoples, it is vital to respect the land we now share–as what happens to the people happens to the land. Today we acknowledge Lenapehoking and all of its original stewards, including our more-than-human relatives—our plant relatives, the four-legged and winged, and all those relatives amidst the soil, water, and air.

Today, we acknowledge the Lenape people, my ancestors, who gave our people directions through language. Because of the ancestral knowledge carried within our Indigenous language, you know that Manayunk is supposed to be the place to drink, the place of fresh water, and today this is not our reality. As we acknowledge this land, its peoples, and its history, hopefully, we will also recognize that our Mother Earth needs our help. This shared responsibility is critical to our Earth and future generations. We must do better.

Our ancestral knowledge has taught us, Nanticoke and Lenape people, to live in reciprocity with Mother Earth, taking only what is needed and always giving back. Instead, the push for colonization, growth, and capitalism by any means necessary has put us in a Climate Crisis.

Ask yourself, what can I do to help? How can I be an ally to the local Indigenous communities, remembering not to speak for us but to only elevate our voices? Further, who will stand up for the rights of our Earth and all of our relatives?

Mother Earth would be perfectly fine without us here. She needs our help, but she will go on without us if she needs to.

In the end, a land acknowledgment is not just acknowledging the history of this land but respecting, facilitating, and creating meaningful relationships with the Indigenous peoples who are still very much here today. This includes partnering to care for our Earth as well.

I would like to thank Philadelphia Mural Arts for making this mural happen, bringing attention to the Climate Crisis, and elevating Indigenous voices.

Thank you,

Denise Dunkley, MLS IPL

Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation

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