A new permanent exhibition, The Lenape, Original People, Reconciling the Past, Embracing the Future is on display at October 6 at The Columns in Milford, PA
RR photo by Laurie Stuart
By CAROL ROIG
Land acknowledgments are becoming customary at educational gatherings. As the participants introduce themselves they acknowledge the tribal people who once occupied the lands where they now live. The first time I encountered this practice I was just relieved that I could answer: The land where I live was home to the Lenape, Native Americans whose lands once ranged from present-day Massachusetts to the state of Delaware. But I felt pretty shallow doing it. I empathized with the spirit of the exercise, but in practice, it felt perfunctory and disconnected.
Then this past summer I participated in a seminar organized by PUSH Buffalo, to learn about grassroots strategies for revitalizing neighborhoods and reclaiming, renovating and repurposing older structures to create healthy housing and vibrant public spaces.
This time, the land acknowledgment introduced a presentation by three local historians who delivered a vivid history lesson, covering the colonial-era displacement of Native Americans to the creation of the racially and ethnically segregated city. From the siting of polluting industries in poor neighborhoods to the use of eminent domain to take land for projects that benefited private enterprises rather than the public good. From the impacts of redlining—the systematic denial of financing to minority home buyers—to gentrification efforts that have priced moderate-income residents out of their neighborhoods.
In this context, the tribal land acknowledgment was necessary to a broader understanding of the…
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