On September 13 and 14, the park will host the United Lenape/Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow, its first intertribal gathering since 1972.

The Second United Lenape/Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow returns to Prospect Park this weekend. Photo by Stephanie Stonefish Ryan via Prospect Park Alliance
by Kirstyn Brendlen, Brooklyn Paper
A historic Lenape tradition is returning to Prospect Park this weekend after decades away.
On September 13 and 14, the park will host the United Lenape/Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow, its first intertribal gathering since 1972 and the second-ever Lenape Pow Wow in New York City.
The weekend welcomes indigenous Lenape communities back to their ancestral homeland and celebrates Lenape culture and heritage with dancing and music, food, art, and artisan crafts.
“Reviving the Pow Wow tradition in Prospect Park provides the Lenape/Lunáapeew who were forced to relocate across the continent back to their ancestral homelands to reunite and celebrate, and offers Brooklynites of all backgrounds the chance to immerse themselves in the cultures of the original stewards of this land,” said Morgan Monaco, President of Prospect Park Alliance, in a statement.
The event will feature drummers, dancers, and art. Photo by Bob Levine via Prospect Park Alliance
The Lenape, also known as the Lunáapeew, are indigenous to New York City, and lived across the five boroughs — including in Brooklyn. Conflict with American settlers, war, and disease killed thousands, and the Lenape were eventually forced out of their homeland.
From 1916 to 1972, Prospect Park hosted regular intertribal Pow Wows, gatherings where Lenape/Lunáapeew gathered with neighboring tribes to socialize and celebrate. Now,…
The event will feature drummers, dancers, and art. Photo courtesy of Bob Levine/Prospect Park Alliance

The clothing can help differentiate different Native American tribes. | SPOTLIGHT DELAWARE PHOTO BY MARTHA CANSECO