Category: Lenni Lenape

In recent years many theater companies have made a point of introducing performances with land acknowledgements, thanking the Native peoples whose ancestral lands the theater occupies — lands that were generally taken from them by force.

In the case of “Manahatta” at Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre Company, the whole play serves as a land acknowledgement of sorts.

Mary Kathryn Nagle’s drama jumps back and forth between Wall Street in the early 2000s and the same land in the 1600s when it was known as Manahatta, the home of the Lenape people.

“Manahatta” premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2018 and played New York’s Public Theater (in Manahatta itself) last November. Also a lawyer and citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Nagle had the West Coast premiere of her play “Sovereignty” at Marin Theatre Company in 2019.

The play follows Jane Snake, a young Lenape woman who grew up in Oklahoma after many generations of displacement, as she rises through the ranks at a major Wall Street investment bank in the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.

As played by Livia Gomes Demarchi, Jane radiates confident professionalism mixed with workaholic deference to the unreasonable expectations heaped on her by her bosses, Max Forman-Mullin as brusque, demanding young department head Joe and Anthony Fusco as smoothly callous CEO Dick. They appreciate Jane in direct proportion to how much money she makes them, and if she falls short they have no use for her.

Back in Oklahoma, Jane’s mother is struggling financially and falling prey to the same kind of predatory lending that Jane’s company is profiting from. Portrayed with placid stoicism by Linda Amayo-Hassan, mother Bobbie is too proud to ask for advice or even let her family know what’s going on. As older sister Debra, Oogie Push is resentful of…

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“Manahatta,” at Aurora Theatre Co. in Berkeley, takes on a big subject: the violent subjugation of the Lenape people in what is now Manhattan by Dutch settlers in the 17th century and the ensuing development, and fall, of Wall Street.

Livia Gomes Demarchi and Anthony Fusco play dual roles in Aurora Theatre Co.’s production of Mary Kathryn Nagle’s “Manahatta.” (Courtesy Kevin Berne/Aurora Theatre Co.)

Mary Kathryn Nagle’s powerful one-act play focuses on a 21st century family of Lenape descendants living in Oklahoma. While daughter Jane Snake, a graduate of Stanford and MIT, has landed a job with Lehman Brothers on Wall Street, the family back home is about to lose their home to foreclosure.

The production moves between the contemporary family drama as Wall Street collapses in 2008, and 17th century Manahatta, with the actors appearing in both time frames. 

The leader of the Dutch faction (Anthony Fusco) tricks Lenape leader (Linda Amayo-Hassan) into virtually giving away Manahatta. Fusco also portrays Jane’s vicious Wall Street boss and Amayo-Hassan takes the role of Jane’s mother with deft humor.

Livia Gomes Demarchi as Jane, the daughter working on Wall Street as it begins to fail  
(a comparison with the 17th century tulip bubble in Holland when speculation drove flower bulbs’ prices to extremes can be made), carries the story line forward powerfully. 

Jane’s modern friend Luke is excellently portrayed by Ixtlán (an actor with a Native Plains Nations and Mexican Indigenous background). He also plays a pivotal role in the 17th century, as the lover of Jane’s alter ego, and a soulful go-between, interpreting for the Dutch traders and shadowing their cruelties.

Elsewhere in the cast, Max Forman-Mullin is heartless as a trader during both time periods, Victor Talmadge plays a kindlier banker and clergyman.

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The Lenape Indians had already won 12 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16 points), and they went ahead and made it 13 on Wednesday. They claimed a resounding 61-29 win over Holy Cross at home. Lenape has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight contests by 20 points or more this season.

Several Lancers players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Luke Mcginnis, who scored ten points. Emmanuel Doku was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with five rebounds.

Lenape pushed their record up to 22-4 with that victory, which was their 11th straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.4 points per game. As for Holy Cross, their defeat ended a five-game streak of away wins and brought them to 12-13.

Lenape didn’t take long to hit the court again: they’ve already played their next contest, a 41-38 win vs. Rancocas Valley on the 16th. Holy Cross has also already played their next matchup, a 44-31 victory against Westampton Tech on the 15th.

Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps

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The intimate portrayal of an indigenous Lenape family forms playwright Mary Kathryn Nagle’s work “Manahatta,” running through March 10 at the Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison St., Berkeley.

Nagle, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, draws parallels between the forced removal and taxation of Native Americans during the 2008 financial crisis and the 1626 Dutch purchase of the island of Manhattan (Manahatta in Lenape), the Lenape’s ancestral homeland.

In her story, Nagle follows Jane Snake, a young Lenape woman who works as a securities trader on Wall Street. As Snake’s career thrives, back home in Oklahoma her mother and sister grieve the loss of family and struggle to maintain their culture and language while making enough money to stay in their home.

Shannon R. Davis directs with Livia Gomes Demarchi as Jane Snake.

For tickets, call 510-269-4258 or go to auroratheatre.org.

From left, Livia Gomes Demarchi, Max Forman-Mullin, Ixtlán and Anthony Fusco perform a tense scene from Mary Kathryn Nagle’s”Manahatta,” which is playing through March 10 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. (Photo by Kevin Berne for Aurora Theatre Company) 

Martinez: Everyone seems power-hungry these days. Whether it’s for political office, the larger market share of a product or, in the case of a new play, an entire kingdom. Playwright Melynda Kiring spins her own tale of power in her latest work “Nomen,” premiering March 1 and running through March 17 at the Campbell Theater in Martinez.

“It’s the story of a young princess battling a usurper who wants to take the crown,” Kiring said. “A secretary is asked…

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Image via Kimberly Paynter, WHYY.

A map at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia shows the forced migration of members of the Lenape Nation.

For thousands of years, the Lenape occupied territory in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, parts of New York, and the coast of Delaware, writes Kenny Cooper for WHYY.

Today, Pennsylvania has no official Native American tribes.

But the Lenape survive.

Curtis Zunigha is a member and cultural director of the Delaware Tribe of Indians, one of three federally recognized tribes of the Lenape (the name means “the real people”) in the United States.

“It is a history of deprivations, of swindles, of murders, of dishonorable behavior by the Dutch, by the British, and later by the Americans,” he said. “We have been away from our homeland since that time, and yet we have persevered and managed to reorganize and reassemble ourselves.”

Zunigha is on a mission to build a pathway so the Lenape can return to Pennsylvania.

Work is ongoing to get state and federal recognition of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania.

Locally, they have hosted language classes at Swarthmore College, and they collaborated with Haverford and Bryn Mawr College on an exhibit.

“We are still here,” Zunigha said. “We have something valuable to bring to the table. We just want to be welcomed back.”

Read more about the Lenape at WHYY.

Learn about the history and culture of the Lenni-Lenape.

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The Union County Board of County Commissioners and the Union County Department of Parks & Recreation are pleased to announce the Woodcock Talk & Walk, a PowerPoint presentation and guided indoor/outdoor experience discussing the woodcock on Monday, March 18th at Masker’s Barn at the Deserted Village, and Thursday, March 21st, at Lenape Park. Nature aficionados and bird lovers are invited to join an informative event showcasing the American Woodcock, led by nature enthusiast Pete Axelrod.

“These events give us the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of this special bird and highlight the importance of caring for our local ecosystems,” said Commissioner Chairwoman Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded. “Coming together as a community to learn is crucial, empowering us all to make informed choices for the benefit of our shared natural resources. Join us in appreciating the wonders of nature and inspire everyone to take responsibility for protecting our environment.”

The annual Woodcock Talk & Walk provides seasoned birders and beginners alike with the chance to catch a glimpse of the American Woodcock and learn more about this unusual and elusive bird. The American Woodcock is known by a variety of colorful names including Timberdoodle, Labrador twister, Night partridge, Mudbat, and Bog sucker.  The species is most commonly referred to as the woodcock due to its preference for wooded areas. American Woodcocks are drawn to moist forests and require dense woodland, providing ample cover and food.

In the spring, the bird seeks out forest clearings, abandoned fields spotted with low brush or open fields next to forest edges to serve as courtship sites.  In preparation for mating, male Woodcocks establish individual territories known as singing grounds.

Perhaps the most fascinating attribute of the American Woodcock is the acrobatic courtship displays performed by the males.  As part of their mating ritual, a displaying male…

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The Delaware tribe, also known as the Lenape, is a Native American group native to North America that has played a significant role in the early history and culture of the United States. This article will explore the history and culture of the Delaware tribe and provide important information about their legacy and contributions to society today.

History of the Delaware Tribe

The Delaware tribe had an ancestral presence in what is now the eastern United States. Originally, their territory extended across what are now the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Delaware. The tribe has a rich and complex history that dates back hundreds of years, having inhabited these lands long before the arrival of European settlers.

During the colonial period, the Delaware tribe had contact with Dutch, English, and Swedish settlers, which had a significant impact on their culture and way of life. Throughout the years, the tribe was affected by the expansion and influence of European colonies, experiencing wars, displacements, and changes in their traditional lifestyle.

In the 18th century, the Delaware tribe was further displaced westward due to the pressure of European colonization. Many members of the tribe approached the Delaware River and settled in reservations, while others integrated into colonial society. Despite these challenges, the Delaware tribe has persevered and continues to maintain their cultural identity.

Culture and Traditions

The Delaware tribe has a rich cultural heritage that includes a variety of traditions, beliefs, and practices. Their language, Lenape, belongs to the Algonquian language family and has been passed down from generation to generation. Although the number of native Lenape speakers has declined, efforts persist to maintain and revitalize the language.

Music and dance hold a significant place in Delaware culture. The tribe has a series of traditional dances that are performed on special occasions such as ceremonies and tribal…

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The reading room at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia is nearly silent, except for Marian “Molly” Leech’s slow and deliberate page-turning, the fragile sheets she’s inspecting yellowed by the passage of time. Outside, rain is pounding. In the carpeted room, book-lined walls and large white busts flank several long wooden tables.

At the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, Molly Leech, a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the Department of History, looks at the personal correspondence of John Heckewelder, a missionary and linguist who, in the 1800s, lived in Gnadenhutten, Ohio, among a Lenape community.

Leech, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History, is there studying the personal correspondence of John Heckewelder, a missionary and linguist who, in the 1800s, lived in Gnadenhutten, Ohio, among a Lenape community that had converted to Christianity. “He was really interested in the Lenape language,” Leech says. “Of course, every colonial source is problematic, but he provides insights that Dutch colonists didn’t have in the earlier time period or weren’t interested in recording.”

The collection’s 113 private letters and other papers offer a glimpse into life several hundred years ago in what is today New Jersey, southern New York, and Pennsylvania. Heckewelder, who recorded and translated many of the area’s Lenape place names, also wrote about the Lenape’s relations with neighboring groups, as well as their views on animals.

In Leech’s research—in the reading room that day, during an ongoing fellowship at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, at archives in New York and New Jersey—she has been flagging any such references to the non-human world or the fur trade, specifically those that relate to the Dutch colony of New Netherland and beaver pelts. In particular, she’s…

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