Museum of the City of New York Presents “We Are Still Here! Lunaapeew/Lenape Celebration Weekend”

Courtesy of Red Blanket Singers

Special Two-Day Event to Take Place on May 4th and 5th

Museum of the City of New York, NYC’s storyteller for the past 100 years, in collaboration with the Eenda-Lunaapeewahkiing (Land of the Lunaapeew) Project, proudly announces “We Are Still Here! Lunaapeew/Lenape Celebration Weekend.” This two-day event will take place on Saturday, May 4th and Sunday, May 5th from 11 am to 4 pm, inviting visitors of all ages to delve into the rich heritage and enduring spirit of the First People of the New York City region. Coinciding with the 400th anniversary of Dutch settlers’ arrival in New York City in 1624, “We Are Still Here!” pays homage to the resilience of the Lenape and the creativity of Indigenous communities today while honoring their fundamental role in shaping the city and nation.

At this inaugural weekend gathering, attendees will experience the diversity of Lunaapeew/Lenape culture through vibrant musical and dance performances, interactive craft workshops, engaging discussions led by Indigenous speakers and artists, and more.

Highlights of the event include:

• Southern-style drum songs performed by the Red Blanket Singers
• Tales from master storyteller Tchin
• Musical and dance performance by We Are Seeds
• Wampum-Making Demonstration with Chief Mark Tayac (Piscataway)
• Hands-on Workshop with Master Artist Denise Bright Dove Ashton-Dunkley (Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape)
• Lenape Language Workshop with Kristin Jacobs (Eelünaapéewi Lahkéewiit)
• Panel Discussions with Lenape Knowledge Keepers and community leaders
• Traditional Lenape Games led by Lenape Youth Leaders
• Craft workshops
• And more!

Admission to “We Are Still Here!” is pay-what-you-wish, inviting everyone to join in this celebration of Lenape culture and resilience.

“The ‘We Are Still Here!’ weekend in May –along with our related programming and exhibition slated for 2025 — represents MCNY’s commitment to engagement and reparative action,” says Stephanie Hill Wilchfort, Ronay Menschel Director and President of the Museum of the City of New York. “We look forward to continuing to work with our community partners to foster deeper connections with Native communities, raise awareness, and celebrate their enduring legacy.”

“Lenape communities today are connected by many things: our stories, our humor, our resilience, and our ties to our ancestral homelands,” says Brent Stonefish, co-founder of the Eenda-Lunaapeewahkiing Project. “Yet for too long others have told our stories for us, relegating us to historical memory. We are proud to share our stories and the vibrancy of our communities today, and we look forward to welcoming everyone to join us for this important moment of recognition and celebration.”

Monique Ruhe, Cultural Attaché of the Netherlands to the USA: “Partnering with the Museum of the City of New York on this important and historic program will bring the history, the stories, the art and the culture of the many indigenous peoples of this area to a broader public. The Netherlands is deeply committed to creating a space for all people who share this monumental history together to contribute in their own words and with their own creative endeavors. ‘We Are Still Here! Lunaapeew/Lenape Celebration Weekend’ at the MCNY embodies this goal and we are proud to have partnered to bring this essential program to New York City.”

“We Are Still Here!” marks the beginning of a two-year initiative by the Museum of the City of New York, with plans for ongoing programs and exhibitions presented in collaboration with the Eenda-Lunaapeewahkiing (Land of the Lunaapeew) Project and the American Indian Community House (with whom MCNY partnered on past critically-acclaimed Museum exhibitions, Germ City (2018), and Urban Indian: Native New York Now (2019)), and a partnership with the Amsterdam Museum.

The multifaceted project is co-generative with the community; through the Eenda-Lunaapeewahkiing (EL) Project, an Advisory Circle composed of members of four different Lenape communities is involved in all stages of the project and exhibition development. MCNY has also engaged a Community Curator for the May event, Cory Ridgeway of the Nanticoke Tribe of Delaware.

The EL Project aims to establish a partnership between disparate Lenape communities with origins in the region, with a vision to unite and hear the voices of the Lunaapeew across Turtle Island. Current participating members of the EL Project include the Munsee-Delaware Nation (Ontario, Canada); the Nanticoke Lenni Lenape Tribal Nation (Bridgeton, NJ); the Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation (Mahwah, NJ); and members of Eelünaapéewi Lahkéewiit (Moravian of the Thames Band) (Ontario, Canada).

MCNY’s follow-up exhibition will be presented in Fall 2025, sharing the ongoing cooperation and research surrounding the underrepresented history of the Lenape. This installation will underscore contemporary initiatives by the Lenape to redefine their culture and homeland.

A sister exhibition at the Amsterdam Museum opens this May 2024. “From Manahatta to New Amsterdam: The Impact of Dutch Colonization and Indigenous Resistance” will be on view at the Amsterdam Museum on the Amstel from May 18 through November 10, 2024.

Support
This program is supported as part of the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York.

FUTURE 400, a 2024/2025 initiative of the Netherlands Consulate General in New York, endeavors to honor 400 years of Dutch-New York history with honesty and integrity, creating space for others who share this common heritage to voice their feelings and experiences at this monumental moment. Partners from cultural to commercial fields, from the New York area to the Netherlands will come together to create new work and new opportunities that will continue to write the next chapter of our shared story, our collective…FUTURE 400.

About the Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023, fosters an understanding of the distinctive nature of urban life in the world’s most influential metropolis. Time Out New York named its blockbuster centennial show, This Is New York: 100 Years of the City in Art and Pop Culture, as the best exhibition of 2023. Moreover, the Museum previously earned the title of “Best Museum” in Time Out New York’s “Best of the City 2021” as well as multiple American Alliance of Museums (AAM) awards. To connect with the Museum’s award-winning digital content, visit http://www.mcny.org, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @MuseumOfCityNY and on Facebook at Facebook.com/MuseumOfCityNY.