Philadelphia is Indigenous Land: Celebrating the Rich and Ongoing History of Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the City
by Ashley Caranto Morford
Featured Image: Pauline Songbird with Vaughnda Hilton at the Indigenous Peoples Day, Philly 2021 at Shackamaxon. Photographer: Dave Tavani
Manayunk. Passyunk. Neshaminy. Wissahickon. These are words frequently read, heard, and spoken in this city and the surrounding territory. Every time we read, hear, and speak these words — and many other place names within this city — we are reading, hearing, and speaking Lenape (Shepelavy par. 6; Rapin par. 21). Lenape languages are rooted in the marrow and lifeblood of this land. This territory widely known as Philadelphia is part of Lenapehoking — the sovereign and unsurrendered homelands of the Lenape Peoples. Lenapehoking is currently occupied by parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.
On October 11, 2021, Indigenous and non-Indigenous people living throughout Lenapehoking gathered at Shackamaxon (Penn Treaty Park) in honor and celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The space was filled with the stories, songs, dances, arts, knowledge, laughter, and joy of Indigenous Peoples from all over the colonially called Americas. Charles Under Baggage III (Oglala Lakota) MCed the event, which featured Richie Olivera (Peruvian-Andean), Myron Godfrey (Lakota), Tyrone Ellis and family (Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape), Eugene Black Crow Sr. (Oglala Lakota), Tatanka Gibson (Nansemond/Saponi of Hollister) with Carrie Helm (Mashpee Wampanoag) aka Dawnland Dancer, Tchin (Narragansett), Marcus Frejo a.k.a. Quece IMC (Pawnee-Seminole), Vaughnda Hilton (Seminole Creek-Blackfeet) with Native Nations Dance Theatre, Inkarayku (Peruvian / Quechua), and Campatlanezi (Danza Azteca del Anáhuac), and Indigenous artisans and organizations from Lenapehoking and all throughout the so-called Americas. The event team included Ben Miller (Lenape-Delaware) as Event Coordinator, Mabel Negrete (Native Chilean) as Co-Founder and Executive Director of IPD Philly, Eugene Black Crow Sr. as guest speaker-vendor-helping hand, Charles Under Baggage III as MC, Nikki Apana (Native Hawaiian) as Executive Assistant of IPD Philly, Stephanie Mach (Dine) as Co-Founder and Advisor of IPD Philly, and Manny Vasquez (Oaxacan descent) as Volunteer Coordinator.
Meeting and holding celebratory space at Shackamaxon was particularly significant since it was in this area that the Treaty of Shackamaxon — which Chief Tamanend and the Lenape made with William Penn and settlers — was first established in the 1680s (Treaty of Shackamaxon Wampum Belt). The Treaty of Shackamaxon is an ongoing agreement to live together in this territory in peace and friendship.
Celebrations like the October 11th gathering are one of the many ways we continuously witness that this always has been and always will be sovereign and unsurrendered Indigenous land thriving with Indigenous love, life, joy, cultures, knowledge, and futurity. Philadelphia is — following the words of Cree-Métis educator, community planner, and filmmaker Kamala Todd (2015) — “an Indigenous city,” just as every city in the so-called Americas is (Todd par. 17).
The gathering at Shackamaxon was one of many events throughout Philadelphia this October, which honored Indigenous histories, lives, and ongoing presence. These commemorations included (but were not limited to) an Indigenous flag raising at City Hall on October 7th and the 11th Annual Philadelphia Indigenous Day by Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac (OYC) at its newest location Bartram’s Garden on October 10th. While this is the first year that settler Philadelphia has officially recognized Indigenous Peoples’ Day — which has finally replaced the problematic historical celebration of the colonizer, murderer, and enslaver Christopher Columbus — this year’s celebrations are part of a long history of Indigenous organizing in this territory.
Over the course of the next few months, Indigenous Peoples’ Day Philly Inc. will be recognizing, celebrating, and sharing the stories and insights of some of the wonderful Indigenous people living in the area who have played a vital role in fighting for, organizing, and amplifying Indigenous Peoples’ Day commemorations in the city. Pasasalamat, gratitude and thanks, to the Indigenous organizers who have shared their stories, truths, knowledge, and experiences as part of this multi-part series, “Philadelphia is Indigenous Land: Celebrating the Rich and Ongoing History of Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the City.”
AUTHOR: Ashley Caranto Morford (Filipina-English descent / Canadian-USA) – Associate Writer
