A Commemoration of the Historic Lenape Chief Tamanend and the Tammany Day Festivals of Colonial America
In 1683 the relationship between the Lenape (lun-ah’-pay), led by Principal Chief Tamanend, and the Pennsylvania Colony led by Governour William Penn, resulted in the Treaty of Shackamaxon that provided land for the colony and ultimately the City of Philadelphia. The colony, originally chartered by King Charles II of England, did not consider that it was Lenape land. The treaty was meant to create trade and commerce with the Lenape and allow for peaceful occupancy of the surrounding river valley.
It is believed that Tamanend died in 1701. Over the next century, many folk legends surrounded Tamanend, and his fame assumed mythical proportions among the people of Philadelphia, who began to call him “King Tammany,” “Saint Tammany,” and the “Patron Saint of America.” In 1772 the people of Philadelphia organized a Tammany Society and soon thereafter annual Tammany Festivals were being held in Philadelphia. The festivals were held on May 1 replacing the May Day traditions of Europe. Because of Philadelphia’s prominence during the American Revolution and subsequent decades, Tammany soon became a national symbol throughout much of the newly formed country. One of the most famous, or infamous, Tammany Societies of the mid-19th Century was in Manhattan, New York, where Tammany Hall became known as a bastion of corrupt city politics.
Today his legend is portrayed in the noble Tamanend Statue at Penn’s Landing on Market & Front Streets in Philadelphia.
The Tamanend Statue at Market & Broad Streets in Philadelphia, an important recognition of Tamanend, who was chief of one of the clans that made up the Lenni-Lenape Nation in the Delaware Valley, and was called “The Patron Saint “ of the American Colonies. In the famous painting of “The Treaty of Shackamaxon, it is he who is seen entering into agreement with Governor William Penn.
With such a remarkable history centered in Lenapekoking ( the original homeland of the Lenape), the Lenape Center recognized the Lenape Sakima Tamanend and the Lenape people on May 1, 2021.
Lenape Chief Tamanend looking West from Front and Market Street. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY) 
(Photo by Stock Montage/Getty Images) 
Lenape Chief Tamanend looking West from Front and Market Street. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY) 
***
CURTIS ZUNIGHA
Mr. Zunigha is Co-Founder and Co-Director of The Lenape Center, a non-profit arts & humanities organization based in New York City which promotes the history, culture, and enduring presence of the Lenape people (www.thelenapecenter.com). He is an enrolled member of the federally-recognized Delaware Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma, the modern day descendants of the Lenape. (www.delawaretribe.org).
***
