AGENCY TESTIMONY
Lenapehoking exhibition at Greenpoint Library
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113 sec
Joel Whitney details the Lenapehoking exhibition, a groundbreaking showcase of Lenape cultural arts curated by Joe Baker at the Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center.
- The exhibition used contemporary and historical objects to tell the story of the Lenape people
- It aimed to reframe the narrative of indigenous tribes, addressing the genocide and living legacy of the Lenape
- The exhibition incorporated indigenous fruit trees in the library's rooftop garden
- Accompanying events included poetry readings, artist talks, and panel discussions on indigenous rights and historical revisionism
Joel Whitney
0:38:40
LenapeHawking is the Lenape name for their homeland, reaching from northern Delaware to the foot of the Catskills, from western Connecticut to eastern Pennsylvania with New York City at at its center.
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Curated by Joe Baker, Lenapehoking used a mix of contemporary and historical objects to tell the story of a vast and vibrant community, reframing the narrative of indigenous tribes told in more traditional settings, which too often overlooks the genocide of the Lenape people and their living legacy today.
0:39:11
With mister Baker and his colleagues, we celebrated we selected Greenpoint Library and Environmental and Education Center as the home for Lenapehoking.
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This library archives Greenpoint's history as the site of one of the largest oil spills ever recorded in the United States and the community's fight for environmental justice.
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During the exhibition, the branch's rooftop teaching garden featured indigenous fruit trees that were historically cultivated by the Lenape in Manhattan and elsewhere using seeds descended from those carried by Lenape people during the forest expulsions from the East Coast.
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The incorporation of organic materials into the exhibition space created a portal into the living culture of the Lenape people today and a continuity between the ecological past and present.
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Alongside this exhibit, BPL hosted poetry readings, artist talks, and panel discussions as part of an ongoing reckoning around indigenous rights and historical revisionism of the Lenape.
0:40:07
The series featured talks with activist Gloria Steinem on critical social issues, readings by Lenape poet Rebecca Half Lowry, and panel discussions with the nonprofit Hudson Valley Farm Hub, all of which rescind, recognize, and honor the fervent Lenape plan of return to their homeland.
0:40:26
They should be welcomed by New York City's institutions, lest we continue to perpetuate the erasure and injustice of centuries of forced removal.
