PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Brent Stonefish, Member of Eenda-Lunaapeewahkiing Collective
1:30:13
·
5 min
Brent Stonefish, representing the Eenda-Lunaapeewahkiing Collective, provided testimony on Lenape presence and initiatives in New York City. He discussed the collective's partnerships, language preservation efforts, and challenges faced by indigenous groups in the city.
- Highlighted the need for dedicated space for indigenous events, including a two-day powwow currently restricted by parks department policies
- Emphasized partnerships with various cultural institutions and the importance of representing diverse Lenape voices across Turtle Island
- Stressed the significance of preserving the Munsee dialect of the Lenape language, which was historically spoken in New York City
Brent Stonefish
1:30:13
And so what I said is my name is, the one who rides a snake.
1:30:17
I am Turtle Clan.
1:30:19
I am from which is, a Lenape Lenapeau or Lenape community in Canada.
1:30:28
I I said I am also from here.
1:30:33
I represent the the collective.
1:30:41
Means the land of the Lenape and the Munsee dialect of the Lenape language, which was spoken in New York City at contact.
1:30:52
Our way of our our word for ourselves is.
1:30:58
Most people say.
1:31:01
That's the Unami dialect of the language.
1:31:04
The is the dialect of the language, and that's the language that was spoken here.
1:31:11
And so when the people call this, we say.
1:31:20
I'm a language coordinator for our community, and, I've been spending a lot of time with the only Lenape speaker left in the world, Diane Snake.
1:31:34
She's 83 years old.
1:31:36
I also represent represent the collective as one of the cofounders.
1:31:41
My my other cofounder is my cousin here, George Stonefish.
1:31:45
George Stonefish has lived his life entire life in this in in the city, and his mother was actually one of the founding members of American Indian Community House.
1:31:58
Most recently, we've we've entered into many partnerships in the city, and and one of the partnerships is with the American Indian Community House.
1:32:08
And I honor American Indian Community House because they were the first one they were the ones that, created space for indigenous people in the city in 1969.
1:32:19
And then most recently, they they were able to receive the manaha'at fund, and they recognized that they needed to give that money to a Lenape collective, a Lenape group, to utilize that to create, you know, events and create, educational opportunities in the city.
1:32:43
And George, being a former member of their board, was the was the one they approached who approached me, and we created the the Enda Lenapeakian Collective, or short for short, we say EL Collective.
1:32:57
So if you if that's a tongue twister for you, just say EL Collective.
1:33:02
You'll be fine.
1:33:05
Anyways, the reason I'm here is is that I've the end of Lenape Auking Collective represents, 2 state recognized Lenape groups, 2 federally recognized groups in Ontario, Canada.
1:33:20
And then another non recognized group.
1:33:24
We also we also have many different private citizens from different communities across Turtle Island.
1:33:31
That, because our vision is to to unite and hear the the voices of Lenape across Turtle Island, our whole our whole idea is to allow us to create space for many different stories from many different Lenape people.
1:33:51
I respect and honor the the testimony that was given by the Lenape Center, and I appreciate all of the work they've done in this community.
1:33:59
But at the same time, there's a lot of work to be done, and we're hoping that we'll be able to share that responsibility going forward.
1:34:10
One of the things that we're trying to do is have a a 2 day powwow in in New York City, but because of stipulations of the parks department, you can only have a one day event, and you would think they would make an allowance for the original people of this land.
1:34:30
Right?
1:34:31
Because this is Yeah.
1:34:32
This city is is has been built on the bones of my Ancestors.
1:34:39
So with that, we also are looking for space as well.
1:34:43
One of the things that I I find unique about the American Indian Community House is that they they are strained for space as well.
1:34:52
And, you know, if they could give us space as the collective, as one of their partners, they would, but they don't have the space themselves.
1:35:00
So we're looking for space as well, and we're looking to have that powwow 2 day powwow, which goes against the policy of the parks department.
Carlina Rivera
1:35:09
We'll see about that.
Brent Stonefish
1:35:11
But we also we also have many partnerships, one being MCNY, one being Lefferts House, and then Prospect Park Alliance.
1:35:21
We've been talking with Inwood, Park.
1:35:24
What what house is that?
1:35:25
The Inwood House up
Maeve Montalvo
1:35:26
in the stone house?
Brent Stonefish
1:35:27
Stone and the stone house in in, New Jersey as well.
1:35:31
So, we wanted to do this testimony to introduce ourselves to you, and that that we are present in in the city as well.
1:35:40
And it's very expensive for me to travel from Canada to to do this testimony.
1:35:46
But but I thought it was important to do that.
1:35:49
With the help a little bit of help of our our partners, we were able to do that, and I appreciate the time and.
Carlina Rivera
1:35:56
Thank you.
1:35:56
May may I ask where is where is Diane, to make 83 years young?
Brent Stonefish
1:36:02
She is, she lives in our home community in Canada.
