Some tribal leaders oppose a federal plan to move a statue of a Lenape chief two blocks in Philadelphia, and one official said his people are “tired of moving.”
The statue of Chief Tamanend, who signed a peace treaty with William Penn in 1682, currently adorns an exit ramp of Interstate 95 leading to the Old City neighborhood.
The National Park Service now wants to move the bronze image to a more prominent location: the newly planned Tamanend Square, part of a renovation of historic Market Street and just two blocks from the statue’s less-than-ideal current home. according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Despite the seemingly good intentions of the feds, the plan is being stopped by Native American leaders.
“After more than 300 years of forced removal, it seems as if this is just another metaphorical forced removal from an area of our own land,” said Jeremy Johnson, director of cultural education for the federally recognized Delaware Tribe of Indians. , in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. the outlet.
British statesman William Penn (in dark coat) accepts a belt from Chief Lenni-Lenae Tamanend as part of the treaty in which he purchased a section of land for the colony of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1682. Getty Images “We are tired of moving “Johnson told the newspaper. “We have been told several times in our history that we are on the path of progress.” NurPhoto via Getty Images
Tribal leaders say settlers exploited Tamanend to sign land sales because natives did not believe or understand that land could be a salable asset like it was in Europe.
Eventually, the Lenape were stripped of their lands in the region and forced to move to Oklahoma.
Chief Tamanend’s statue is currently located on a highway exit ramp, where it is inaccessible to pedestrians. associationparapublicart.org
“We’re tired of moving,” Johnson told the newspaper. “We have been told several times in our history that we are on the path of progress.”
The 1995 statue depicts Tamanend standing on a turtle with an eagle near his shoulder, symbolizing his clan’s connection to the Earth and a messenger of the Great Spirit.
Officials want to transform Market Street by 2026, in time for America’s 250th birthday celebration.
Under the plan, Tamanend Square would be anchored by the statue at Second and Market streets and connected to an existing park and a redesigned corridor.
Those interested in the initiative claim that moving the statue will allow it to be “more easily appreciated.”
“We aspire to move the statue from its current location,” said Bill Marrazzo, president of the Independence Historical Trust, which is raising money for the project, and head of Philadelphia’s public radio station.
Marrazzo reportedly hoped that the statue “would become a kind of monumental piece to educate people about Chief Tamanend’s role in the creation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
Tribal groups considered stakeholders, including the Delaware Tribe of Indians, Delaware Nation and Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape, had not yet reached a consensus, he told the newspaper.
News of the breakup came as New York’s Museum of Natural History removed its famous Native American exhibits in compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which ordered that stolen Native American artifacts and remains be returned to their homes. ancestors.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn