Acknowledging the lost history, untold stories, and voices of the Lenape Peoples
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Michelson’s “Midden” project, which fused video with audio recordings of the Delaware Skin Dance, a call-and-response song using hide drums. Credit: Sabrina Santiago for The New York Times
Many of us will gather with friends and family today and take time to reflect on, and be grateful for, all that we have. As we celebrate abundance, love and joy, we must also remember the original stewards of this land, how they interacted with the environment and the tragic and violent manner in which they were removed. At Billion Oyster Project, we are dedicated to tackling tough conversations and amplifying the history and voices of our country’s indigenous peoples.
This Thanksgiving, we are highlighting the history of the original stewards of New York Harbor by publishing Billion Oyster Project’s first Land Acknowledgement of the people of the Lenape tribe, and sharing resources that our team has found helpful.
In 2021, we were honored to be included in Mohawk artist Alan Michelson’s multimedia installation at MoMA PS1, which examined the Lenape People’s nurturing connection to the land and water and the life they support. In a New York Times article about the exhibit, Michelson argued that the work of Billion Oyster Project “would not have been necessary under Lenape stewardship.” This notion sticks with us today, and inspires us to propel our mission forward by looking back at the nature-based practices that supported oysters — New York Harbor’s keystone species — prior to the violent displacement of native people from the abundant land that became New York City.
Land Acknowledgement
Billion Oyster Project recognizes that we are not the original stewards of the land we work on. Our work exists on the territory of many indigenous tribes including but not limited to Canarsie, Munsee Lenape, Lekawe (Rockaway), Schaghticoke, Wappinger, and Matinecock peoples, who were removed from the land by state-sanctioned forced integration, displacement, and genocide.
As a group that strives to inspire stewardship through restoration and education, we acknowledge that our work would not exist without colonization. In many ways, the oyster symbolizes the lost history, untold stories, and voices of the rightful stewards of this land, from the past and present. As we work to restore oyster reefs to New York Harbor, we also aim to foster open communication. To ensure that our land acknowledgment is a living document, we look forward to engaging indigenous tribal members in the ongoing drafting process and our work at large.
We commit to center indigenous voices, stories, and learnings in all future community engagement, education, and restoration efforts in New York Harbor. After all, restoration is not just environmental; true restoration happens with people and their practices.
Just the Beginning
"Manhattan Island in the sixteenth century" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1892.
The team at Billion Oyster Project acknowledges that there is a great deal we do not know about the history of New York Harbor and the original stewards of this land. We have just begun the process of researching, building connections, and improving this document in an effort to stay true to the values of Lenape peoples. The Land Acknowledgement above is just the beginning of the work we aim to do in the coming year.