Week 5
Individual Project
Title
Offering to Ancestors Grove (Working title)
Concept
Historical Art installation of Lenapehoking past and present that intentionally acknowledges the lives of people that are written in history and contributed to the founding of Philadelphia and to the freedom of a New America. This installation will interpret and translate the native presence during influential and course changing times in Early American history in a city that has had so much to gain from it.
Background
The Lenape were the original people of the land we now call Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey, these ancestral ground have been a part of their blood memory for millennia until the 1683 Treaty with William Penn at Shackamaxon under the Elm tree where Lenape and Quaker vowed to live among each other and exchanged gifts for land. The city we call Philadelphia, the most historic city in the country, for its location on the northeastern seaboard of North America
Justification
Native representation in the United States is lacking, and even more so if you are not a part of the culture. In the city of brotherly love and high touristic place on the coast has almost no representation if you don’t know where to look for it or simply unaware of native presence. There are at most 3 public commemorations to Native American presence in Philadelphia, one of which visually shows a Lenni-Lenape man who appears to be Chief Tamanend, who signed the 1683 treaty with William Penn. The other statues are references to Native American presence like the statue in Fairmount park which shows a Native man kneeling on a rock with adorned with a war bonnet which is not a part of Lenape traditional Regalia, and then the Swann Memorial Fountain in Logan Square which is said to represent the three rivers.
Location
Front and Market Street, Philadelphia Pennsylvania.
I chose this location because although the Tamanend Statue is much more visible than William Penn on top of City Hall, it still has a level of superiority of the European and docile of the Indigenous. With this realization I choose to create a spot of intentional indigenous thought and presence in front of the Tamanend Statue, where the bus stop was.
Interpretation (1 way)
Initial idea of interpretation was to construct living installation that can be utilized by the public as a spot of reflection based on the city plans to change Market St into a walkable center from its proposed fly bridge over the Delaware river and I-95 Highway.
Conclusion
The impact of having an intentional space that honors Lenape presence in Philadelphia past, present and future will have lasting effects on this historical city of Pennsylvania. In field observation there is little representation, knowledge and regard for the Lenape of Pennsylvania and if it is mention it is a textbook history sweep of Lenape history and presentive during the time of early America and early united states. In having this space of remembrance and honor the reconnection to a highly developed setting which has not shied away from admitting that it builds over historic sites brings the narrative back into the hands of the original caretakers of the flood plains of the Delaware river and its tributaries.
Drawing (emerging)
Week 4
My time during the INDE tour was insightful. I observed the park's interpretation and exhibit work very intently, as it is something I am interested in, being a part of my major and the beginning of my research. Upon meeting with NPS, I was appreciative of our guide, Debbie, as she took us through the most historical walkways to reach Independence Park and explained the key components of the written labels and materials shown in the outdoor exhibition. I particularly like how INDE highlighted slavery and how our "influential" leaders had participated in slavery, even going as far as skirting around the law to uphold it. When we got to the group tour in Independence Hall, I observed our interpreter and how she interacted with the crowd. I liked how she took note of the young folk in the crowd, which I am sure led her script to be more of what might have been a part of the school curriculum. I will say that she did veer into her own interest and hone in on the political aspect of why Independence Hall is such an important place, which, as a federally funded space in our current political climate, was very powerful to include in her script. Still, I also think that it was a bit much for the times.
When we arrived at the Second Bank Portrait Gallery, I was very inspired by the way the exhibition was set up. To the lighting and partition screens of daily 18th-century towns, which separated the art into small sections, creating an immersive experience. The art labels provided information about the subject in the painting, along with a timeline and/or a tidbit of other information underneath a concept title, accompanied by more historical anecdotes that aren't covered in the school curriculum. I appreciated the gallery space, and although I think it lacks indigenous history, considering the theme it is working with, the information present did make me more curious to learn about the individuals I was seeing and reading about, prompting me to go out and learn more, and make my own interpretations.
Week 2: Collections
Chester County Historical Center
225 N. High Street, West Chester. PA 19380
Contact: cchs@mycchc.org | 610-692-4800
Museum Hours
Wednesday - Saturday 10:00 AM- 4:00 PM
Library and Photo Archive Hours
Wednesday - Saturday 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Closed 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Wednesday - Saturday 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Center Staff Information
Librarian
Wyatt Young
Assistant Librarian & Archives Technician
John Kovatch
Chester County Archives at Chester County Government Services Center Director of Archives and Records Services
Cliff Parker
Archivist
Stacy Hutcheson
Assistant Archivist
Maureen Iplenski
Chester County's policy regarding photography, photocopying, and reproduction of images or artifacts is established by the Research Center and Curatorial Staff upon request through the "Collections Access Request Form." Collection Photographic Reproduction is done by a quote, and fees will apply for requests for certain collection items that are not available for public viewing for research purposes.
Any specialized inquiries are to be made to the staff of the respective department: Photo Archives: photos@mycchc.org
Museum Collections: museum@mycchc.org
Library Collection: library@mycchc.org
The Chester County Historical Center offers a range of finding aids for its collections, which are available upon request from the Library and Archival Department. In addition to using the Request Collection Form, there is also an online catalogue. This catalogue, available on the CCHC website, provides detailed information about our collections and how to access them. You can also find directions to access more information through the office of Commonwealth Libraries, POWER Library, in the online catalogue section of the CCHC website.
The archives of the Chester County Historical Society are extensive and contain numerous finds that are easily accessible through request and appointment, covering not only Philadelphia history but also early colonial America. I selected one of Albert Cook Myers' Collections housed in the Chester Repository. I began looking for Indigenous presence, particularly mentions of the Unami Lenape, in the Albert Cook Myers Historical Collection: William Penn Papers. In addition to discovering the presence of Unami Lenape, I also found historical information on Lenape place names and other significant documents that relate to research on Native Americans from William Penn's time. Using this repository will provide access to more materials from early colonial America and the various events that occurred during that era.
The extensive collection of the Chester County Historical Center boasts a substantial archival collection, featuring a wealth of information and personal accounts that provide a clear sense of the many eras that Philadelphia has endured. From collections of books, journals, and papers to companion collections of artifacts and objects in the museum, the Chester County Historical Center is a valuable resource for gathering research on materials that are not easily accessible online when exploring the history of Philadelphia.
Week 1: Hopes & Gifts
It all begins with an idea.
My hope for this experience is to solidify my research practices and figure out what works best for me to connect with material culture. I hope to gain a better understanding of researching with Indigenous methods and sources at the forefront of my approach, rather than simply incorporating them into the perspective and narrative I am trying to rediscover and rewrite.
A gift I bring is my understanding that I'm not just researching history but walking through memories of those who have been silenced in telling their narratives. Understanding those who forged paths for Indigenous knowledge of culture and lifeways is all about the connection we have to specific places that we belong to. This gift of bringing ancestral ways of knowing with me is what strengthens my research approaches.
To best utilize my time with StoryMakers, I need to sit with the readings and thoroughly analyze the narrative they are amplifying, in order to inform how I can find productive ways to continue their work. I also need time to connect with community members to understand their worldview in relation to how they see their past, present, and future for their communities. In doing so, it would allow me to develop a plan for incorporating their voices into my research, one that stems from an inherent understanding of place and belonging, as well as ancestral knowledge and connection to the land. I want to learn from StoryMakers how to create intentional spaces of connection to help recover and reclaim Indigenous presence in the collective consciousness of the general public.