Join Joe Baker and Hadrien Coumans of Lenape Center for a conversation that revisits Lenapehoking, the traditional homeland of the Lenape People, at the heart of which is the island known as Manhattan.
From restoring virtual-reality birch forests to Broadway on the Kinfolk app, to the art, agriculture, and traditions created and protected by Lenape Center and Lenape People, the movement to preserve Lenape life and spaces continues. Hear from the Lenape Center about this work to literally revise our view of this thousands-of-years-old homeland, as well how the Lenape People have made home in the diasporic spaces forced on them by colonial displacement.
Joe Baker, enrolled member of Delaware Tribe of Indians, is a direct line descendent of notable Lenape leaders, including Simon Whiteturkey, Captain Anderson Sarcoxie (Treaty of Greenville 1795), Captain White Eyes (Treaty of Fort Pitt 1778), Netawatwees or King Newcomer (Treaty of Conestoga 1763), Tamanend, King Tammany (1625-1701), and Chief Nutimus (signed the confirmation deed, Walking Purchase 1737).
Baker is co-founder and executive director of Lenape Center in Manhattan, and an artist, educator, and curator who has been working in the field of Native Arts for the past 30 years. He is visiting professor of museum studies at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Baker earned his BFA degree in design from the University of Tulsa and an MFA and postgraduate study in painting and drawing from Harvard University, Graduate School of Education, MDP Program. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
Hadrien Coumans works with the Lenape legacy and cultural continuity in institutions, organizations and Nations. He advances historical and cultural understanding in contemporary practice, addressing complex collective histories and supporting cultural revitalization. He serves in the areas of strategic partnerships, initiatives, production and development. Coumans is a traditionally adopted member of the WhiteTurkey-Fugate family. He is a founding member and deputy director of Lenape Center.