Fulfilling a Prophecy: The Past and Present of the Lenape in Pennsylvania

Fulfilling a Prophecy: The Past and Present of the Lenape in Pennsylvania will be open in our Hover gallery 13 September 2008 through 11 July 2010.

Conventional histories of Pennsylvania declare that all but a few elderly Lenape people left the state by the opening of the 19th century. Yet, many remained in secret. Children of the little known Lenape-European marriages of the 1700s stayed on the Lenape homelands, practicing their traditions covertly. Hiding their heritage, they avoided discovery by both the government and their neighbors for more than two hundred years. Now, the descendants of these people have come forward to tell their story.

Fulfilling a Prophecy, organized by the Penn Museum together with the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, features never before displayed objects from the private collections of Lenape people in Pennsylvania, in addition to historic and contemporary photographs and archaeological objects from the collections of Penn Museum. Ancient masks, dolls, jewelry, and other traditional arts are featured, as well as a number of once-secret family heirlooms, rich with hidden Lenape symbolism, dating from the early 19th century.

Like half of all Native American groups in the United States, the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania is not recognized by the federal or state authorities. Though there are many privileges to be gained through recognition, the process of gaining recognition remains both complex and expensive for many Native American groups.

The exhibit also addresses the activities and aspirations of the Lenape of Pennsylvania today, as members of the community speak out through a short video.

Visit the Fulfilling a Prophecy website

This exhibition is made possible by Diane vS. and Robert Levy, University Scholars at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, the Penn Center for Native American Studies, the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates “Native Voices” program, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, and by Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities' We the People initiative on American History.