During this hour and a half long panel discussion, we will speak with representative from four federally recognized Lenape/Delaware tribes from the United States and Canada. We will discuss the history of the Lenape/Delaware diaspora from their ancestral homelands, which are commonly known as the Hudson and Delaware River Valleys. We will also discuss the various efforts being made today to preserve and protect the Lenape/Delaware culture, homeland, and way of life for future generations.
This virtual program is formatted as a Zoom webinar. Throughout the program, registrants will be encouraged to submit questions by way of the Q&A feature.
Panelists:
Joe Baker, Delaware tribe of Indians (OK)
Heather Bruegl, Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians (WI)
Mark Peters, Munsee-Delaware Nation (ON)
Joe Baker is a Native Arts leader and activist. He supports a multidisciplinary community of arts practioners to create authentic stories challenging museum visitors expectations while illuminating the complexity of the human spirit. He is an enrolled member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians, Bartlesville, OK and co-founder and executive director of Lenape Center in New York, NY. His work has recently focused on addressing issues of identity and global cultural equity. He is the recipient of many awards, including but limited to: the Virginia Piper Charitable Trust 2005 Fellows Award, recognizing outstanding leaders in nonprofit communities, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art’s Contemporary Catalyst Award for 2007, the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of the American Indian Design Award 2008, and ASU’s Presidential Medal for Social Embeddedness, 2009. He graduated from the University of Tulsa with a BFA degree in Design and an MFA in painting and drawing, and completed postgraduate study, Harvard University, Graduate School of Education, MDP Program.
Heather Bruegl, a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and first line descendent Stockbridge Munsee, is a graduate of Madonna University in Michigan and holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in U.S. History. Inspired by a trip to Wounded Knee, South Dakota, a passion for Native American History was born. She has spoken for numerous groups including the University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Oshkosh, College of the Menominee Nation. Heather also opened up and spoke at the Women’s March Anniversary in Lansing, Michigan in January 2018. She also spoke at the first ever Indigenous Peoples March in Washington, DC in January of 2019. In the summer 2019 and virtually in 2020, she spoke at the Crazy Horse Memorial and Museum in Custer, South Dakota for their Talking Circle Series and then again in 2021. She has also become the ‘’accidental activist’’ and speaks to different groups about intergenerational racism and trauma and helps to bring awareness to our environment, the fight for clean water and other issues in the Native community. A curiosity of her own heritage led her to Wisconsin, where she has researched the history of the Native American tribes in the area. In addition to that she also currently travels and speaks on Native American history, including policy and activism.
Mark Peters is the Chief of the Munsee-Delaware Nation in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. He has been the historian for their community for the past 30 years. He has worked in the Logging Industry in the Queen Charlotte Islands/Haida Gwaii on an Oil/Natural Gas Rig in Northern Alberta, as a Social Worker, and in Criminal and Family Law as a Member of the Law Society of Ontario. In addition to History, his present focus is on determining and finding ways to exercise Inherent Indigenous Rights, which have been severely limited by Canadian Law over the past 150 years.
General Admission $8
Discounted Admission $5
This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.