As we absorb the physical space we are in, we want to take a moment to acknowledge the history of this land and the original people of this land. While I talk about this history and share this Land Acknowledgement written by Trinity Norwood, Citizen of The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Nation, just take a moment to breathe, look around, and take in the surroundings. Before Philadelphia was the city we know and love today, this land was known as “Lenapehoking( Lun-nah-pay-hawk-ing)” or Land of the Lenape. The Lenape are the indigenous people of what is modern-day Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the southern tip of New York. Through genocide, relocations, the Indian Boarding School era, and continued systematic erasure the Lenape people have persevered and live on as modern-day sovereign nations. We recognize their legacy that has been soaked into the very ground we stand on right now. And we acknowledge the intergenerational connection to this legacy that we all share as the descendants to the immigrants of this land. Although this history is heavy, the future is filled with hope. As part of this practice of acknowledgement we will be giving 10%/or $100 (of all donations made) at Beardmobile events to We Are The Seeds, a local and national organization that celebrates and educates about contemporary Indigenous arts and culture. You can connect to their work @wearetheseeds.org.

Other websites to check out are: Indigenous Peoples Day Philly (https://ipdphilly.org/), the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Nation of NJ (https://nlltribe.com/), and the National Congress of the American Indian (https://www.ncai.org/)