Conference Celebrates Lenape Culture

Event draws participants from across U.S. and Canada

Over 170 people gathered to celebrate Lenape culture at the Homecoming: The Lenape Speak Conference this summer. The event included traditional music as well as panel discussions on Lenape history, language, horticulture, food sovereignty and justice, medicine, and storytelling.

 The conference, held at Northampton Community College (NCC), was a collaboration between Chief Adam Waterbear DePaul, tribal storykeeper and director of education for the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, and NCC’s East 40, a 43-acre garden and nature space located at the Bethlehem campus that serves as an outdoor classroom for students and community members.

 DePaul long dreamt of hosting a gathering of this kind. The collaboration with the East 40 provided both the opportunity and space to turn his dream into a reality.

 “When we call it a historic event, that’s not hyperbole,” said DePaul in an interview with Lehigh Valley Public Radio prior to the event. “To have any conference or any gathering like this about the Lenape people is rare and important because our people and our presence are so erased here [in Pennsylvania]. It’s unprecedented.”

 The conference opened with a welcome of traditional drumming. There also were drumming sessions in between panel sessions.

 Not only was the conference a gathering for members of the Lenape Nation, it was an educational event that offered the community opportunities to learn more about indigenous culture in the region. In addition to the panel discussions and music, there were craft demonstrations and traditional foods prepared by NCC Dining Services and inspired by Lenape recipes. 

 Participants noted that the conference provided “a space for meaningful connection and healing” and that the “joy of bringing a people that has been somewhat fractured together was powerful to witness.”

Clan Mother, Shelley DePaul, speaks with participants

 Demonstrations by craftspeople