Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration To Be Held In Philly Next Month

The sixth annual Indigenous Peoples' Day to be held in Philly is fast approaching! The event will be at Shackamaxon (Penn Treaty Park - 1301 N Beach St, Philadelphia, PA 19125) on Monday, October 10, 2022, from 11 AM - 5 PM EDT. The event is hosted by Indigenous Peoples' Day Philly, Inc (IPD Philly), an Indigenous-led non-profit organization based in Philadelphia, PA. Through a celebration of art and culture, this annual event provides space for different Indigenous communities in the city to shed light on the history and strength of our people from 530 years of resistance.

2022 marks the second year since Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney declared Indigenous Peoples' Day an official holiday in the city. This decision was a part of Philadelphia's Pathways to Reform, Transformation, and Reconciliation initiative to build a more equitable community in the City of Brotherly Love.

The event location, Shackamaxon, also known as Penn Treaty Park, is within the ancestral territory of the Lenni-Lenape peoples. They are the original inhabitants of Delaware, New Jersey, and Eastern Pennsylvania. Shackamaxon, derived from "sakimauchheen ing," means "place to make a chief," and is where the community would formally recognize both family ("sakima") and clan ("kitakima") chiefs. The Great Elm Tree that once stood in Shackamaxon had a significant history as a place of important gatherings. It is where many sachems of the Lenni-Lenape and other tribes from Lenapehoking would meet for council. A third-generation descendant of the tree is growing in Shackamaxon today.

This year has seen some long overdue developments for the Lenape peoples. After 15 years of work, the five Lenape Nations in the United States and Canada finally welcomed 200 bodies of their ancestors back to Lenapehoking. They had been dug up from a ceremonial burial area in the 19th and 20th centuries and sold to collectors, universities, museums, and institutions as far as California. They reinterred their ancestors at Pennsbury Manor, the reconstructed home of William Penn on April 11th, 2022.

You can support the Lenape this year for Indigenous Peoples' Day, Philly 2022! There will be Lenape in the diaspora coming to Philadelphia from as far as Canada this year to celebrate with us on their ancestral territory! We have a fundraiser to help with the costs of travel for 3-5 people. To learn more and donate, visit this link!

Indigenous Peoples' Day, Philly 2022 is a family-friendly event that is open to the public. We will have some amazing vendors, presenters, dancers, and artists showcasing and selling their work! Don't miss out on the beauty that the local Indigenous community has to offer!

Be sure to join the festivities on Monday, October 10th, 2022, and bring your blankets, chairs, and masks!!!