On April 17-18th, the Delaware Tribe of Indians and Ursinus College are joining together to host the 3rd Annual Lenape Symposium. Part of the ‘Welcome Home Project,’ Ursinus and the Perkiomen Valley School District have partnered with the Delaware Tribe of Indians to welcome them home in an acknowledgement of history, culture, and legacy of Lenape people.
Ursinus’ webpage for the Lenape Symposium encourages “Educators, community leaders, state representatives, staff from historical societies and museums, volunteers, and friends, who, in collaboration with the five Lenape tribes, are interested in responsibly and accurately representing Lenape history in the region” to attend. As there is limited space for the symposium and dinner to follow, registration is requested.
The Delaware Tribe of Indians is “a federally recognized tribe of the Lenape people headquartered in Bartlesville, Oklahoma,” as stated on their official website. Members of both the tribe and Ursinus will conduct a total of seven informational sessions on the proper representation of the Lenape in schools, historical societies, museums, and other educational programs. Featured sessions include: Who are the Lenape? History of the Lenape People and Nations; Whose History? Whose Items? Reclamation and Working with Museums, and General Q&A with Tribal Representatives.
For the full list of sessions and overall tentative schedule for both Friday the 17th and Saturday the 18th, visit the Lenape Symposium 2026 Ursinus webpage.
In these partnerships, Ursinus College acts to acknowledge and educate the campus community on Native tribes and how to preserve their histories, respect their cultures, and understand the impact made on the land the college sits upon. In 2022, Ursinus drafted a Land Acknowledgment Statement, stating:
Ursinus College respectfully acknowledges that our campus rests on Lënapehòkink, the ancestral and spiritual homelands of the following five nations: Delaware Tribe of Indians, Delaware Nation, Eelūnaapèewii Lahkèewiit (Delaware Nation at Moraviantown), Stockbridge-Munsee Community, and Munsee-Delaware Nation (Ontario).
Our community carries names derived from the Lenape language – names holding spiritual and cultural meaning while also bearing the remembrance of the systematic removal of the Lenape people over 250 years ago by European colonial powers, whose legacy still reinforces and benefits from the Lenape’s disenfranchisement.
Ursinus College commits to collaboration, representation, and inclusion as we work together with the Lenape people to bring about healing and reconciliation between and among all our communities.
In addition, Ursinus signed a Statement of Mutual Intentions with the Perkiomen Valley School District and the Delaware Tribe to make the necessary strides to respecting the partnership between the organizations.
If interested in attending the Lenape Symposium, check out the Ursinus College webpage detailing the event information and registration.