Third Annual Munsee Language and History Symposium

Date

Nov 3, 2023 – Nov 5, 2023

Institute for Advanced Study and Firestone Library

Speaker

Professor of History and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous People, History and Archives, University of Winnipeg

Details

This event continues and deepens ongoing relationships with Lunaapeewak (Lenape people) from the Munsee-speaking tribal nations currently living in diaspora, bringing them together with Princeton students, staff, and faculty on their own traditional territory, Lunaapahkiing. Indigenous language revitalization counteracts the violent history of settler colonial regimes, including boarding schools where Native children were forced to speak English exclusively. Speakers at the 2023 Munsee symposium will focus on archival evidence pertaining to these boarding schools, as well as on public history, the role of libraries and archives, and the development of K-12 curriculum.

Organizers: Suzanne Conklin Akbari (IAS), Anu Vedantham (PUL), Catalina Méndez-Vallejo (Spanish and Portuguese)

Attending the Symposium: If you plan to attend in person, please email [email protected] so that we can keep track of the numbers. For Zoom attendance, please register on Zoom.

3 November 2023

9:30 to 10 a.m. | IAS, Wolfensohn Hall

Opening remarks: How are Lunaapeew communities related?

10:00 to 11:15 am | IAS, Wolfensohn Hall

Opening lecture: Reclaiming the Stories of our Families

Cody Groat (Kanyen'kehaka, Six Nations / Western University)

11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | IAS, Wolfensohn Hall

Session 1: Lunaapeewak in Public History: Indigenous Soldiers in the British, Canadian, and US Armed Forces

Jo Ann Gardner Schedler and Jacob Lenz (Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohican Indians)
John Moses (Kanyen'kehaka and Delaware, Six Nations / Canadian Museum of History)

2:30 to 3:45 p.m. | Firestone Library, A6F

Session 2: Munsee Belongings

Ian McCallum (Munsee-Delaware Nation / OISE, University of Toronto), “Munsee-Delaware Wampum Belts”
Suzanne Conklin Akbari and Melissa Moreton (IAS), “Lunaapeewak at Princeton and Lunaape Book History”

3:45 to 4:45 p.m. | Firestone Library, Special Collections classroom

Book and map display presented by Gabriel Swift (Princeton University Library, Special Collections)

4:45 to 5:30 p.m. | Firestone Library, A6F

Session 3: Reclaiming Lunaape Knowledge

Velma Noah-Nicholas (Eelunaapeewi Lahkeewiit / Western University)

4 November

9:30 to 10:45 a.m. | IAS, Rubenstein Commons

Session 4: Teaching Lunaape Language: Community Updates (roundtable discussion)

Ian McCallum (Munsee-Delaware Nation)
Velma Noah-Nicholas (Eelunaapeewi Lahkeewiit)
Karelle Hall (Nanticoke Indian Tribe)
Kristin Jacobs (Eelunaapeewi Lahkeewiit)

11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. | IAS, Rubenstein Commons

Session 5: Resources for Lunaape Language Learning

Jamie Tucker (Munsee-Delaware Nation) and Sreeniketh Vogoti (Princeton University), “Towards a Digital Munsee Dictionary”
Kristin Jacobs, “Using Lunaape Language Camp Videos in Teaching”

2 to 3:45 p.m. | IAS, Rubenstein Commons

Session 6: Representing Lunaapeewak in School Curricula (roundtable discussion)

Rachel Talbert, Natacha Robert, and Nancy Tavarez-Correa (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Claire Garland (Sand Hill / Navesink)
Karelle Hall (Nanticoke Indian Tribe; Rutgers University)
Ian McCallum (Munsee-Delaware Nation; OISE, University of Toronto)

4 to 5 p.m. | IAS, Wolfensohn Hall

S.T. Lee Lecture: Lunaape History, Colonial Archives, and Munsee Historical Methods

Mary Jane Logan McCallum (Munsee-Delaware Nation / University of Winnipeg)

The public lecture is made possible by the Dr. S.T. Lee Fund for Historical Studies.

5 to 5:30 p.m.

Closing Discussion

Future directions and pathways, news and upcoming events

5 November

10 a.m. to Noon | IAS, Rubenstein Commons