'Voices of the Lenape' Symposium at Essex County College In Newark Slated For Oct. 26

From Essex County College:

As part of the Newark Celebration 350, Essex County College will host the special event "Voices of the Lenape" on Wednesday, October 26. The free program, featuring two symposiums and the screening of the 2014 film American Native, will be held in Smith Hall on the College's Newark campus.

"Our goal is to inform people that while we celebrate 350 years of Newark history, we are the only ones presenting information on the indigenous people who were here before the earliest colonists," said Essex Associate Professor of English Eileen De Freece. De Freece is part Ramapough Lenape, one of the three recognized Native American tribes in New Jersey, along with the Nanticoke and the Powatan.

There are an estimated 3,800 to 4,500 Ramapough Lenape living in New Jersey. Some of the tribal land straddles the Ramapo Mountains into New York, so the bi-state numbers are higher.

De Freece is conducting the symposiums with her sister, Maria De Freece Lawrence, a professor at Rhode Island College. In addition, among the displays will be old photos (many of which are of Freece's relatives) and a copy of the original deed from the tribe to the pioneers when they acquired the land that is now Newark and Essex County. Papers written by Naomi Campbell, a Ramapough and University of Rhode Island professor, will also be on display.

Symposium 1 (Indigenous Imaging) will be held from 10 to 11:20 a.m. The interactive symposium will examine how Native Americans are portrayed in contemporary society.

Symposium 2 (Indigenous Decolonization) will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. This interactive symposium will explore how Native Americans are asserting themselves through the mechanisms of power, such as self-proclaimed identity, language, culture, community, food, education, and political sovereignty.

American Native is a story of identity and the importance that race plays in determining cultural heritage. The film will screen at 7 p.m.

The program is supported by the Community Foundation of New Jersey/Newark Celebration 350 Fund. It is also part of the College's Humanities Division's observance of National Arts and Humanities Month.

Additional information is available by emailing rampough1@gmail.com.

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