On that day, members of the many bands of the Lenape family of Indians, from as far away as Canada, came to lower Manhattan to participate in an historic healing ceremony with members of the Collegiate Church of New York, the oldest surviving institution of the 17th-century Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam. The event was planned and organized by Intersections, in partnership with representatives of the Lenape people. The Rev. We, the Collegiate Church, recognize our part in your suffering … We consumed your resources, dehumanized your people, and disregarded your culture, along with your dreams, hopes and great love for this land. We express sorrow for our part in these actions. Today, the descendants of the original explorers who landed here have come to the descendants of those who have always been here, and openly apologized for their responsibility in policies that so decimated our peoples. They have extended their hands in friendship to chart a new course of race relations, to usher in a new era of healing and reconciliation that can only have beneficial results for the whole of humanity.
july 10-13, 2020
Healing the Wounds of Turtle Island
Our ancestors tell us that the Eastern Gate is where we will gather to begin the healing of this land. It is here in the East where first contact was made between the Native peoples and the newcomers. It is here that the first blood was spilled between our people, and our history of violence began. So, it is here on this same land that the healing must begin. The Wabanaki, the people of the first light, are the keepers of the Eastern Door.
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Our ancestors tell us that the Eastern Door is where we will gather to begin the healing of this land. It is here in the East where first contact was made between the Native peoples and the newcomers. It is here that the first blood was spilled between our people, and the long history of violence began. And, it is here on this same land that the healing must begin. Our prophecies tell us that when the people of the world rise and begin standing for the protection of life, a great healing will begin. For that healing to take root, the people must return to the place where the initial wounding on this land took place and come together with one heart and one mind to heal the wounds that they carry within them, and to then offer that healing to Mother Earth.
Our ancestors tell us that the Eastern Door is where we will gather to begin the healing of this land. It is here in the East where first contact was made between the Native peoples and the newcomers. It is here that the first blood was spilled between our people, and the long history of violence began. And, it is here on this same land that the healing must begin. Our prophecies tell us that when the people of the world rise up and begin standing for the protection of life, a great healing will begin. In order for that healing to take root, the people must return to the place where the initial wounding on this land took place, and join together with one heart and one mind to heal the wounds that they carry within them, and those carried by Mother Earth. When they do, the Eastern Door will re-open and we will be able to renew our sacred contracts with one another as human beings, and between human beings and the rest of creation.
