Guide to Celebrating and Remembering Indigenous Peoples in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, October 13, 2025 – Philadelphia will celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day by focusing on the important contributions of Native Americans and the lasting impact of the Lenape people on the region’s history. From botany and agriculture to language and storytelling, Indigenous people continue to make their proud voices heard. 

“We don’t know the history we think we know,” said Doug Miller, site director for Pennsbury Manor, a reconstruction of the 17th-century country estate of Philadelphia founder William Penn. “The best thing to do is turn to the experts, including native historians of Indigenous Peoples and actual Lenape descendents. We should politely ask them to help us better understand their traditions and their history no matter how hard or intensely complicated it might be.” 

Sprawling across 43 acres along the Delaware River in Bucks County, Pennsbury Manor is situated on land once inhabited and owned by the Lenape. Their deep-rooted struggle (the Lenape were displaced by Penn’s sons as part of the Walking Purchase of 1737) – is still told at the historic site today. 

National Indigenous Peoples Day will be commemorated across the country on Oct. 13, with Native American Heritage Month set to kick off on Nov. 1. In Philadelphia, new exhibits dedicated to discovery and education are set to open their all-inclusive doors to the public. 

Let’s take a look at everything going on in support of Indigenous Peoples Day: 

New Exhibits and Experiences

Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy
Opens March 26, 2026

This special exhibit is a bold retelling of the historic tale of Lewis and Clark Expedition as told through Indigenous perspectives. The Botany of Nations will marry botany – the study of plants – with ethnobotany as it investigates the direct inter-relationships between plants and people. Many of the plant specimens collected on the 8,000-mile Corps of Discovery journey westward are on long-term deposit at the Academy. 

Native North America Gallery at Penn Museum
3260 South St.
Opens November 2026

This gallery is dedicated to reframing the political, religious, linguistic and artistic self-determination of Native peoples. The Penn Museum partnered with eight Indigenous consulting curators to re-examine more than 250 artifacts from their North American collections including projectile points dating back to 9500 BCE. Visitors will encounter an empty display case upon entering the exhibit to serve as a reminder of the fraught relationship between museums and Indigenous peoples. 

Living History and Remembrances

Indigenous Peoples Weekend at Museum of American Revolution
101 S 3rd St.
Oct. 11-13

The museum’s popular “Meet the Revolution” series brings together living history interpreters Kehala Smith (Mohawk, Bear Clan), Jordan Smith (Mohawk, Bear Clan) and Halzz Jimerson (Onondaga Nation, Deer Clan) for a day of insightful discussions and thoughtful demonstrations, including explanations on culturally meaningful objects like woven baskets, wampum belts and slippery elm bark. Most of the programming is included with regular admission. 

Lenape Cultural Program at Pennsbury Manor
400 Pennsbury Memorial Rd., Morrisville, PA 19067
Oct. 25

This annual celebration of the Lenape shines a spotlight on the “First People of Pennsylvania.” Federally-recognized descendents of the Lenape will share their personal stories and demonstrate traditional tribal dances during a full day of programming Admission is free; tours will be offered.

Treaties and Tombstones

Graystones – Before shaking hands over the Treaty of Shackamaxon, William Penn’s representatives and Lenape leaders first met in present-day Morrisville to negotiate Pennsylvania’s original land-purchase survey. That event is honored at Graystones, a memorial at Crown Street and Highland Avenue consisting of a large rock display marking the site of the agreement signed under a long-gone oak tree.

Stenton
4601 N 18th St.

The handshakes that finalized the Walking Purchase occurred at Stenton in Germantown in 1737, where the duplicitous land agreement’s last negotiations between William Penn’s sons and unsuspecting Lenape representatives were held. The plantation-turned-museum once belonged to James Logan — William Penn’s former secretary, future Philadelphia mayor and namesake of Logan Square.

Tamanend
1 S Front St.

At the intersection of Front and Market street in Old City is the towering 21-foot-tall statue of Tamanend. The artwork depicts the eponymous chief — the venerable Lenape leader who welcomed William Penn and signed the region’s first land agreement — atop a turtle, while an eagle carrying a wampum belt sits perched on his shoulder. The statue of the chief known as “The Affable One” was constructed by artist Raymond Sandoval from bronze and schist and dedicated in 1995.

Walking Purchase – William Penn’s sons presented a misleading document to the Lenape leaders in 1737, falsely claiming that Penn already owned a parcel of land that they desired to seize. The difficult history of the Walking Purchase land and its associated agreements can be explored by uncovering historical markers throughout Bucks County in Springtown, Ottsville, Wrightstown and Washington Crossing. Many of the markers, however, exclude the Lenape perspective.

Historical Markers and Milestones

Pennsbury Manor
400 Pennsbury Memorial Rd., Morrisville, PA 19067

Located along the Delaware River banks in Bucks County is a reconstruction of William Penn’s 43-acre country estate, the first parcel of land he obtained from the Lenape on July 5, 1682. This included the future site of his summer home, Pennsbury Manor. Walk the grounds and listen to the sonic art installation Nkwiluntàmën: I long for it, I am lonesome for it (such as the sound of a drum) – created by a descendant of the Lenape to voice their story through the sound of the wind. 

Penn Treaty Park
1301 N. Beach St.

According to legend, Pennsylvania founder William Penn signed his treaty of peace with the local Lenape tribe under an elm tree just off the Delaware River in 1683 in what is now known as Penn Treaty Park. Though the tree fell in a storm in 1810, the city officially opened Penn Treaty Park in Fishtown on the surrounding land in 1894. Today, a statue of William Penn stands guard. 

Poquessing Trail of History
3001 Byberry Rd.

Nestled in the Byberry neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia sits a stretch of land once inhabited by the Lenape. They established villages on the Poquessing Creek – “place of mice” in Unami – where they farmed, hunted and fished alongside European settlers until the early 18th century, eventually displaced. There are no physical structures standing yet the Lenape spirit remains strong thanks to storytelling initiatives by the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. 

St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
3025 Church Rd., Lafayette Hill, PA 19444

Battlefield enthusiasts shouldn’t miss the Battle of Barren Hill site, where 50 Oneida and Tuscarora warriors fought alongside a rebel reconnaissance force, losing six Oneida soldiers in the skirmish, who were then buried at nearby St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.

Valley Forge National Historical Park
1400 N Outer Line Dr., King of Prussia, PA 19406

General George Washington asked for a delegation of Oneida and Tuscarora warriors to join the Continental Army in 1778, enlisting Indigenous peoples to counter British raids in the area. The American Indian Allies proved themselves as exceptional scouts and Washington praised their “attention and kindness, for their perseverance and fidelity.” The national park honors them by showing a film entitled The Unsung Heroes of Valley Forge. 

Immersive Museums and Attractions

Mercer Museum
84 S Pine St., Doylestown, PA 18901

Henry Chapman Mercer — a prominent archaeologist, anthropologist and ceramist — founded Bucks County’s Mercer Museum to house his incredible collection of pre-industrial tools, early manual technologies and crafts related to American life before mechanization. Among his 40,000-piece collection are numerous Indigenous artifacts dating back to between 6,000 and 8,000 B.C.

Museum of the American Revolution
101 S 3rd St.

Indigenous peoples allied themselves with forces on both sides of the Revolutionary War. The museum’s self-guided tour entitled The People Between: Native Americans in a Revolutionary Era features art and exhibits – including The People Between, which explores how Indigenous peoples viewed the American independence movement – as well as immersive presentations in the Oneida Nation Theater, including displays on Seneca leader Ki-On-Twog-Ky (Cornplanter) and Oneida warrior Thaonawyuthe (Chainbreaker).

Philadelphia Art Museum
2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy.

The newly rebranded museum features the New Early American Galleries collection, which tells the story of Philadelphia as the young nation’s cultural capital, including how Indigenous artists contributed to the development of American art. There’s also American Encounters, a gallery featuring works from Lenape artists, including the wampum belt presented to William Penn at the Treaty of Shackamaxon and portraits of Lenape leaders from Swedish artist Gustavus Hesselius.

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