Nieuw Amsterdam As Manhattan

By Harrison Diskin

In the summer of 1641, a Wiechquaskeck man murdered Claes Smits, an aged wheelwright who lived in a small house north of Fort Amsterdam. He had visited Smits’ house to exchange beaver skins for duffels of cloth. But as Smits bent over to grab the cloth from a chest, the Native man (the records have not preserved his name) struck him dead with an axe. The Commander of the Dutch garrison at Fort Amsterdam pursued the man back to his village and accosted him with questions.

Monuments of Colonial New York: The Tulip Tree and 'Signal'

Lisa Blee and John C. Winters

This week Gotham presents a six-part series on monuments, statues, and commemorations in / about colonial New York City. Recognizing that one of the more recent debates over public memory has been the conflict over Columbus / Indigenous People’s Day, we begin with Lisa Blee and John C. Winters, who examine monuments of and by Native peoples in Manhattan.

Lenape, Manhattan, Arts & Culture, Nature & Environment, New Amsterdam, Race & EthnicityGuest UserOctober 12, 2020Comment

Teaching Lenape History: An Interview with Pilar Jefferson

Today on the blog, Coordinator Katie Uva speaks to Pilar Jefferson, Education Coordinator at the Museum of the City of New York, to discuss the museum’s recent efforts in interpreting New York’s indigenous history.

Lenape, Interviews, Race & EthnicityGuest UserFebruary 28, 2019Comment

Notes on the Manhattan Purchase

By Richard Howe

Manhattan, New Amsterdam, LenapeGuest UserJune 27, 2012Comment