Indigenous People's Day Flag Raising at Philadelphia City Hall

Trinity Norwood was one of the speakers during the Indigenous People's Day Flag Raising Event at Philadelphia City Hall on October 7, 2021.  Her comments, and those she shared from her father, are below... 

Its an honor to be able to be here with you all today and share in the historic moment. 

As I stand here among organizers, activists, politicians, ceremony keepers, and Tribal leaders I am humbled. Often times, when fighting the good fight, it is easy to be dismayed by the feeling that even with all your hard work the dial hasn’t moved an inch. But then, you get a day like today, it is a powerful reminder that all our efforts are not for naught but paving a bright future that will be felt by all our relations. 

Celebrating Indigenous peoples day here in Philadelphia is particularly significant because its history starts with Lenape people. The treaty between William Penn and Lenape leaders at Shakamaxon, what many know today as Penn Treaty Park, is the cornerstone of the story of not just this city but the state of Pennsylvania. And as we celebrate over the next few days, I hope we all embody the principles that this city was founded on: freedom, peace, equality, and respect. 

To me, this flag raising symbolizes hope.

It symbolizes the hope our ancestors clung to through genocide, relocations, and erasure. 

It symbolizes the hope we can all share in for a unified future that celebrates our American history, not just from the moment Europeans reached these shores, but from its deep roots of beautiful indigenous nations. 

It also symbolizes unity. The unity between indigenous nations of the Americas. Although boarders have been created to separate us, our histories are eternally tied together, interlocking like a braid. 

The unity of all Philadelphians sharing in the city’s true history and being a positive example of how to honor and acknowledge Indigenous peoples - and hopefully not just one day a year.

I believe today is a great step in a more unified and inclusive city, and I am honored to be among you today.  

I am here today to read a statement from someone I consider one of the greatest, my Daddy 😊 

So without further ado, a message from the desk of the Rev. Dr. J.R. Norwood

----- Rev. Dr. J. R. Norwood's comments below were read by Trinity Norwood ----

For the Raising of the Indigenous Peoples Day Flag at Philadelphia City Hall on October 7, 2021...

Wanishi to the organizers of this event for allowing my words to be heard from the lips of my daughter.  I regret not being able to attend in person, but I am – at this moment – otherwise engaged in the never-ending work of protecting and promoting the inherent dignity and rights of the sovereign Indigenous Nations of Turtle Island. 

I have often seen flags representing foreign countries, and even national movements, raised at various government buildings here in Lenapehoking. What was typically absent served as a painful reminder of the exclusion of the Indigenous Peoples of this land from the minds and hearts of those in positions of power.  Representations of our people have too often been relegated to museum displays or to a mention on a historic plaque referencing only events of the distant past.  Sadly, our continuing history has been often overlooked in the halls of government that rise along the banks of the Creator’s river, which the ancestors called “Lenapei Wihittuck.” and the Creator’s bay, which the ancestors called “Poutaxat.” 

This day, as people from the many nations of Turtle Island gather in solidarity, an emblem of our shared continuing testimony of survival has been raised at the seat of government in the city where the great Treaty of Amity was made over three centuries ago.  I praise the Creator for this day and pray that this flag serves to remind all who see it that the many peoples who were here long before colonial flags were raised upon this land… ARE STILL HERE!  May the Creator bless us and strengthen us to live with a determination to honor the hope of the ancestors to live in dignity, love, and harmony as long as the creeks and rivers run and the sun, moon and stars endure.  

Nanne Leketch! 

Humbly Sumbmitted,

Rev. Dr. J. R. Norwood (Nanticoke-Lenape)