HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The National Park Service’s proposal to remove a statue of William Penn from a historic site in Philadelphia was quickly withdrawn after backlash, but some of the people the agency had been asked to consult with was not a priority for many Native Americans. Preparations were underway to renovate the dilapidated plaza.
Jeremy Johnson, director of culture and education for the Delaware Indian Tribe, said that when park officials and tribal representatives met via video last year to plan the renovations, the image of Pennsylvania’s founding father from Welcome Park. Removal of the father’s statue was also not a major topic of discussion.
Rather, what tribal representatives envisioned for the plaza was an exhibit that would highlight the culture, history, traditions, and perceptions of the Native Americans who lived there for thousands of years before Penn’s arrival. Johnson said.
“We still hold William Penn in high esteem,” Johnson said. But tribal representatives said they were “really only focused on our culture and history, and in some ways he was an important part of that, but…it’s our entire history.” “It was a small interaction compared to that,” he said.
A Parks Service spokesperson did not respond to repeated questions about the abandoned proposal.
The plan, quietly announced Friday, immediately, and perhaps unexpectedly, exposed sensitivities to the image of Pennsylvania’s colonial founders and added to the battle over how to convey the nation’s history through monuments. It is feared that this will be the latest frontier in the field.
“Removing Penn’s statue to create a more inclusive environment would be an absurd and revisionist view of our state’s history,” said Brian Cutler, the state’s top Republican lawmaker. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro pressed the Biden administration to keep the bill in its “rightful home.”
The Park Service said it consulted with representatives of the Haudenosaunee Nation, the Delaware Nation, the Delaware Indian Tribe, the Shawnee Nation, and the Eastern Shawnee Nation of Oklahoma, whose ancestors were displaced by the colony of Pennsylvania. Such consultation with federally recognized tribes is required under the National Historic Preservation Act.
But leaders of the Shawnee and Eastern Shawnee tribes, which, like the Delaware tribe, are now based in Oklahoma, said they had not had any discussions about the matter. Shawnee Chief Ben Barnes opposes the statue’s removal, saying his tribe has not received the customary “Dear Chief” letter from officials.
“William Penn was a Shawnee ally,” Burns said. “As long as he lived, he kept his promise. As long as he could speak on behalf of the colony of western Pennsylvania, the Shoneese had a home there. … A horrible human being who brought tragedy to the Native Americans.” I wouldn’t put William Penn in that category.”
Historians say Penn’s willingness to negotiate with Indians for land was a sign that early colonial governments were willing to use force in bloody conflicts to expand settlements in the Chesapeake. and New England’s previous colonists.
But Penn’s accomplishments have been somewhat mythologised, and historians say his mission still led to the dispossession of indigenous peoples.
The William Penn statue is a replica of the bronze statue atop City Hall about 15 blocks away, atop a round marble pedestal that reads, “Welcome Park is dedicated to William Penn.” standing.
The park is named after the ship that brought Penn to Philadelphia in 1682 and was built on the site of one of Penn’s homes that was demolished in the 1800s.
Mr Johnson said he had no strong feelings about removing the statue as part of a broader plan to transform the plaza.
The plan calls for a wall-to-wall timeline of Penn’s life and legacy with titles such as “Gentleman,” “Quaker,” “Manager,” and “Friend of the Indians” to be replaced with new panels featuring Indigenous history. I plan to replace it. Johnson said the plan also included adding native plants, trees and circular benches to make the space more inviting.
The Parks Department currently says the statue will remain in place and that it will continue to work on restoring the site after going through a “robust public process to consider options.”
According to historians, Penn arrived in what is now Philadelphia in 1682 after receiving a large land grant from King Charles II. The land had been taken by the British from the Dutch colonialists.
As a Quaker, Penn sought peaceful interaction with the Lenape, said Gene Soderlund, a former history professor at Lehigh University.
But his goal as the colony’s “owner” was to acquire land to sell to European settlers, Soderland said.
It was “a treaty conquest,” said Michael Goode, associate professor of history at Utah Valley University.
Good said many Europeans and Americans saw William Penn as a symbol of enlightenment and religious tolerance.
Historians say the tribes trusted Penn to avoid bloodshed and used it as a strategic advantage in treaty negotiations.
Long after Penn’s death in 1718, tribal leaders negotiated treaties with colonial governors, acting as honest intermediaries and obligated to protect their legacy by being responsible for the treaties signed by colonial governors. Quoted his name, historians say.
“This is partly rhetorical and strategic, and the rest is everything,” said Andrew Murphy, a political science professor at the University of Michigan. “But he had something like a reputation as someone who was kind of respected, or at least what he represented came to be respected.”
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Marc Levy Associated Press