Third United Lenape/Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow

Prospect Park Alliance, EL Collective + American Indian Community House Present Third Annual Lenape Pow Wow October 3+4 at LeFrak Center at Lakeside

Free, Two-Day Event Welcomes the Indigenous Lenape Peoples Back to Their Ancestral Homelands With Dancers, Drummers, Artisan Craft + Food Makers

BROOKLYN– Prospect Park Alliance, the Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing Collective (EL Collective), and American Indian Community House, present the Third United Lenape/Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park, on Saturday, October 3 from 10 am–7 pm, and Sunday, October 4 from 10 am–4 pm. Enjoy a weekend of family-friendly activities with Lenape and allied Indigenous artists and creators, dancers and drummers, and artisan craft and food makers.

Free, RSVP Today! prospectpark.org/powwow 

Lenape/Lunáapeew means human beings or, more specifically, “the ones who came from thought,” and is the name of the Indigenous peoples whose ancestral homelands encompassed what is today Brooklyn and the surrounding region. Pow Wows are gatherings where Lenape/Lunáapeew and neighboring Indigenous nations socialize and celebrate life. Prospect Park hosted intertribal Pow Wows from 1916 to 1972. EL Collective Founder George Stonefish organized the First United Lenape/Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow at the Park Avenue Armory in 2018. In 2024, Prospect Park Alliance held a culture fair with the American Indian House and EL Collective and in 2025 hosted a full Pow Wow at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside, where the event will be held again this October. With support from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and the Mellon Foundation, the Third United Lenape/Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow shines a spotlight on the present-day Indigenous performers, artisans and cultural stewards who carry these age-old traditions forward.

“Reviving the Pow Wow tradition in Prospect Park provides the Lenape/Lunáapeew who were forced to relocate across the continent back to their ancestral homelands to reunite and celebrate, and offers Brooklynites of all backgrounds the chance to immerse themselves in the cultures of the original stewards of this land,” said Morgan Monaco, President of Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit organization that sustains the park in partnership with the City. “This historic event is a crucial step in healing deep-seated wounds from our nation’s past and ensuring that all in our community see themselves in our programming. We are grateful to our partners, EL Collective and the American Indian Community House, and Cultural Affairs Commissioner Diya Vij, for making this celebration possible.”

“We’re proud to welcome the United Lenape/Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow back to Prospect Park for a day of conversation, celebration, and culture. Events like this demonstrate how critical our public parks are as welcoming spaces that foster connection and bring people together,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura. “We look forward to Brooklyn’s Backyard hosting this celebration of Lenape/Lunáapeewand culture and heritage, and we’re grateful to the many partners who have made this event possible.”

“The Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing Collective and American Indian Community House do the important work of ensuring that Lenape people always have a place in their homelands, not only as a part of our city’s past, but as a necessary part of its present and future,” said NYC Cultural Affairs Commissioner Diya Vij. “NYC is home to the largest urban Indigenous population in the United States, and we’re proud to support this important gathering of Lenape/Lunáapeew people and neighbors to celebrate Indigenous art, food, and culture, and invite all New Yorkers to take part.”

“We are thrilled to join our partners at Prospect Park Alliance, American Indian Community House and the City in our work to bring together our Lenape communities from across Turtle Island,” said George Stonefish, Founder of EL Collective, which brings together Lenape/Lunáapeew communities who have been displaced across Turtle Island (North America). “This Pow Wow serves as an educational message to the broader community, and a social and cultural message for us, the Lenape people. We want all to leave the Pow Wow with a deeper understanding about why we as contemporary Native Americans still follow our culture, practice our dances and share our songs today.”

“This event holds significant cultural and historical importance, serving as a vibrant celebration of the rich traditions, heritage, and enduring spirit of the Lenape/Lunáapeew people,” said Patricia Tarrant, Executive Director of American Indian Community House. “The Pow Wow not only fosters cultural awareness and appreciation but also brings together diverse communities in the spirit of unity and respect. Events like this provide an invaluable platform for both education and cultural exchange. We commend the organizers, participants, and supporters of the Pow Wow for their dedication and hard work in showcasing and honoring these traditions. It is through such gatherings that we can build stronger, more inclusive communities that recognize and cherish the contributions of Native American cultures to our shared history.”

This year, organizers are placing an emphasis on involving younger generations in the planning and execution of the Pow Wow. The celebration features a Youth Spotlight with performers aged 6 to 17, and two young adults, Emma Hannah K. Stonefish (Eelūnaapèewii Lahkèewiit) and Javid Ridgeway (Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation), have been brought on as Pow Wow Coordinators.

“This third annual Pow Wow will focus on Lunáapeew/Lenape youth from across the continent,” said Brent Stonefish, Co-founder of EL Collective. “Two young Lunáapeew/Lenape young adults have been hired as coordinators of this event, while being mentored by their older relatives to help develop their leadership skills ensuring that our future generations continue to thrive and carry our rich culture into the future.”

The Pow Wow is part of the Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts initiative, which is transforming the park’s Lefferts Historic House museum to explore the lives, resistance and resilience of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking, whose unceded ancestral lands the park and house rests upon, and the Africans who were enslaved by the Lefferts family. On view at Lefferts in conjunction with the Pow Wow is Eelunaapéewi Ehaptoonáakanal: Voices of Lunáapeew/ Lenape, an exhibit celebrating 400 years of Indigenous resilience. Featuring video interviews with Lunáapeew/Lenape knowledge-keepers and culture bearers about their relationships to their ancestral homelands, including those with the EL Collective.

“New Yorkers are deeply interested in the original peoples of this land and their heritage, culture and art,” said Dylan Yeats Ph.D., Prospect Park Alliance’s Lefferts Historic House museum director. “Prospect Park Alliance seeks to welcome the original peoples of this land to the park and support their efforts to preserve and share their traditions. This Pow Wow will be very special since Lenape/Lunáapeew from across the continent will be reconnecting with their lands and each other. It is a real privilege and honor for Brooklynites to be able to host and participate in this historic event, which will also be incredibly fun.”

In the spirit of uplifting Lenape/Lunáapeew heritage and contemporary culture, the EL Collective has also partnered with the Museum of the City of New York on Halumii Ktapihna: Lenape Legacies and Futures. Developed in partnership with EL Collective and Lenape/Lunáapeew community advisors, Halumii Ktapihna brings together the work of more than 30 artists alongside objects, archival materials, videos, and interactive listening stations. Opening September 25 in the new Puffin Foundation Center for New York City Activism, the exhibition invites visitors to encounter the enduring presence and living cultures of the Lenape/Lunáapeew—the original people of Lenapehoking/Lunaapeewáhkiing, the land now known as New York City and its surrounding region.
Learn more about the exhibit on the MCNY website.