WP Theater’s Land Acknowledgement

Today, though we are not physically in WP’s space, we would like to take a moment and acknowledge that our theater and offices are located on the island of Mannahatta. Our offices and theater occupy Lenapehoking, the Homeland of the indigenous Lenape people, and our theater is on ancestral land of the Wappinger people and many other indigenous groups.

WP Theater recognizes that this is unceded land. We work to honor past, present, and future generations of people who have been displaced from the area and we acknowledge the contributions that have been made by enslaved and displaced people to shaping, building, and maintaining what is now known as New York City. We show gratitude to the many thousands of Native Americans who are living in and contributing to New York City and we pay our respects to elders past, present and future.

WP Theater is working to establish authentic relationships with the Indigenous peoples of Mannahatta, to listen to and honor the first inhabitants of this land.

Beautiful art by Marlena Myles (Spirit Lake Dakota) @mylesdesigns found through #HonorNativeLand’s generous social media packet. Click to expand.

Why make this acknowledgement?

“Acknowledgment is a simple, powerful way of showing respect and a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase Indigenous people’s history and culture and toward inviting and honoring the truth. Imagine this practice widely adopted: imagine cultural venues, classrooms, conference settings, places of worship, sports stadiums, and town halls, acknowledging traditional lands. Millions would be exposed—many for the first time—to the names of the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of the lands they are on, inspiring them to ongoing awareness and action.” –from #HonorNativeLand

“Since our activities are shared digitally to the internet, let’s also take a moment to consider the legacy of colonization embedded within the technologies, structures, and ways of thinking we use every day. We are using equipment and high speed internet not available in many indigenous communities. Even the technologies that are central to much of the art we [make] leaves significant carbon footprints, contributing to changing climates that disproportionately affect indigenous peoples worldwide. I invite you to join me in acknowledging all this as well as our shared responsibility: to make good of this time, and for each of us to consider our roles in reconciliation, decolonization, and allyship.” –Adrienne Wong of SpiderWebShow

To learn how you can honor native land, visit the US Department of Arts and Culture, by clicking here.
To learn about the land you currently occupy, please visit Native Land’s interactive map, by clicking here.