Students in the advanced seminar Indigenous History: How Indigenous Histories Are Made left the classroom in October for the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY). Juniors and seniors in both sections of the course visited Halumii Ktapihna: Lenape Legacies and Futures, an exhibition about the original people of the land where they live and learn.

Learning on Lenape Land

The exhibition centers on the Lenape/Lunáapeew, whose ancestral homeland, Lenapehoking, includes New York City and the surrounding region. Organized into three sections (The Lunáapeew Today, Homelands, and Creating the Future), it features work by more than 30 artists, along with objects, archival materials, videos, and interactive listening stations. The exhibit presents Lenape culture as living while also addressing the history of dispossession and removal.

For history faculty member Beth Eby, the visit fit the course closely.

“Given that the class is about Indigenous history, it is always a priority to incorporate local histories into the curriculum,” she said. “The exhibit focuses on the Lenape, whose ancestral homelands are NYC and surrounding areas.”

Who Tells the Story

Early in the semester, the seminar examines museums as spaces of tension and conflict, and how they have represented Indigenous peoples and histories. The exhibition was developed in partnership with the Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing (Land of the Lenape) Collective and Lenape community advisors. It centers the voices of artists and community members from across the Lenape diaspora. That gave students a chance to see in practice what they had been discussing in class.

“The exhibit we saw did a beautiful job highlighting why it is so important for such exhibits to be curated and designed by Indigenous peoples,” Beth said, “so that the histories and narratives are accurately and authentically told.”

A Wampum Belt, and a Connection

One of the most memorable moments came during the guided tour, when the docent brought out a wampum belt. Students in the seminar are also enrolled in Civics, where the first unit covers Indigenous forms of government and the role wampum belts played in them. Many had studied the belts but had never seen one in person.

“It was great to see the students make connections to other history classes,” Beth said. “The students were so excited to see an artifact that they had previously learned about.”

“We Are Still Here”

The exhibition ends with a message in the Lenape language, Íiyach ktapihna, “we are still here,” followed by Halumii ktapihna, “we are here forever.” The phrases reflect the exhibition’s perspective that Lenape history is an ongoing story rather than a closed chapter, a theme that runs through the seminar.

Halumii Ktapihna: Lenape Legacies and Futures is on view through April 18, 2027, at the Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street. It is one of two inaugural exhibitions at the museum’s new Puffin Foundation Center for New York City Activism, which opened in September 2026.