At the Lower East Side Ecology Center, we recognize Mannahatta as part of Lenapehoking, the ancestral and unceded homeland of the Lenape people. For thousands of years, Lenape people have maintained deep relationships with this land, caring for its forests, wetlands, waterways, and coastal estuaries through knowledge systems rooted in reciprocity and responsibility.
We acknowledge that colonization forcibly removed Lenape people from these homelands. Today, Lenape people continue as citizens of the Delaware Nation and Delaware Tribe in Oklahoma, the Stockbridge-Munsee Community in Wisconsin. We offer this acknowledgment in recognition of the enduring presence, sovereignty, and leadership of Lenape people, and their ongoing relationship to this land.
We also recognize the labor of our historic neighbors of African descent, who survived slavery without due justice, and that of immigrant communities. Their work has built the infrastructure of New York City as well as shaped the social and natural landscapes of the greater Lower East Side, including the East Village, Chinatown, and the Two Bridges neighborhoods. The Lower East Side has a rich history of organizing and community care, often in the face of disinvestment and discrimination. Through their labor, activism, and culture, these communities helped to build the neighborhood’s homes, small businesses, and social movements, leaving a legacy of community resilience that continues today.
Our work today is rooted in that legacy of stewardship and community action. Through composting, recycling, and electronics reuse programs, we help keep valuable materials in circulation and return nutrients to the soil, reducing waste and supporting healthier ecosystems. In the parks and green spaces that we steward, we plant native species, support biodiversity, and care for the land, soil, plants, and wildlife with whom we share this city.
Knowledge sharing is central to everything we do. Our educational programs bring together neighbors of all ages and backgrounds to build practical skills for environmental stewardship. Through these programs we work to cultivate a culture of care for the land and for one another.
This acknowledgment has been developed in dialogue with the Lenape Center as part of ongoing staff education and commitment to work in solidarity with land stewards.
We invite you to learn and act alongside us. Explore these resources: