Placed directly across from the museum’s entryway, this installation pays homage to the Lenape people as the original and rightful stewards of Lenapehoking, the land on which this building stands. Accounts written by European explorers in the 16th and 17th centuries described the Lenape wearing intricately constructed feather capes. Joe Baker (Born 1946, Bartlesville, Oklahoma [Lenape, Delaware Tribe of Indians]; active New York, New York), co-founder of the Lenape Center (Established 2009, New York, New York), has created contemporary interpretations of these turkey-feather capes that suspend from the ceiling.
Lenape Center and Joe Baker, Installation of “Welcome to Territory” in Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Photo: Elliot Goldstein © Smithsonian Institution
Notably absent is the human figure—a poignant reflection of the Lenape people’s displacement from their homeland—yet the spiritual beings that remain evoke a sense of their enduring presence. The walls are covered in wallpaper patterned with stylized tulip trees native to Lenapehoking. The tulip tree, once ever-present throughout this region, holds special significance in Lenape culture for its beauty and practical uses. Today, these trees can still be found in Inwood Hill Park.
Unami wallpaper produced in collaboration with Calico Wallpaper.
Special thanks to Hector Meza and Ágnes Sántha.