Lenape, the 14th State? American Indian Treaties Reimagined

During the American Revolution, representatives of the Continental Congress sought to forge alliances with Native nations through treaties, much as they did with European powers like France. On February 12, join Harvard University Professors of History, Philip J. Deloria and Leverett Saltonstall for a discussion examining the failure of these early diplomatic efforts, focusing on the treaties signed with the Maliseet in 1776 (Treaty of Watertown) and the Lenape in 1778 (Treaty of Fort Pitt).

Professor Deloria will highlight notable provisions in these agreements—including a shift from Native diplomatic forms to legalistic ones—and consider how truly reciprocal and respected treaties with Native nations might have altered the very nature of the United States. The talk will invite an imaginative rethinking of the course of American history, a creative thought experiment that centers Indigenous land, diplomacy, and sovereignty.

This lecture isresented by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology and the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture to mark the 250th Anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence.

Treaty photo: NAID 176316992