Day: August 22, 2024

Joie Cooney presented on the history of Native Americans in the Greenwich and Rye area, which dates back at least 12,000 years, focusing on the Munsee Lenape subgroup and their encounters with European explorers beginning in the 1500s. She discussed the impact of European colonization, including conflicts like Kieft's War and the challenges of land transfers, epidemics, and cultural erasure faced by Native peoples. Cooney emphasized the resilience of Lenape communities today, highlighting their ongoing efforts to preserve their culture and reconnect with ancestral lands despite historical dispossession.