Penn State Abington Land Acknowledgement

Penn State Abington exists on Lenapehokink—land that once was and still is sacred to the Lenape People. It is here that the people called the 'grandfather tribe' and the 'peacemakers' have lived their lives, spoken their language, and held their ceremonies for thousands of years. In honor of them, let us pause to remember where we are and with whom we stand. While we are diverse in our experiences, let us come together in our relation to the land and our community relationships. Let us remember the ancestors as we walk softly and carefully on our Mother Earth. With these thoughts, all right action follows.

As we reflect on the relationship that our university has to this land and the Lenape People, it is significant to remember the histories of calculated displacement endured by members of the Lenape tribe, that begun in the late 1700s. While many community members were pushed West, other members remained and continued their cultural practices, hiding for fear of prosecution. This history is retold in the prophetic Lenape story the “Legend of the Four Crows.” The tale lays out the story of the Lenape Nation’s struggle to survive the terror of colonization and their foretold reemergence and reunification with the world outside of hiding. The four crows each represent a part of the history of the Lenape people. The first crow, living in its purpose to be at one with nature, represents the time before contact with Europeans. The second crow’s demise depicts the death and destruction introduced by colonialism. The third crow goes into hiding, showing the effort of those who remained in their homeland and maintained their culture in secrecy. The fourth crow prophesizes the nation coming out of hiding to once again thrive and continue honoring the past, present, and future of the Lenape people.

Present day members of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, and of Lenape nations in New Jersey and Delaware, are descendants of those who remained in their homeland, those who migrated back after expulsion, and those who created families with early German settlers.
Penn State Abington desires to be in alignment with fulfilling the prophecy of the fourth crow, to look toward a future filled with hope and synchronicity, one that does not ignore or sanitize the past.

We know that these words without action mean little. We are committed to continual learning of Lenape history and culture with an emphasis on supporting present-day initiatives. Through partnership with the Lenape people, we strive to support their efforts to foster cultural, historical, and environmental education and preservation.

Toward these ends, while we will strive to have continual events that are in collaboration with the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, we also ask that members of our campus community consider this land acknowledgement as just one of many inroads to support indigenous voices and perspectives. Please consider the following actions as ways to take actions toward supporting the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania.

  •  Visit: The Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania Website as they have updated support actions, events to attend, and information about their cultural center. 
  • Educate: 
    • Read books for, about, and by indigenous voices and experiences. 
    • Watch documentaries. 
    • Listen to podcasts.
  •  Engage: 
    • Be stewards of the land through conservation, an attention to biodiversity, and local knowledge about our ecosystems.
    • Be reflexive: Consider the inherited role that one might have in settler colonialism and how one might engage in active resistance and refusal of such norms and values. 
    • Be stewards of our shared community between Penn State Abington and the Lenape People. 

Colonization and Penn State Abington

Colonization and Penn State Abington Transcript

The purpose of the session "Colonization and Penn State Abington" is to consider how colonization is often normalized across institutional spaces. The panel is part of Delilah Jabbour's honors thesis. As such, some of the presentation was redacted to adhere to IRB protocol. Jabbour's work examined the The Ogontz Archive Room, which was located at Penn State University, Abington College's library as of 2023. These archives detailed the curriculum, pedagogy, and everyday norms of The Ogontz School for Young Ladies, which was a prominent force in female private education at the time. Penn State Abington, formerly known as "Penn State Ogontz," did not publicly take into account histories of colonization as they were related to the title "Ogontz," or similar relationships with the School for Young Ladies. This panel serves as an important reminder of historical norms and values, the way such histories become the unquestioned tapestry of contemporary society, and how each generation might lend their critical interpretation of such histories in service of questions of inclusion, equity, and belonging. 

For local decolonial actions, please visit the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania

 National Connections:


 Engage with education: