More than a dozen organizations, including Woodmere, and scores of people signed a treaty on Aug. 12 in support of the Lenape Nation, an indigenous tribe in present-day Pennsylvania.

Some 100 people gathered at Woodmere in Chestnut Hill for the signing of the “Treaty of Renewed Friendship,” a non-legally binding agreement that acknowledges the Lenape as the “indigenous stewards” of Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New York, New Jersey and Northern Delaware.

“It’s incredible how many people come together to share this time with us, to commit to these two simple goals of caring for each other and caring for our environment,” Chief Adam Waterbear DePaul told the crowd. “Thank you very much for being part of that with us.”

Those who sign the document commit to being caretakers of the Delaware River and supporting the Lenape people through cultural, educational and environmental programming. Since 2002, more than 130 organizations and nearly 300 individuals have sealed their commitment.

The treaty, which is signed every four years, aims to preserve the environment and history of the Lenape people in their ancestral homelands, the Lenapehoking.

“We’re still here,” DePaul said.

The signings are accompanied with a weeks-long canoe trip, called the Rising Nation River Journey, that is open to anyone. The Lenape Nation hosts treaty signings and programming at various stops along the trip, which starts at the top of the Delaware River in Hanock, New York, and culminates at Cape May, New Jersey. This year’s journey was from Aug. 2 to 15.

Clan Mother Shelley Windamakwi DePaul, Depaul’s mother, led a Lenape prayer and the ceremony, where members of the Lenape Nation sang and played the drums.

They presented William Valerio, director of Woodmere, with a wampum belt made from purple and white shells. Tradition says the Lenapes presented the belts during peace treaties, including with William Penn. Now, the Lenape Nation gives a wampum each year to an organization that supports their work.

The 110-year-old art museum showcases Lenape art and grows native plants used by the tribe on the grounds, Valerio said. Teri Hislop, clan mother and the keeper of the traditional crafts of the Lenape, has art displayed in the museum and teaches classes on Lenape craft. In the week before Thanksgiving last year, the museum co-hosted an evening of storytelling with the Lenape Nation.

“To immerse yourself in history in order to look forward to the future — to a better future — and to do that in partnership with people, that is the purpose of a museum. [It’s] to share experiences with art for people … to touch lives in a way such that we can all move forward together,” Valerio told the audience.

He said the DePauls taught him words in the Lenape language to describe shades and properties of colors. “Active yellow” describes a yellow that’s alive, like the sun. Valerio, who earned a PhD in art history, was fascinated.

“It opened my mind and to this day has given me tools to understand works of art,” he said. He told the Local he was “honored and flabbergasted” to receive the wampum belt.

The Treaty of Renewed Friendship signings began in 2002 at the former estate of William Penn in Bucks County. Jim Beer, founder of the river journey, said the initiative came about after the Lenape sought official state recognition twice to no avail. There are no federal or state recognized tribes in Pennsylvania. The Lenape people decided to pursue an alternative.

“It’s the people we want to reach out to … people on both sides of the river. [We wanted] to use the river to bring people together, not to separate the states,” he said.

Beer told the Local that the partnerships they’ve created through the treaty have resulted in over two decades of environmental efforts. Their advocacy has helped prevent fracking in the Delaware River Basin, as well as dams and pipelines from being built. This year’s treaty theme was “clean water” to raise awareness about its sacrality and the prevalence of water pollution.

“That is our mission this year because clean water is life, and we know there’s a lot of threats to it right now. We want to get involved with people, with communities, individuals, as many as we can, so that when an issue comes up, we can band together and show up together,” he said.

Sister Marjorie Lawless signed the treaty representing the Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia. She grows a Three Sisters Garden, an indigenous planting method, within the Children’s Garden at Norwood-Fontbonne Academy in Chestnut Hill and teaches students how to grow and cook the vegetables to make Three Sisters Soup. STEM teacher Megan Stotz teaches lessons on indigenous farming at Norwood-Fontbonne.

“As a sister of St. Joseph, we have great respect for the indigenous land that we’re on right now. Our land ethic is really to help promote care for the Earth; we’re doing that in our own way with the children,” Lawless said.

Abby Weiss is an environmental reporter for the Local and a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at abby@chestnuthilllocal.com.