Halumii Ktapihna

Bringing together the work of more than 30 artists alongside objects, archival materials, videos, and interactive listening stations, Halumii Ktapihna: Lenape Legacies and Futures invites visitors to encounter the enduring presence and living cultures of the Lenape/Lunáapeew—the original people of Lenapehoking/Lunaapeewáhkiing, the land now known as New York City and its surrounding region.

For over 12,000 years, Lenape/Lunáapeew communities shaped this place through complex governance, vibrant trade, and enduring relationships with the land and waters—connections that continue to inform Lenape/Lunáapeew identity and cultural life, even as most have been displaced from their ancestral homelands. Despite centuries of dispossession, forced migration, and erasure, Lenape/Lunáapeew people have persisted, adapting and sustaining their traditions across generations and geographies.

This exhibition centers Lenape/Lunáapeew voices, stories, and creativity, foregrounding the perspectives of artists and community members from across the Lenape/Lunáapeew diaspora. Halumii Ktapihna moves through three sections—The Lunáapeew Today, Homelands, and Creating the Future—illuminating the living culture of the Lunáapeew people through rarely seen objects, contemporary artworks, personal testimonies, and interactive installations.

Developed in partnership with the Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing (Land of the Lenape) Collective and Lenape/Lunáapeew community advisors, Halumii Ktapihna challenges visitors to reconsider the city’s history and future through the lens of its first people. The exhibition explores themes of land stewardship, language revitalization, and the resilience of Lenape/Lunáapeew communities, while also confronting the legacies of removal and the realities of contemporary Lenape/Lunáapeew life.

As New York City marks 400 years since the founding of New Amsterdam, this exhibition asks: What does it mean to acknowledge the original stewards of this place, and how can we imagine a more just and connected future together? We invite you to listen, learn, and reflect on the ongoing story of the Lenape/Lunáapeew—past, present, and future.

The Puffin Foundation Center for New York City Activism is a permanent home at the Museum of the City of New York dedicated to the history and ongoing legacy of civic engagement and social movements in New York City. Housed in a newly renovated wing of the Museum, the Puffin Center opened to the public on September 25, 2026, with two inaugural exhibitions, Raise Your Voice: New York Activism and Halumii Ktapihna: Lenape Legacies and Futures.

Halumii Ktapihna: Lenape Legacies and Futures is made possible with leading support from The Puffin Foundation and Valerie and John W. Rowe. This exhibition is funded, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and New York State Council on the Arts.

Support for curatorial and collections work on this exhibition is provided by the Mellon Foundation and the Laura and Ray Johnson Fund.