Native Americans Weren’t On Board With Biden Admin’s Failed Plan To Remove William Penn Statue

Daily Caller ^ | January 11, 2024 | Arjun Singh

[Red Badger]

Native American groups did not support the removal of a statue of William Penn from Welcome Park in Philadelphia prior to the Biden administration’s now-abandoned effort to do so.

William Penn was an English Quaker who moved to the American Colonies in 1682 and founded the British colony of Pennsylvania, during which time he maintained friendly relations with Native Americans of the Lenape tribe. The National Parks Service recently canceled plans to remove Penn’s statue from federal property at Welcome Park, in Philadelphia’s downtown historic district, amid strong political and public backlash against the plan, though representatives for a native group told the Associated Press that they had never demanded its removal in the first place.

“William Penn was an ally of the Shawnee,” said Ben Barnes, the chief of the Shawnee Tribe based in Oklahoma, who were historically displaced to the state, to the AP. “As long as he lived, he kept his promise. As long as he was able to speak on behalf of the colony in western Pennsylvania, the Shawnees had a home there….Of all the terrible human beings that inflicted tragedy upon native peoples, I don’t put William Penn in that category.”

The Park Service announced its decision to remove the statue in conjunction with rehabilitation efforts at Welcome Park, to “provide a more welcoming, accurate and inclusive experience for visitors.” The plan also envisioned an “expanded interpretation of the Native American history of Philadelphia.”

That decision was met with widespread ridicule from Pennsylvanians, who view William Penn’s legacy favorably. “[It is] another sad example of the left in this country scraping the bottom of the barrel of wokeism to advance an extreme ideology and a nonsensical view of history,” said state House Minority Leader Brian Cutler, a Republican from Lancaster County, to the AP.

The issue prompted the intervention of Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania to protect the statue’s presence. “My team has been in contact with the Biden Administration throughout the day to correct this decision. I’m pleased Welcome Park will remain the rightful home of this William Penn statue — right here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Penn founded,” he wrote on Twitter, now known as X, after the NPS reversed its decision.

Consultation with Native American tribes is required of the Park Service before making changes to national monuments and historic sites concerning their history, according to the National Historic Presentation Act. “We do still speak highly of William Penn,” said Jeremy Johnson, the director of cultural education for the Delaware Tribe of Indians, to the AP. “[We] were really just focusing on our culture and our history and that, in a way, he was an important part of it.”

The Park Service did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

[sauropod]

Bingo.

[dennisw]

He’s gone now, drug overdose about 2006 at age 50.
Frankly I’m surprised he lived that long
____________

Your brother had lots of fun doing nasty to these women. Some of them wanted to be conned and he obliged. They had some temporary love and sex with him as long as they had the money

[Red Badger]

Yes, like I said he was apparently good at it!..........😉

[twyn1]

... He was actually one of the most pro-native He insisted treaties be honored, deal with Indians fairly under the law etc. ...

The "Walking Purchase" was questionable, as far as being honorable & fair, but otherwise agree.

As both a Pennsylvanian & (part) Native American

[SunkenCiv]

• Biden admin to remove statue of William Penn from Philadelphia park and 'rehabilitate' the park to commemorate Native Americans [01/07/2024]
• Biden admin to remove statue of William Penn from Philadelphia park and 'rehabilitate' the park to commemorate Native Americans [01/07/2024]
• Biden Admin: There's No Room for William Penn in... Pennsylvania. Another statue comes down. [01/08/2024]
• Democrats' Statue Toppling Is A Dress Rehearsal For Going After Actual People [01/09/2024]
• National Parks Service Pulls Plan to Remove Philadelphia's William Penn Statue [01/09/2024]
• No changes planned to William Penn statue in Philly, park service says [01/08/2024]
• William Penn statue to remain in Philadelphia after public outcry [01/09/2024]
• William Penn Survives The Left's Assault On Beauty, Memory, And American Identity [01/15/2024]