In a fusion of past, present, and untold possibility, this documentary film follows the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania as they fight for State recognition while grappling with the legacy of an 18th-century treaty that promised them a state of their own: The 14th State.
Achimwi / She Tells a Story (Summary)
The crackle of an old TV set transports us to an imagined moment where on screen a Senator in full regalia from the Great State of Lenape speaks before Congress. This future contrasts with the present-day struggles of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, whose Tribal Council grapples with the weight of their ancestors’ dreams for a state of their own and the ongoing fight for recognition.
The 14th State intertwines the modern-day struggles of the tribe with the legacy of three 18th Century Lenape Chiefs, John Killbuck, Jr., Captain Pipe, and White Eyes, who, in 1778, signed the first treaty between an Indigenous tribe and the United States. Within the treaty of “perpetual peace and friendship,” it proposed a 14th State in the new Union – a Lenape state. This vision was shattered by betrayal, violence, and the murder of White Eyes.
Blending past, present, and counterfactual “what ifs,” the film explores the paths of these leaders, the fragmented hopes they left behind, and the tribe’s unwavering pursuit of recognition, belonging, and a future rooted in their ancestral lands.
Kòch / Why
As the US prepares to celebrate the glory of its 250th Birthday, the national narrative of the founding of the United States continues to omit huge swaths of historical fact under banner statements like, “We birthed a nation from nothing,” (Rick Santorum) and “We are all immigrants striving for success,” (Erika Lee while president of Organization of American Historians). Neither statement is true. This is erasure: rejecting our interconnected history, refusing to acknowledge injustice, proliferating myths and stereotypes, and eschewing healing. If we continue as a nation to view the popular narrative as truth, we shall enter our 250th year based on a colonial mythology outside of the moral and ethical standards we claim as foundational. As we detach further from honest narratives, we will lose our ability to think critically and collectively, doomed to repeat the shallow history of our past where our dominance only comes from our ability to control through extreme force.
For we Lenape, our choice is clear: by telling our story, we begin to dismantle old narratives exclusive of Indigenous perspectives, to forge a combined narrative, more fair and accurate, from which to heal and move forward, together.
– TS Botkin, Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania
Director/Producer/ Writer of The 14th State
Awen / Who
Producers: Day Al-Mohamed, Amanda Upson
Culture Bearers and Experts:
Chief Gentlemoon Demund, descendant of Gelemend (John Killbuck, Jr.)
Chief Waterbear Depaul, story keeper for the Nation
Clan Mother Shelley Depaul, genealogy and language revitalization
Clan Mother Ann Dapice, Ph.D., President of LNPA’s nonprofit organization
Chief Red Hawk Ruth, culture bearer and co-curator of the “Fulfilling a Prophecy” exhibit at the Penn Museum
Philip Deloria, Ph.D., Trustee of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.
Genre: Indigenous, Historical, Social Justice
www.aterflix.com/the-14th-state
