*UPDATE* The National Park Service said the announcement to remove the William Penn statue from Welcome Park to rehabilitate the park came out “prematurely”:
Independence National Historical Park has withdrawn the review of a draft proposal to rehabilitate Welcome Park and closed the public comment period. The preliminary draft proposal, which was released prematurely and had not been subject to a complete internal agency review, is being retracted. No changes to the William Penn statue are planned.The National Park Service (NPS) remains committed to rehabilitating Welcome Park as the nation prepares to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. Upon completion of all the necessary internal reviews, the park looks forward to engaging in a robust public process to consider options for refurbishing the park in the coming years.The park is located on the site of William Penn’s home, the Slate Roof House, and is named for the ship, Welcome, which transported Penn to Philadelphia. The design and construction of Welcome Park was funded by the Independence Historical Trust and was completed in 1982.
I think it went out on purpose, and the NPS is trying to cover it up. Even if NPS released it prematurely, it shows us that it has (or had) plans to remove the statue.
Fools.
***Previous reporting…
The ignorant folks at the National Park Service want to “rehabilitate Welcome Park” in Philadelphia “to provide a more welcoming, accurate, and inclusive experience” by removing Willian Penn’s statue.
The ignorance makes me so mad:
The proposed rehabilitation of Welcome Park includes expanded interpretation of the Native American history of Philadelphia and was developed in consultation with representatives of the indigenous nations of the Haudenosaunee, the Delaware Nation, Delaware Tribe of Indians, the Shawnee Tribe, and the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. The reimagined Welcome Park maintains certain aspects of the original design such as the street grid, the rivers and the east wall while adding a new planted buffer on three sides, and a ceremonial gathering space with circular benches. The Penn statue and Slate Roof house model will be removed and not reinstalled. In a separate and future effort, new exhibit panels will be installed on the south site wall to replace the Penn timeline.
Penn founded Pennsylvania as a haven for religious freedom in 1681.
Before Penn, the Indian tribes fought and treated each other in awful ways:
In the mid-1600s, upheavals among Indians in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions helped clear the way for the European settlement of the Delaware Valley. The Iroquois, equipped with Dutch (and later English) firearms, struck out against the Huron and other native groups to secure fur trading routes and take captives to replenish their numbers, which had been decimated by European diseases. By the time Charles II (1630-85) granted Penn his colonial charter, Iroquois raids had largely depopulated the Susquehanna Valley of its native inhabitants.
Penn sought out a way to live peacefully with the Native Americans (emphasis mine):
With the Susquehanna Valley open for hunting beaver and other pelts that Europeans prized for Atlantic markets, the Lenapes were disposed to negotiate with Penn, a man they called Miquon (meaning “feather,” or quill pen, a Delaware pun on his last name). Penn, in return, promised he would deal with Indians honestly and fairly. These early treaties cemented Pennsylvania’s reputation as a peaceable colony where love and friendship prevailed between Indians and colonists.
Penn bought the Susquehanna area from New York. That led the Shawnee, Conoy, and Conestoga to recognize Pennsylvania in 1701.
What did Penn do? He “promised his Indian allies that his government would protect them from unruly colonists and dishonest traders.”
After 1701, Pennsylvania enjoyed a “long peace.”
Penn left his colony, leaving it to colonist James Logan. Everything went sour in 1737 when Logan and Thomas Penn developed the “Walking Purchase.”
Unfortunately, Penn’s son ruined everything after his death.
But yeah, the ignorance from the NPS makes me furious. The one colonist who truly wanted thought of Native Americans as equals they want to erase.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY