THE LAST REMOVAL

A painting by Lenape Artist Jacob Parks


In this poignant work, Lenape artist Jacob Parks shows a Lenape family leaving their home on their reservation in Kansas in 1867. After having been moved westward several times, the Delaware families had been settled in Kansas. They had lived there for more than 35 years, starting farms and trying to build secure, settled lives after the continued series of government-forced upheavals and moves. Suddenly, the government told them that they had to move again, this time to the new "Indian Territory", which is now modern-day Oklahoma. Families had to leave behind the homes they had built, the lands they had improved, crops, and, once again, start over.







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