A Note from Nelson

As I write my final article for the Rose & Waratah, I thought I would share some information regarding Quaker historical approaches regarding interacting with First Nations Peoples. A few weeks ago, I shared the letter from Bruce Henry stating that Quaker testimonies seek Friends to be “in right relationship with all peoples and to support social justice systems where people know their concerns are being heard and taken into account.” (Bruce Henry, Public Statement in support of the Statement from the Heart and for The Voice to Parliament, July, 2023)

In 1682, William Penn was provided a charter for land in the New World (North America) by King Charles II to satisfy a debt to Penn’s father. That colony became known as Pennsylvania (Penn’s Woods). Penn called his new colony his ‘Holy Experiment’ and sought to organise it based on Quaker values and beliefs. One such belief was seeing that of God in everyone and treating all encountered as equals. In this case, this meant having a treaty with the First Nations People of the Delaware Valley - the Lenni Lenape. This was in contrast to how most 17th century Europeans interacted with First Nations people in the New World. Even the celebrated Puritans in Massachusetts who shared the much publicised first Thanksgiving meal with the Wampanoag people came to war within a couple of years with the neighbouring Pequot people as the Puritans expanded their claims in southern New England.

Penn, however, as a Quaker, and in line with his Holy Experiment, sought to live in peace with the Lenni Lenape through the Treaty of Shackamaxon in 1682 consummated under a great elm tree near centre city Philadelphia. It was a treaty of peace and friendship between the First Nations people of the area and William Penn representing the newly arrived Quakers. There is no written record of the treaty and some think Penn’s sons destroyed it as they did not follow in their father’s footsteps (or Quakerism). They perhaps felt the treaty provided too many privileges to the Lenni Lenape. However, a Wampum belt (a beaded belt depicting a European and native North American) was supposedly given to William Penn to commemorate the treaty. That belt still exists today as a record of the event.

By 1737, the brief era of good will had ended. Many Europeans other than Quakers had settled in Pennsylvania for a range of reasons, but chief amongst them was the peace and good will that existed between the Lenni Lenape and the early Quaker settlers. It appears that Penn’s sons, John and Thomas, swindled vast tracts of land not originally included in the treaty with the Lenni Lenape. “The Lenape migrated further and further west for over a hundred years, the majority eventually settling in Oklahoma. Today about 20,000 Lenape live in Oklahoma, with smaller numbers of Lenape people in southern Ontario, Wisconsin, and Delaware.” (The Legend of Penn’s Treaty with the Lenape by Hannah Chang, Jimmy Wu, Ben Forde and Ari Kim. c. 2017 Haverford College Libraries)

Things did not end well for the Lenni Lenape being driven from their land and heritage despite the early hopeful beginnings. Such eventualities does not mean that we should not act with good intentions and with an open heart.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the Rose and Waratah as it provides wonderful examples of our students and community living and enacting the School's Purpose and Concerns grounded in Quaker principles and beliefs on a daily basis.  As I enter my final term as Principal at The Friends' School, I wish everyone a productive and fulfilling end of the year and thank you for your active support for each other.

Nelson File

Principal