being undertold nyc: our experiences
How have we changed?
This page describes Undertold NYC researchers' experiences including discussions, activities, creative collaborations, land acknowledgment.
Discussions
Every month or two between April 2020 and November 2021, Undertold NYC researchers met virtually and followed an agenda. Explorations included discussing why we joined Undertold NYC, how were we taught history in school, sharing our own NYC histories, and defining key terms. We met in small groups and one-on-one. Through discussions, we observed patterns in the causes and consequences of our participation in this research. Those who joined did so feeling a lack of a satisfying history education, feeling a disconnection from themselves, their past, and their connection to this land. Researchers reported feeling safe, enjoying having a dedicated time to discuss their NYC undertold histories, getting to meet other New Yorkers interested in history education, and learning about the undertold histories of others.
Activities
Activities were rooted in learning, sharing, art, humor, and play. Woven into each agenda were activities such as coding connections (pictured to the right), personalized awards to celebrate researcher efforts, place reflection, show and tell, and native tree identification (the Brazilian Pinheiro tree is pictured below).
Creative collaborations
Collaborations between researchers included brainstorming and creating our culminating projects, doing research analysis together, and planning potential partnerships and events. Pictured: Agenda of working meeting. Land acknowledgements
For a research project steeped in decolonizing research methodologies, it took way too long to get into a practice of regular land acknowledgments. Starting in winter of 2020, meetings regularly acknowledged that New Yorkers are on Indigenous stolen lands. We did this through exploring Lenapehoking history, Lenape language including geographical names that live on, Lenape art (by Joanne Barker, pictured to right), and other bits of culture like Lenape humor. It is important to note that the Lenape Delaware Natives were not the only tribe in the area. Lenapehoking and the NYC geographical region has a long history of being a popular and crowded trading hub. Has this always been a city without sleep?