Casting a Wide Net: The Value of Collaboration and Outreach with Source Communities in the Analysis of Historic Native American Fishing Nets

Abstract

The Lenape Tribe of Delaware is one of two recognized tribes within the state of Delaware. Having only gained state recognition in 2016, the group is actively working to regain the lifeways of their ancestors that have been lost in the aftermath of colonization and systemic oppression. This paper discusses collaborative research between the author, a student in Art Conservation, and the Lenape Tribe of Delaware on the once-crucial practice of net-tying. It addresses the impetus for the project and its role in object-based decolonization and Indigenous knowledge reclamation. The research was inspired by the last known Lenape netmaker, Clem Carney, whose work was collected by anthropologists in the early 1900s but since forgotten. The project was completed in collaboration with the Tribe from initial proposal onward and included three main stages: examination of fishing nets from Native Mid-Atlantic groups at the National Museum of the American Indian and the American Museum of Natural History; the compilation of an inventory of Native Mid-Atlantic nets and associated tools from institutions throughout North America; and outreach. Outreach efforts included a Tribal Delegation to the National Museum of the American Indian Cultural Resources Center, presentations to both the Native and non-Native community, and net-making workshops held at the Biggs Museum of American Art in Dover, DE. Through these events and a range of media posts and articles, it is estimated that 7,000 people learned about this collaboration. The project has prompted subsequent collaborations and serves as a model for community-driven research.

KEYWORDS:

• Lenape
• fishing nets
• decolonization
• Delaware
• knowledge reclamation

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I am indebted to the Lenape Tribe of Delaware for allowing me to study part of their community’s rich history and to share my findings with such a diverse and engaged audience. Thanks for this amazing privilege, and thank you to Clem Carney and many unnamed netmakers whose work was examined as part of this study. Your work has not been forgotten.

This work is a small step in decolonizing museums and the humanities as a whole, and I thank all who are collaborating in that effort. Thank you also to the National Museum of the American Indian and the American Museum of Natural History for allowing me access to their collections. I am grateful to Dr. Jill Neitzel, Laura Mina, Dr. Vicki Cassman, Debra Hess Norris, Dr. Nancy Odegaard, and Marilen Pool for their guidance throughout this project, as well as the Delaware State Parks Department, the University of Delaware Departments of Art Conservation, Anthropology, and Art History, the Center for Historic Architecture and Design, the American Institute for Conservation, the Biggs Museum of American Art, Sophia Schmidt of Delaware First Media, the Archaeological Society of Delaware, and National Native News for their support.

Disclosure Statement

The author has not benefited financially from this research.

Notes

1 Lenape peoples are also referred to as Delaware. This name originates from the English politician Lord De La Warr (1577–1618), for whom the Bay, state, and its original inhabitants were named by European colonizers.

2 Eight handmade cordage examples estimated to include dogbane, slippery elm, and either milkweed or nettle were found among the nets studied.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Annabelle Fichtner Camp

Annabelle Camp is a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, specializing in the conservation of textiles and organic objects. Annabelle graduated summa cum laude from the University of Delaware in 2019, with degrees in Art Conservation and Anthropology. The research presented in this article was completed as part of her Bachelors, thesis. Annabelle has completed conservation internships at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Arizona State Museum, the Peabody Museum at Harvard, and the Winterthur Museum Garden & Library. As part of her graduate school curriculum, she is completing internships at the Abegg-Stiftung and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Annabelle is passionate about community engagement and conservation outreach and is active in both the American Institute for Conservation and the Textile Society of America. She strives to make source community engagement and collaboration an integral part of her conservation practice. [email protected]