Greater perspectives

The word "Lenape'' means "the people," and for thousands of years Lenape lived in regions throughout Delaware, Maryland, eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and parts of New York. But many Delawareans today, including public school teachers, don't realize that the state is still home to the Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware and the Nanticoke Indian Tribe, as well as multiple Latin American communities.

A project led by Barry Joyce, professor of history at the University of Delaware, is changing that misconception and shattering the myth that Native American history exists solely in the past.

"I've lived in Delaware since I was 6 months old. I've heard the word 'Lenape' in terms of construction, and the word 'Nanticoke' as far as the hospital, but I honestly never really learned about them," said Suhey Matamoros, a fifth grade Spanish immersion teacher at Lulu Ross Elementary School in Milford, Delaware.

Suhey is one of 36 Delaware educators who participated in a series of seven workshops this year themed around "America-and Delaware-is our Home: The Indigenous and Latinx Experience from 1900 to the Present."

The workshops were the final installment in a three-year program called "Indigenous and Latinx Delaware" (ILD). Joyce, in partnership with the National Council for History Education, received funding for ILD from a Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources grant. The first two years focused on "Pre-Columbian America" and "Indigenous/Latinx Nations: Colonialism, Transformation and Migrations, 1492-1900."

Hidden histories

As UD's social studies secondary education program co-coordinator, Joyce regularly visits area schools and sees first-hand how state curriculum standards are applied in classrooms.

"Delaware is unique in that if you look at the state standards for social studies, there is no content. There is a recommended curriculum, but that's it," he said.