Hundreds gathered from as far as South Dakota for dance, song, drumming, food, and arts, continuing an event that started in the park in 1916.
Members of the Native American community gathered for the third annual United Lenape/Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow at Prospect Park.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
by by Lloyd Mitchell, Brooklyn Paper
The third annual United Lenape/Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow returned to Prospect Park on Saturday and Sunday, bringing together members of the Native American community for a two-day celebration of Indigenous culture and Brooklyn’s Native roots.
Families and participants traveled from as far as South Dakota, North Carolina, and Wisconsin to take part in the event at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside. The Pow Wow featured traditional dance, song, and drumming, as well as Native artists, vendors, and food makers.
Dancers perform during the third annual United Lenape/Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow at Prospect Park on Saturday, October 3. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
A Native American family performs a drum circle during the United Lenape/Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
The event also reflected Prospect Park’s longer history with Indigenous cultural gatherings. Intertribal Pow Wows were previously held in the park from 1916 to 1972, and the tradition returned to Prospect Park in recent years after a decades-long hiatus.
Lenape/Lunáapeew are the Indigenous peoples whose ancestral homelands included what is now Brooklyn and the surrounding region. The Pow Wow provided an opportunity for Lenape/Lunáapeew and members of neighboring Indigenous nations to gather, socialize, and celebrate their culture and traditions.
Dancers get ready. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
The modern United Lenape/Lunáapeew Nations Pow Wow tradition was revived by Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing Collective founder George Stonefish, who organized the first event at the Park Avenue Armory in 2018. Prospect Park Alliance later held a culture fair with the collective and American Indian Community House in 2024 before hosting a full Pow Wow at the park in 2025.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in Brooklyn Paper. Click here to see the original story.
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