A&S Class Invited to Present at Pennsylvania Historical Association Meeting

Professor Andrea Smith and students of A&S 320, Lenape Homelands and Lafayette: How a College Got its Land, were invited to present a special session on October 23rd 2026 at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Historical Association, held this year at the Northampton Community College, in Bethlehem, PA.

Their session, “Pennsylvania Colleges on Indigenous Homelands: A Research-Based Course,” involved an overview by the course instructors, Smith and Katelyn Lucas, Heritage Preservation Officer, Delaware Nation (Anadarko, OK). Students Ally Krohg, Cooper Pitts, Lila DeAvila, and Hannah Verbeke (see below) discussed their contributions to the class website, and discussed the pros and cons of the research-based class format.

Developed in part with Bicentennial Funding, students in this new 300-level course work closely with Elaine Stomber, College Archivist, and Janna Avon, Head of Digital Initiatives. Students were each assigned specific College parcels, and started the class deciphering the original College deeds. They traced ownership of these parcels back to their original owners, the Penn family, and ultimately the Lenape. The class included a special visit by Theresa Johnson and Victoria Doxtator from the Eelūnaapèewii Lahkèewiit (Delaware Nation at Moraviantown, Ontario, Canada).

(Ally Krohg, Cooper Pitts, Lila DeAvila, Hannah Verbeke with co-instructor, Dr. Katelyn Lucas)

Co-instructors Katelyn Lucas and Andrea Smith with class guests Victoria Doxtator and Theresa Johnson of the Delaware Nation of Moraviantown, Canada (also known as the Eelūnaapèewii Lahkèewiit).