New York Spirit
Acrylic on Canvas
39” x 48”
With approximately 90,000 Native Americans living in NYC, it is home to the largest urban Indigenous population in the US. Seated on Lenape territory, built with significant labor contributions from Mohawk ironworkers, and inhabited by peoples from countless nations across Turtle Island, NYC is a mecca of Indigenous diversity. NYC is also known as the home of immigrants and their descendants, many of whom fled the oppressive effects of colonization in their own homelands. The common dream that all New Yorkers share is for a better future for their generations. The protection of water and land, and resistance to capitalistic exploitation, are becoming increasingly vital to that dream. Due to its cultural diversity, NYC is home to the United Nations, where the world has come together to create the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.