The Trent House Association will host a talk by Karelle Hall, a member of the Nanticoke Indian Tribe of Delaware and an expert and activist in the revitalization of the Nanticoke and Lenape languages and cultures. On Saturday, April 5, 2025, at 2 pm Dr. Hall will describe the work being done to restore the availability of squash cultivated by the Lenape and Nanticoke people. This free talk will be given in the Trent House Visitor Center at 15 Market Street, Trenton, New Jersey. Free parking is available at the rear of the property off William Trent Place.
Dr. Karelle Hall holds a doctorate in anthropology from Rutgers University and is a member of the Nanticoke language revitalization team, reclaiming Nanticoke words, concepts, cultural teachings, prayers, and songs. This team has published a beginner Nanticoke language book titled “Once It Has Been Spoken…It Cannot Be Unspoken: Kutiikiitowaakanun.”
During her talk Dr. Hall will describe the work being done to cultivate ancestral varieties of corn, beans, and squash and reconnect Lenape and Nanticoke people with these foods and foodways. She will connect this work with the broader effort to revitalize the language and cultural practices of these tribal communities who were the first to call what is now known as New Jersey their homeland.
Recordings of Dr. Hall’s previous talks for the Trent House – “Lenape Relationship with the Natural World” and “Ties That Bind: Nanticoke and Lenape Language and Revitalization” can be found on the Trent House website at https://www.williamtrenthouse.org/videos.html.
The William Trent House Museum is a National Historic Landmark in the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area and on the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail and on the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail. The Museum is dedicated to sharing the authentic history of the house, property, and people with our communities, connecting the past with today and tomorrow. Owned by the City of Trenton, it is operated by the Trent House Association, which is supported by the generosity of its donors; by grants from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, the New Jersey Cultural Trust, the New Jersey Historic Trust, the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission with funding from the New Jersey Historical Commission, and the Bunbury Fund and the New Jersey Arts & Culture Renewal Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation; and by contributions from NJM Insurance Group and Orion General Contractors. For more information, visit www.williamtrenthouse.org.