Future 400: New York Before New York
This is the first episode of Future 400, a four-part podcast series from the Dutch Consulate in New York and made and presented by me, Tracy Metz. We start by looking at New York before it was New York, hearing the voices of the people who already lived there: the Lenape.
This podcast is part of the two-year cultural program of the same name, marking the 400th anniversary of the founding of New Amsterdam, the city that became New York. Each episode highlights a selection of the creative collaborations between artists, communities and institutions in both the Netherlands and the United States.
This is episode 1: New York Before New York
When the Dutch colonists set foot on the island of Manhattan, four hundred years ago, there were already people living there: the Lenape. Historian Russell Shorto curated an exhibition for the New York Historical Society to tell the other stories about the town of New Amsterdam – and invited the Lenape to react with a powerful letter to an Unknown Ancestor. And Pauline Toole, New York’s Commissioner of Records, tells us about the wonderful stories of real live people of many faiths and nationalities living in New Amsterdam that can be found in the 17th century archives.
Want to learn more about Future 400? The Dutch Consulate in New York City made a site for that! Just go to dutchcultureusa.com
Presenter: Tracy Metz, producer: Jonathan Groubert
A video animation of the 1660 Castello Plan was made which is for rent online here:
