2000 MILE WALK
on The Trail of Hope
To raise awareness of the significance of Chief Tamanend, William Penn’s Treaty of Friendship and its principals of social justice, peace, liberty, freedom, and mutual respect, while connecting the history of our past to the events of present day, the Trail of Hope brings together universal truths among humankind.
A 2,000 mile walk lasting for six months will begin on March 23, 2011.
There will be no corporate sponsors and no cars following with supplies. Peter Prusinowski, a resident of Fishtown, will leave Penn Treaty Park at 9 a.m. to begin a solo journey.
Armed with his cameras, his walk will trace the Lenape Indian migration from the Delaware Valley to Bartlesville, Oklahoma and highlight events along the way on what he is calling “The Trail of Hope.”
Prusinowski came to the United States from Poland in 1976. His love of history and a discovery of the world of photography merged and began to shape his new life. The story of William Penn and Tamanend and their 1682 Treaty of Friendship became part of what he feels is his destiny. “My desire to spread the life altering elements of love, peace and friendship among humanities mirrored the very intentions of William Penn in 1682 along the riverbank in the same neighborhood I immigrated to.”
Prusinowski views the walk as a journey of sharing, discovery and reflection. He will take along still and video cameras to preserve the stories he will hear along the way. He will tell his own story about finding purpose in one’s life and how together we can make a difference in our world. He will photograph sites that tell of the past and the present. Ultimately, the photographs of his experiences on the Trail of Hope will be presented in an exhibit to inspire peace, love and hope for future generations.
His route will take him across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas to Oklahoma. In addition to his cameras, he will carry only a cell phone, laptop computer and a small backpack. He plans to walk about 20 miles a day and then will stop at night along the way. “I believe that the gentle shadow of the Great Elm Tree’s canopy will follow me along this trail, like an eagle protecting me under its wings,” he said.
Prusinowski has established a blog www.TrailOfHopeBlog.com about his journey. He will update it as he walks. The Penn Treaty Museum, an online museum (penntreatymuseum.org), will also maintain contact with him.
On March 12 from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. the Penn Treaty Museum will open its collection of Treaty of Friendship memorabilia to the public in honor of Prusinowski’s walk. There will be an opportunity to learn more about his journey as well view the oldest documented Native American artifacts ever found in Philadelphia. The Penn Treaty Museum is located at the corner of Delaware and Columbia Avenues in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia.
On March 23 from 8 a.m. – 9 a.m. a ceremony will take place in Penn Treaty Park to start Peter Prusinowski’s journey at the site of the Treaty of Friendship.
What a wonderful, inspiring journey you are on! I look forward to reading your blog as you make your way to Oklahoma. God be with you.
El champ
Andrew Jackson was a real bastard… I hate looking at 20′s they are a symbol of intolerance, lies, slavery and genocide….. did u bring food or are u foraging on the way ?put some more details in the root details of your blog and your entries
Thank you for bringing the issue of Hope and Friendship through learning about the Lenni Lanape Indians and the 1682 Treaty. What a shame that the treaty was broken and their people had to migrate. Hopefully your photos and stories will help illuminate their plight.
My prayers are with you. My lenape ancestors are traced back to the mid 1700′s in the penn. area and Ohio. I’ve very often dreamed of doing what your doing just to see the country that my ancestors were forced from and into. I pray the Good Lord will give you relief from the heat and keep his watchful eye over you. I’d like to meet you personally when you arrive here in Oklahoma if it’s possible. Have you contacted our tribe about what your doing? I believe it would be a blessing to many if they new why and what you’re doing. It’s so sad that many,many of our ancestors died doing the same thing as you. I know your at the end of your journey but maybe you could keep your eye out for any lenape history pertaining to the name Ketchum on your route.
Good luck and God bless you,
Michael
Congrats on the trip. I thought you might be interested in this. In the Library of Congrass. There are letters from John Killbuck to Lachlan McIntosh that gives some history of the Delaware while in Ohio. It details some of the events of how the Delaware were split between war and peace with Fort Pit. One of them is a warning from John Killbuck that Some of Captain pipe men were preparing to attack Fort Lawrence. Well good luck in all you do.
I’ts nice to meet you Michael Adair. I’m originally from Killbuck Ohio. A far Descendant.
Am looking for a record of William Ketchum who married Sarah Case in Winnebago County Illinois on March 23, 1852.
Thank You!
Sarah Case was the daughter (b.1830 in PA) of Jonathan Case, my maternal third great grandfather.
I wish you a wonderful journey. All peoples need to contemplate how closely we are all related – we are all one people living under the same sun and moon. Peace and understanding among all of us is needed to save our mother earth and keep her healthy.
My Great Great Grandmother was likely a Lenape who was adopted by the Cherokees. She was born in TN and she and her father and mother removed to near the Deleware Trading Post in Missouri. The Lenapes were so much cheated out of their land and splintered into small tribes to lose some of their rightful genealogies and history. They tried to hide in various places to be relieved from the governments strong armed tactics. We don’t even know our Great Great Grandmother’s name other than Jane which was probably Anglicized.
I do recognize one of the posters names – Ketchum. One of the Ketchums was the son of an Indian Chief who resided at the Swan Trading Post and possibly the James Trading Post in Missouri. My Great Grandmother, Eliza Jane Gore Williams, was raised there and her father was associated with the Gilliss’ and Philiberts who married into the Delewares there.
The Trail of Hope – what a wonderful idea to promote brotherhood.
Clydene Williams Cannon