This new musical work for voice and birdroar instruments by composer Brent Michael Davids honors Nora Thompson Dean (1907–1984), a Lenape teacher and herbalist who dedicated her life to preserving Lenape culture. The sung and spoken lyric consists entirely of her name “Weènchipahkihëlèxkwe” in Unami (Lenape for “downriver people”). Translated, her name was “Touching Leaves Woman” or as Nora herself suggested ‘Leaves-that-touch-each-other-from-time-to-time.’ A hand-notated music manuscript, inked on vellum, was part of the exhibition Nora Thompson Dean: Lenape Teacher and Herbalist.
Held Saturday, September 9, 2023.