The Indigenous story behind New York in the Amsterdam Museum and Museum of the City of New York

400 years ago, the first Dutch settlers arrived in the area that is now New York. Their assignment from the Dutch West India Company (WIC) was to found the colony of New Netherland, with the capital New Amsterdam, on the southern tip of present-day Manhattan. The Amsterdam Museum, together with Museum of the City of New York and representatives of Lenape – original inhabitants of this area in the United States – created this exhibition about shared history.

From an Indigenous perspective
The reason for the collaboration and the exhibition is that 2024 will mark 400 years since the Dutch arrived in America at the mouth of the Hudson to found a colony. After that colony was conquered by the English from the Dutch in 1664, the settlement grew into the city of New York in the following centuries.

The Dutch invasion and decades of colonization in this area had major consequences for the Indigenous population who lived in the area and on the island they called Manahahtáanung in the 17th century. They lost their land and became victims of diseases, wars and loss of livelihood. Colonists deliberately made it impossible for Indigenous people to maintain their own way of life and culture. At the same time, there has always been resistance from Indigenous communities, even to this day.

May 16 to November 10, 2024, Manahahtáanung or New Amsterdam?, Amsterdam Museum aan de Amstel, Amstel 51