Posts tagged Manhattan

Ground Zero, High and Low

I’ve avoided writing about this whole “ground zero mosque” fiasco simply because I was hoping it would drop out of public conversation. Seriously, you’re going to object to a house of worship in an American city? On patriotic grounds? Really? I hesitate even to link to these fearmongers, for fear of enhancing their cause. The… More →

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Brook –  Leave a comment

Politics, Religion | Tagged , , ,

Last Dance on Mannahatta

You know that story about how Indians traded Manhattan to the Dutch for a bunch of beads worth not much? The Mythographer has that one on long-term surveillance. This past weekend Inwood Hill Park–legendary site of the unfair trade–hosted “Drums Along the Hudson”, apparently the largest Native American pow wow in New York City. The… More →

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Brook –  Leave a comment

History | Tagged , ,

Manhattan for trinkets, part 2

The sale of Manhattan for beads and trinkets has become a truism, memorialized in a painting by Alfred Fredericks . The value of said trinkets, reportedly “60 guilders,” does have a verifiable source, though the exact materials assigned the value does not.  Meanwhile “60 guilders” has accrued an aura of shame and betrayal right up… More →

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Brook –  2 Comments

History | Tagged , , ,

Indians traded Manhattan for trinkets

Three of the Mythographer’s favorite words are “according to legend,” especially when they are memorialized in bronze on a historical plaque. And such a plaque can be found in the Mythographer’s backyard, otherwise known as New York City’s Inwood Hill Park, where it is affixed to a boulder in the corner of a large field surrounded by paved walkways. “According to legend,” the plaque reads, “on this site of the principal Manhattan Indian village, Peter Minuit in 1626, purchased Manhattan Island for trinkets and beads then worth about 60 guilders.”

Posted on April 14, 2009 by Brook –  Leave a comment

History | Tagged , , , ,