PHILADELPHIA — It was never about William Penn, members of Native American tribes say.
Their discussions with the National Park Service centered around proper representation of their nations and the deep history they have in the Philadelphia region, and at Welcome Park in particular: The parcel in the heart of Philadelphia’s Old City, created in 1982 to honor the Quaker who founded Pennsylvania, is an open-air museum that tells Penn’s story on a stone model of the city’s original street grid.
In early January, the National Park Service issued a news release asking for public input to “provide a more welcoming, accurate and inclusive experience for visitors” at Welcome Park, adding benches, plantings and signage honoring Native American tribes who called the area home when Penn arrived.
But the release also mentioned permanent removal of a statue of William Penn and a small model of his Slate Roof House, where he lived from 1699-1701. And that set off a social media firestorm : State and national officials from both parties criticized the proposal, which was quickly withdrawn by the National Park Service.