Peter Stuyvesant
Shawnta Smith-Cruz: Jacqueline, can you tell us what you were thinking when you created this particular plate and tell us what images we see, and what you or what we should be receiving as we view this plate.
Jacqueline Bishop: Thanks for the question. As I look at this, I'm struck by the overarching research project process for the river that flows both ways, and in that what I was trying to bring to the forefront is the lands on which NYU rests, and the history that comes with that land. And so there was a lot of research by myself, by the library team, by people that were hired by the library in getting information on indigenous people and their relationships to early Europeans who came to New York then New Amsterdam; and I really wanted to put several groups of people in dialogue, perhaps starting with the Native American, and Indigenous peoples who first, as I understand it, peopled this land on which New York University rests.
Central to understanding the Indigenous people is their food ways and their plant resources and their methods of healing. And there was a lot of research being done in that as well. And so what you're looking at is a food that was very key to the indigenous population, which is corn. You're looking at plants and ways of healing that were important and central to indigenous populations. On the back of all of this knowledge is a European person who came and benefited from the indigenous practices and knowledges and use plants on this land. So that's what you're looking at.