The Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania is inviting area residents to paddle, attend cultural events or sign a symbolic treaty as part of a 330-mile canoe journey down the Delaware River this August.
The Rising Nation River Journey 2026 will travel from Hancock, N.Y., to Cape May, N.J., with paddling days running Sunday, August 2, through Saturday, August 15. Treaty signing events and cultural programs are scheduled at stops along the way, all open to the public.
The journey marks 24 years since the Lenape Nation and community allies first signed the Treaty of Renewed Friendship at Pennsbury Manor in Morrisville on Aug. 24, 2002. That agreement, renewed every four years, asks signers to acknowledge the Lenape as indigenous caretakers of the region and commit to supporting Lenape culture and environmental stewardship of the Delaware River watershed. As of the 2022 journey, more than 130 organizations and 300 individuals had signed the treaty, according to the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania's website.
The Bucks County connection runs deep. The late Richard McNutt of Plumsteadville was a founding partner of the river journey. The Doylestown Patriot covered the original 2002 paddle, according to the Lenape Nation's website. And the entire county sits within the Lenapehoking, the Lenape homeland encompassing eastern Pennsylvania, southern New York, New Jersey and northern Delaware.
Barbara Bluejay Michalski, Chief Keeper of Culture for the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, wrote in a previous Bucks County Herald column: "You should see the eagles that followed us, and the dragonflies."
The treaty is not a legal contract. The Lenape Nation describes it as "an agreement of heart, mind and spirit," with signers pledging support for a four-year term.
The 2026 journey is funded in part through the National Park Service, via the Lower Delaware Wild & Scenic Management Council, and by the Mountain Watershed Association.
How to participate
Residents can paddle alongside the Lenape Nation for any portion of the journey or attend public treaty signing events at several stops:
- Sunday, August 2 — Willow Wisp Organic Farm, noon; Equinunk Historical Society, 2:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, August 4 — Zane Grey Museum, 3 p.m.
- Saturday, August 8 — Scott Park, Lenape Cultural Center and Sigal Museum in Easton, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Sunday, August 9 — Sunbeam Lenape Park, Frenchtown, N.J., 2–5 p.m.
- Wednesday, August 12 — Woodmere Art Museum, 4–7 p.m. (free, registration required at woodmere.ticketapp.org)
- Friday, August 14 — Musical celebration with three-time Grammy winner Bill Miller, Jim Beer, and Stoney's Boys at Cape May Point Arts & Science Center, 4 p.m. Donations at the door.
- Saturday, August 15 — Grand Finale and final treaty signing, Cape May Point Arts & Science Center, 11 a.m.
The full 2026 itinerary, updated July 21, is available at lenape-nation.org/riverjourneytreaty. Contact: [email protected].
