Chief Tamanend, with a welcoming outstretched arm, stands atop a turtle while an eagle with a wampum belt in its grasp is perched on his shoulder. To the Lenni-Lenape tribe, who welcomed William Penn upon his arrival to Pennsylvania in 1682, the turtle symbolized Mother Earth and the eagle represented a messenger of the Great Spirit. Tamanend was the leader of the Lenni-Lanape tribe, and the belt held in the eagle’s talons signifies a friendship treaty agreed upon between Penn, Tamanend, and other Native Americans.
Revered by many as a symbol of peace, Tamanend was named a “Patron Saint of America,” and May 1st was considered “Tamanend Day.”
Artist Raymond Sandoval’s site-specific sculpture is installed at Front and Market Streets, facing Alexander Milne Calder’s William Penn atop City Hall. Standing more than 20 feet tall and weighing nearly 4 tons, Tamanend was unveiled in June 1995.
Almost 30 years later, the sculpture is potentially being relocated to a newly created plaza at 2nd and Market Streets, which would be named Tamanend Plaza. The proposed move is part of a pedestrian-friendly redesign of Market Street in Old City, which launched in December 2024. It is contingent on support from Indigenous groups and is part of broader efforts to enhance the area ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026.
RESOURCES:
- Philly’s missing monuments to Native history (WHYY)
- Respectfully Remembering the Affable One (Hidden City)
- Conservation for Tamanend in 2020 (Creative Philadelphia)
This artwork is part of the Around Old City tour
