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1/13 Hi everyone! I’m Annie Anderson, Manager of Research here at Eastern State. I’m taking over ESP’s Twitter to lead you in a discussion about Indigenous people at the penitentiary. Follow along and tweet your question with the hashtag #HiddenESP.
2/13 We currently know of 9 Native American people who served time at ESP. Because Native peoples have been erased from many segments of American life, it’s possible that more people of Indigenous heritage served time at ESP but were not documented as such. #HiddenESP
3/13 Before we explore the history of Indigenous people at Eastern State, let’s take a quick look at the land the prison sits on. In 1821, ESP’s building commission paid $11,500 for the 10-acre property, a former cherry orchard owned by a family named Warner. #HiddenESP
4/13 Who inhabited and worked the land before the Warners? We’re not sure, but we do know that the Lenni-Lenape people, a Native American tribe, lived in the Philadelphia area approximately 10,000 years before European settlers came to the region in the early 1600s. #HiddenESP
5/13 Nathaniel Welsh, a 34-year-old from Maryland, is the earliest known person with Native American heritage incarcerated at Eastern State. Prison officials documented his “half Indian complexion” upon his arrival at the prison in 1834. #HiddenESP
6/13 George Wilson, a 14-year-old from New York, arrived at Eastern State in 1835 with a larceny sentence. Prison officials wrote “half breed Indian, mother a squaw” on his intake register—language that reveals history’s dehumanizing attitudes about Native Americans. #HiddenESP
7/13 A few groups of Native Americans visited ESP in its early days. In 1830, the prison recorded a visit from “Col. [Samuel] Stambaugh, Indian Agent, Green Bay [Wisconsin] & 14 Menominee Indians.” Black Hawk, a famous Sauk leader, visited ESP in 1833. #HiddenESP
![7/13 A few groups of Native Americans visited ESP in its early days. In 1830, the prison recorded a visit from “Col. [Samuel] Stambaugh, Indian Agent, Green Bay [Wisconsin] & 14 Menominee Indians.” Black Hawk, a famous Sauk leader, visited ESP in 1833. #HiddenESP](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EaulFz8WkAIwFW_.jpg "7/13 A few groups of Native Americans visited ESP in its early days. In 1830, the prison recorded a visit from “Col. [Samuel] Stambaugh, Indian Agent, Green Bay [Wisconsin] & 14 Menominee Indians.” Black Hawk, a famous Sauk leader, visited ESP in 1833. #HiddenESP")
8/13 John Franklin, a 15-year-old from Pennsylvania, served time at Eastern State from 1838-1843 for assault and battery with intent to ravish. A penitentiary official described Franklin as “A boy of Indian extraction.” #HiddenESP
9/13 Chief American Horse, also known as Jacob Paul, was incarcerated at Eastern State from 1897-1899 for larceny and receiving stolen goods. Officials listed his occupation as “Show business,” and noted he was a native of “Indian Territory.” #HiddenESP
10/13 Carl Taylor, also known as Chief Running Wolf, arrived at Eastern State in 1933 with a second-degree murder sentence. Taylor identified as a Mescalero Indian and hailed from a small community in New Mexico’s Mescalero Apache Reservation. #HiddenESP
11/13 Today, Native Americans experience violent crimes at rates far greater than the general population. Additionally, on a per capita basis, Native Americans have a rate of incarceration about 38% higher than the national rate. Why do you think that is? #HiddenESP
12/13 Contemporary issues like mass incarceration and the coronavirus pandemic disproportionately impact the health and economies of communities of color, particularly Black and Indigenous ones. Has your community been impacted by prison or the pandemic? How so? #HiddenESP
13/13 Thanks for joining me today as we uncovered stories of Indigenous people at Eastern State. I enjoyed your thoughtful questions & insights. Please join me next Wednesday when I’ll be discussing women at Eastern State. See you then! #HiddenESP
