Magical Tales From the
Delaware Tribe
Friday, September 12, 2025
Time: 7-9 pm
Milford Theater – ticketed event
On the Turtle’s Back by Camilla Townsend and Nicky Kay Michael
Moderator: Jeremy Johnson
Enjoy our festival-opening event dedicated to the oral storytelling traditions of the Lenape, as authors and Delaware Tribe leaders come together in Pike County, the heart of the Tribe’s original lands, to recall the indigenous wisdom and folklore that was passed on from grandparent to grandchild. Learn about the unique circumstances such stories were told, how they were preserved through the ages, and their relevance in today’s world. A special evening that will start with a Lenape prayer for the festival and all in attendance.
Camilla Townsend & Nicky Kay Michael
Camilla Townsend is Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of History at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. A former Guggenheim fellow and recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, she has published numerous prize-winning (and readable!) books on Indigenous history and culture, including On the Turtle’s Back: Stories the Lenape Told Their Grandchildren (with Nicky Kay Miichael).
Nicky Kay Michael is a Delaware tribe member who earned her BA from Stanford and PhD from the University of Oklahoma. She is the interim president of Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where she is also the executive director of lndigenous studies and curriculum. She serves on the Delaware tribal council.
Jeremy Johnson
M.S. Education Administration
B.S. Language Arts Education
Jeremy Johnson is the Cultural Education Director of the Delaware Tribe of Indians based in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. He is Lenape, Absentee Shawnee and Peoria. Before his current role, he served as Assistant Chief of the Delaware Tribe. Jeremy is a lifelong educator who worked for over eighteen years as a middle school and high school English teacher and coach. He is committed to preserving and revitalizing Lenape culture and language for the future generations of his tribe.