Research Guide: Tribe ________Piscataway – Conoy Nation______________

Pre - Columbian Culture		Effects of European Contact
Location	9,000 BC St. Mary’s County Southern Maryland Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay – including present day Washington D.C. Main village was on the Piscataway Creek in PG County “ Pascatoe ( translates to ‘high passable bank around a bend in the river’ Other villages included : Yaocomoco, Potopaco ( Port Tobacco), Pztuxent, Matapanient (Mattapony), Mattawoman and Nacochtank ( Anacostia, D.C), Marshall Hall	Conflict over landownership/settlement – pushed into the hills of Virginia / later joined with their enemies – the Susquehannocks Smallpox spread throughout the tribes / Alcohol – Rum hurt the tribes By 1700 most of the Indians of Southern Maryland had virtually disappeared 1701 the Conoy signed a traty with Wm. Penn and moved into Pennsylvania (Iroquois name for the Piscataway) etimated number was between 120 – 400 people. United against the Susquehannocks ( early 1600’s )
Language Group	Closely related to the Delaware and Nanticoke tribes Culture resembled the Powhatan Indians of Virginia Algonquian linguistic stock	Learned to speak English No written language
Belief System/ Religion	Belief in good and bad spirits Paid special reverence to corn and fire Peaceful / not warlike	Catholic Church ie. Jesuits worked to convert the Piscataway to Christianity 1640 Father Andrew White baptized the tribal chief and his family in a public ceremony / the Catholic missions were ended with the Cormwellian English government
Leadership/ Government	11 tribe Confederation Matrilineal clans Estimated 30 main villages each with a leader that recognized a “chief” or emperor of the Piscataway. Viilage Chief = Tayac High Chief – “Emperor” lived in Piscataway Village Villages were stockaded for defense against Iroquois and Susquehannock attacks Original population estimate is 2,500	General Assembly of Maryland set aside lands as reservations – settlers still encrouched upon their lands Paid a nominal tribute of a bow and arrows from each village; each village chose a leader Later negotiated protection of the Iroquois and moved north to Pa.
Resource Use: Food Shelter Clothing	Communal homes – oval wigwams of poles covered with mats or bark / hole cut in roof to allow smoke to escape Farming / hunting Dress consisted of breech cloth for men and a short deerskin apron for women	Loss of land European cattle and hogs damage their crops Trading and farming are disrupted due to Indian-Colonists wars that Piscataway are swept up in
Economic System	Farmers – grew corn, pumpkins and tobacco Hinting – hides Trails between villages indicate trading relationship	Farming – Colonial cattle and hogs damaged their fields and crops Trade with colonists
Technology	Women made pottery and baskets Men made dug-out canoes and carried bows and arrows	Colonial law prohibited gun ownership
Arts	Pottery Baskets

Significant Historical Events for the Tribe	1640 Father Andrew White Bapitizes the High Chief and his family 1662 Maryland set aside land as a reservation Allies with the Maryland colonists in wars against the Susquehannocks 1642-52 / 1664-66 against the Seneca. 1680 Piscataway had to flee to Zachia Swamp because of Senca-Susquehannock raids 1685 the Maryland assembly signed a peace treaty binging an end to the “Indian Wars” in southern Maryland 1697 principal chiefs and tribal members abandoned their villages and moved into the backwoods of Virginia 1704 – 1765 moved North into Pa. And N.Y. under the protection of the Iroquois 1793 appear in records at a tribal council in Detroit
Major Tribal Leaders	Tayac Kittamaquund “ Big Beaver” or Kittamaquindi – 1640 Bapitized by Father Andrew White Chief Turkey Tayac and family members work to preserve the Piscataway legacy and culture Mervin A. Savoy is the Tribal Chairwoman of the Piscataway Conoy of Maryland
Achievements / Cultural Contributions	Their assistance and friendly relations with the colonists of Maryland helped the colony to prosper
Effect Cultural Exchange had on both the Native Americans and the Non-Native American Groups	Tribe was reduced from 2,500 to only about 120 within 100 years of European contact. Most of their lands were lost as they migrated into the backwoods of Virginia, Pa. and New York Smallpox and rum caused many deaths Farming fields were ruined by the colonists cattle and hogs Conflicts developed over land Maryland Catholics worked to bring Christianity to the tribe – new religion was well received by the tribe Europeans benefit from the Indian crops – corn and tobacco
Present Status of the Tribe Today	Working to maintain their arts, songs and dances that have been pasted down through the generations Matrilineal clans and lineage have allowed the group to trace and identify their ancestry and to survive as a cultural group Seeking state and federal recognition as a tribe