The Nanticoke people are a Native American Algonquian people, whose traditional homelands are in

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

. Today they live in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, especially

; in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

; and in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. The Nanticoke people consisted of several tribes: The Nanticoke proper (the subject of this article), the Choptank, the Assateague, the Piscataway, and the Doeg.

History

The Nanticoke people may have originated in

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

, and migrated through the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

region and the

Ohio Valley The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illin ...

to the east, along with the

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

and

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

peoples. In 1608, the Nanticoke came into European contact, with the arrival of British captain John Smith. They allied with the British and traded beaver pelts with them. They were located in today's Dorchester,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

and Wicomico counties.Wayne E. Clark, "Indians in Maryland, an Overview"
''Maryland Online Encyclopedia', 2004-2005, accessed 18 Mar 2010 In 1668, the Nanticoke emperor Unnacokasimon signed a peace treaty with the proprietary government of the

Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an Kingdom of England, English and later British Empire, British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in American Revolution, rebellion ag ...

. In 1684, the Nanticoke and English governments defined a reservation for their use, situated between Chicacoan Creek and the

Nanticoke River The Nanticoke River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula. It rises in southern Kent County, Delaware, flows through Sussex County, Delaware, and forms the boundary between Dorchester County, Maryland and Wicomico Coun ...

in Maryland. Non-native peoples encroached upon their lands, so the tribe purchased a 3,000-acre tract of land in 1707 on Broad Creek in Somerset County, Maryland (now

Sussex County, Delaware Sussex County is located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware, on the Delmarva Peninsula. As of the 2020 census, the population was 237,378. The county seat is Georgetown. The first European settlement in the state of Delaware ...

). In 1742, the tribe met with neighboring tribes in nearby Wimbesoccom Neck to discuss a Shawnee plot to attack the local English settlers, but the gathering was discovered and the leaders involved arrested. Some moved up to Pennsylvania in 1744, where they gained permission from the

Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

to settle near

Wyoming, Pennsylvania Wyoming is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located north of Wilkes-Barre, along the Susquehanna River. The population was 3,097 as of the 2020 census. Etymology The name "Wyoming ...

and along the

Juniata River The Juniata River () is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed August 8, 2011 in central Pennsylvania. The river is c ...

. The city of Nanticoke is named after one of their settlements. They moved upriver a decade later. They joined the

Piscataway tribe The Piscataway or Piscatawa , are Native Americans. They spoke Algonquian Piscataway, a dialect of Nanticoke. One of their neighboring tribes, with whom they merged after a massive decline of population following two centuries of interaction ...

, and were both under the jurisdiction of the League of the Iroquois.Pritzker 441 The reservation on Broad Creek was sold in 1768. Some Nanticoke migrated slightly north into New York, where they established a settlement in what became the town of Nanticoke there. Members of the Conoy people joined the Nanticoke in the 1740s. Together they were neutral in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, they allied with the British. In 1778, two hundred Nanticoke moved north to

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes. The fort is on the river's e ...

because of their alliance. Later the British resettled them at the

Six Nations Reserve Six Nations (or Six Nations of the Grand River, french: Réserve des Six Nations, see, Ye:i’ Níónöëdzage:h) is demographically the largest First Nations reserve in Canada. As of the end of 2017, it has a total of 27,276 members, 12,848 of ...

near

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...

, giving them land in compensation for what they had lost. Other Nanticoke stayed at Buffalo River,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Another group of Nanticoke joined the

and migrated to

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

; in 1867, they moved with the Lenape to

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

Winnesoccum Incident

In the early summer of 1742, members of the Nanticoke,

, and Choptank tribes, wanted to avenge themselves against the

English colonists The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...

. The tribes decided to meet on Winnesoccum Island in the middle of the Pocomoke Swamp located in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

. Chief Robin Hood, Hopping Sam, Simon Alsechqueck, and Messowan gathered their people to meet in the swamp for six days where they discussed plans of attack as well as their stories of encounters with the English. As all members of the tribes-including women and children-had left their villages to gather in the swamp, colonists had become suspicious of the disappearance of the natives from their local villages. Soldiers were then sent to round up the tribes in the swamp. Leaders of each of the tribes were questioned by the English, each one telling a different story as to why they had gathered in the swamp. Some stated that they gathered in the swamp solely to hunt while others said they were there to elect a new chief. The English had decided that since no attacks had been executed, no harm should be done to the local tribes. A treaty of peace was signed on July 24th, 1792.

Name

Their autonym is ''Nentego'', which means, "Tidewater People." The Nanticoke chiefdoms are now described as the ''Wicomoco'', ''Monie'' and ''Manokin'', which occupied areas along the rivers that were named after them. The Nanticoke had an extensive an trading network with tribes throughout the Chesapeake Bay area. Early accounts described the Nanticoke tribes as the Arseek, Cuscarawoc, and Nause.

Language

The Nanticoke language was distinct from the Algonquian languages spoken by tribes on the Western Shore of Maryland and along the Potomac River. The Nanticoke language has since become extinct. The last speaker was Lydia E. Clark, who died in 1856. Efforts to revive the language are currently being taken by tribal members and linguists from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

Modern day

Today, some Nanticoke people are part of the federally recognized

Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation Six Nations (or Six Nations of the Grand River, french: Réserve des Six Nations, see, Ye:i’ Níónöëdzage:h) is demographically the largest First Nations reserve in Canada. As of the end of 2017, it has a total of 27,276 members, 12,848 of ...

Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The ones who traveled west with the Delaware are part of the federally recognized

Delaware Tribe of Indians The Delaware Tribe of Indians, formerly known as the Cherokee Delaware or the Eastern Delaware, based in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, is one of three federally recognized tribes of the Lenape people in the United States, the others being with the D ...

. The

Nanticoke Indian Association The Nanticoke Indian Association is a group of Nanticoke who have their headquarters in Millsboro, Delaware. They were recognized as a Native American tribe by the state of Delaware in 1922. The Nanticoke are one of few state-recognized Nati ...

of Millsboro has been a state recognized tribe in

since 1922. The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indians are a state recognized tribe in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

Nanticoke Indian Association

In 1744 some Nanticoke settled near the Indian River in Delaware. They reorganized as the

and were recognized as a tribe by the state in 1881. They have their headquarters in Millsboro. In 1922 they were chartered as a non-profit organization. They organized annual

powwow A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Powwows today allow Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures. Powwows may be private or p ...

s, carrying them on until the mid-1930s, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. In 1977 the tribe revived the annual event. Later they built a museum in honor of their heritage, to teach their children and other Americans. Sites listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1979, and associated with the Indian River Community, include: the Robert Davis Farmhouse, Harmon School, Isaac Harmon Farmhouse, Harmony Church, Ames Hitchens Chicken Farm, Indian Mission Church, Indian Mission School, Johnson School, Coursey and Daisey Indian Burial Ground and Warren T. Wright Farmhouse Site. In 2002 Kenneth S. "Red Deer" Clark Sr., the head chief of the association, and Assistant Chief, his son "Little Owl" Clark, resigned.Jim Cresson, "Chiefs resign from Nanticoke Indian Association"
''Cape Gazette'', 15 Mar 2002, Mitsawokett, accessed 8 Oct 2009 "Tee" Norwood was elected chief and served until 2008. That year Larry Jackson was elected as chief, and Chief William H. "Thunder Eagle" Daisey lead the organization until 2016. Natosha Carmine was elected in 2016 and currently is chief of the association.

Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indians

Some Nanticoke settled across the Delaware Bay in southern

, where they joined the Lenape and intermarried with them. The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indians of

are recognized by that state and based in Bridgeton. They have numerous members with mixed Nanticoke and

ancestry. Both tribes were historically Algonquian speaking, and there have been years of intermarriage between them.

Notes

References

* Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. .

External links

Nanticoke Indian Association
Delaware, official website
Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indian Of New Jersey
New Jersey, official website
Delaware Tribe of Indians
Oklahoma, official website
Six Nations of the Grand River
Ontario, official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Nanticoke People Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands Eastern Algonquian peoples Native American history of Delaware Native American history of Maryland Chesapeake Bay First Nations in Ontario Native American tribes in Maryland Native American tribes in New Jersey Native American tribes in Oklahoma Algonquian ethnonyms Native American tribes in Pennsylvania State-recognized tribes in the United States