Extensive categorization and cross-reference of all North American native american indian tribes of the US and Canada First Nations, by nations, bands, rancheria, pueblo, federally recognized, state recognized, unrecognized, petitions for recognition, by state or providence, and by language group and region of original occupation. You can also find a listing of official tribal web sites on the Internet.

MARYLAND TRIBES

Federal list last updated 3/07

FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBES

NONE

STATE RECOGNIZED TRIBES
(Not recognized by the Federal Governemnt)

The Maryland legislature (Article 83B section 5-406[b], Annotated Code of Maryland 05.08.06) authorizes a commission on Indian affairs to consider regulations for recognition and has issue detailed procedural requirements and criteria for attaining state recognition. Two groups claiming Piscataway ancestors have pending applications there. However, Maryland has so far recognized no tribes.

UNRECOGNIZED / PETITIONING TRIBES

Accohannock Indian Tribal Association, Inc. Letter of Intent to Petition 01/18/1995.

Federation: Moorish Science Temple of America, Inc. Letter of Intent to Petition 01/23/96; determined ineligible to petition 5/15/1997.

Piscataway-Conoy Confederacy and Sub-Tribes, Inc. Letter of Intent to Petition 02/22/1978.

Piscataway Indians

Youghiogaheny River Band Of Shawnee Indians

FIRST CONTACT TO PRESENT

We do not know what the Native Americans called the Chesapeake Bay. That name came from the Native American word "Chesepiuk," an Algonquian name for a village that the Roanoke, Virginia colonists discovered in 1585 near the mouth of the Bay.

Later, mapmakers used the word to name the Bay. People have said that Chesapeake means "great salt water" or "great shellfish bay," but no records exist to verify those definitions.

Most of the tribal communities left the area as European settlers arrived in the 17th century. But these early inhabitants gave their names to many of Maryland�s rivers, towns, and counties.

PRE-CONTACT MARYLAND TRIBES

PRE-HISTORIC CULTURES IN MARYLAND

10,000 B.C. - First humans arrived by this date in the land that would become Maryland.

1,500 B.C. - Oysters became an important food resource.

1,000 B.C. - Native American introduction of pottery.

800 A.D. - Native American introduction of domesticated plants; bow and arrow came into use.

1200 - Permanent Native American villages established.

1498 - John Cabot sailed along Eastern Shore off present-day Worcester County.

1524 - Giovanni da Verrazano passed mouth of Chesapeake Bay.

1572 - Pedro Menendez de Aviles, Spanish governor of Florida, explored Chesapeake Bay.

Maryland was inhabited by Indians as early as circa 10,000 B.C. Permanent Indian villages were established by circa A.D. 1000.The Paleo-Indians who came more than 10,000 years ago from other parts of North America to hunt mammoth, great bison and caribou. By 1,000 B.C., Maryland had more than 8,000 Native Americans in about 40 different tribes. Most of them spoke Algonquian languages.

These Native Americans lived in permanent communities where corn, beans, and squash were raised. They also hunted, fished, and harvested native plants to supplement their farming. Their homes, called longhouses, were usually located along the region�s rivers and streams. They also hunted, fished and traded with tribes as far away as New York and Ohio.