Piscataway tribe

The Piscataway also referred to as the Piscataway Indian Nation, are Native Americans, once constituting the most populous and powerful Native polities of the Chesapeake Bay region. 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 interactions with European settlers, called them Conoy.

Two major groups representing Piscataway descendants received state recognition as Native American tribes in 2012: the Piscataway Indian Nation and Tayac Territory and the Piscataway Conoy Tribe of Maryland. Within the latter group was included the Piscataway Conoy Confederacy and Sub-Tribes and the Cedarville Band of Piscataway Indians. All these groups are located in Southern Maryland. None is federally recognized.

Name

The Piscataway were recorded by the English (in days before uniform spelling) as the Pascatowies, Paschatoway, Pazaticans, Pascoticons, Paskattaway, Pascatacon, Piscattaway, and Puscattawy. They were also referred to by the names of their villages: Moyaonce, Accotick or Accokicke or Accokeek, Potapaco or Portotoack, Sacayo or Sachia, Zakiah, Yaocomaco or Youcomako or Yeocomico, or Wicomicons.