The Pocomoke people were a historic
Native American tribe whose territory encompassed the rivers
Pocomoke
The Pocomoke River stretches approximately U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 from southern Delaware through southeastern Maryland in the United States. At it ...
, Great Annemessex, Little Annemessex, and Manokin, the bays of Monie and
Chincoteague, and the sounds of Pocomoke and Tangier.
History
Their numbers decreased during the 17th and 18th centuries due to the effects of diseases brought from Europe, massacres by Virginia colonists, and forced displacement from their territory by numerous land grants and patents to immigrants and transports. Beginning about 1742 some Pocomoke families moved northward, by way of the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
and settled in present-day
Pennsylvania and
Canada, while others cohabited with the
Assateague, Nanticoke, and Choptanks near Indian River.
Subtribes
Several related groups were considered subtribes of the Pocomoke:
* Acquintica, also spelled Aquintankec, Aquinteca
*
Annamessex, Annamessick
* Gingoteque, Chingotegue, Gingateege, Gingo Teague, Yingoteague
* Manokin, Mannanokin, Monoakin
* Morumsco
* Nasswatex, Nuswattax
* Quandanquan.
[Christian F. Feest, "Nanticoke and Neighboring Tribes," 251.]
Heritage group
The
Pocomoke Indian Nation
The Pocomoke Indian Nation is a cultural heritage organization of individuals who identify as descendants of the Pocomoke people. They formed a nonprofit organization, the Pocomoke Indian Nation, Inc., in Eden, Maryland.
The Pocomoke Indian Na ...
claims to descend from the Pocomoke people. It incorporated as a
Maryland tax-exempt entity and is listed by the IRS as a public charity-501c3 organization. No petition has been submitted to date for requesting formal recognition from the United States or the State of Maryland.
Notes
References
*
External links
Pocomoke Indian History on the Eastern Shore by Christine Richardson
Eastern Algonquian peoples
Extinct Native American tribes
Native American tribes in Maryland
Unrecognized tribes in the United States
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