Pocomoke people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (Descendant communities of the Pocomoke Nation and subtribes) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Eastern Shore of Maryland | |
| Languages | |
| Algonquian | |
| Religion | |
| Native and Christian religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Nanticoke, Assateague |
The Pocomoke People were an aboriginal nation whose territory encompassed the rivers: Pocomoke, Great Annemessex, Little Annemessex and Manokin, the bays of Monie and Chincoteague, and the sounds of Pocomoke and Tangier.
Their numbers decreased during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries due to the effects of several 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 and settled in present-day Pennsylvania and Canada, while others cohabited with the Assateague, Nanticoke and Choptanks near Indian River. Today's communities of the Pocomoke People are descendants of those who remained on the Lower Eastern Shore following the partial exodus of the Pocomokes in the eighteenth century.
The present organization calling itself the Pocomoke Indian Nation is a descendant community who hold a traditional and cultural kinship with the historic Pocomoke People. Its mission is to preserve the heritage and way of life of the Pocomoke Nation by teaching its young members Pocomoke traditions, skills and language; and to educate the general public about the history and culture of the Pocomoke People through interpretive demonstrations in collaboration with schools, parks, and local events.
The Pocomoke Indian Nation is incorporated as a Maryland tax exempt entity and is listed by the IRS as a public charity-501c3 organization. The Pocomoke Indian Nation concurs on federal projects that must comply with Section 106 and NAGPRA provisions. While the Pocomoke was a treaty nation with Maryland; no petition has been submitted to date for requesting formal recognition from the United States or the State of Maryland.
online source - www.pocomokeindiannation.org - TAB-Our History
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