Chidinma Life Writing

The Piscataway Tribe Lifestyle in Southern Maryland

In considering Indigenous peoples’ land, Route 210, better known as Indian Head Highway, provides an interesting case study of the Piscataway tribe in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The land acts as its own record. Because of the many natural resources of the land, the Piscataway tribe became self-sufficient and isolated from other tribes, exemplified by their land use and social structures in the late 1800s.

First, the name of the highway must be addressed. Indian Head is an unfortunate abbreviation of Headlands referring to the geographical structure of the area (Town History). However, the name is criticized for its possible reference to the history of dismembering Indigenous people and selling their body parts (Partlow). However, these two histories may not be mutually exclusive.

The land Route 210 is on has many natural resources that influenced the Piscataway tribe lifestyle and helped them become self-sufficient. There are major waterways that traverse the land, including the Potomac River and the Piscataway Creek (Hopkins). Due to this, many members of the Piscataway tribe were fishermen, taking advantage of the plentiful freshwater fish present in the area (Piscataway Conoy Tribe - Village Life). Though the Piscataway tribe was mainly sedentary, the waterways could have functioned as a mode to facilitate transportation. Additionally, the land had wide-open fields that led many people to farm and field labor. The natural resources available corresponds with the settler lifestyle the Piscataway tribe had.

Social structures were influenced by the land and led the Piscataway tribe to social isolation. For example, children had an active role in the community influenced by farming. They participated in the upkeep of the farms by keeping pests and animals away from the fields. This example shows how reliant the tribe was on their own families. Additionally, the Piscataway tribe is close-knit; they were reported to distance themselves from other tribes (Piscataway Conoy Tribe - Village Life). The reason for their independence could be because of the bountiful natural resources of the land that allowed them to become self-sufficient. If all their resources are within reach, they would not need to trade or form relationships with other tribes.

Image: Modern day Route 210

By Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA - Indian Head Highway Approaching Interstate 95, Oxon Hill, Maryland, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47618277

Image: Map of Piscataway land created in 1879

Works Cited

Hopkins, G. M. “Piscataway Dist. No. 5.” The Library of Congress, 1879, www.loc.gov/resource/g3850m.gct00186/?sp=30&r=-0.307,-0.175,1.781,0.861,0.

Partlow, Joshua. “Man Wants ‘Indian Head’ Changed.” Washington Post, The Washington Post, 25 Dec. 2003, www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.washingtonpost.com%2farchive%2flocal%2f2003%2f12%2f25%2fman-wants-indian-head-changed%2f351811a9-9312-4331-9a36-4ef999e5729d%2f.

“Piscataway Conoy Tribe - Village Life.” Piscataway Conoy Tribe, www.piscatawayconoytribe.com/village.html. Accessed 25 Oct. 2020.

“Town History.” Town of Indian Head, www.townofindianhead.org/?SEC=2ED8DAF4-FEB8-4ECD-AF88-DFAE6447C12F. Accessed 25 Oct. 2020.