In the 1666 Treaty, "Anacostanck" Was Used As the Tribe Name, Nacotchtank Was Not Mentioned.

 This previous post from Feb 2022 discusses how the prominent error made on Captain John Smith's 1612 map still confuses many modern investigators about the name of the tribe of Native Americans who once lived in and around Washington, DC. 

The map makers misheard the words used for the name of the tribe and wrote the name of "Nacotchtanck" on the 1612 map. The name for the tribe was derived from the Native words for "a town of traders." As was pointed out about 20 years later, by Father Andrew White, the Jesuit who studied the Piscataway language for his preaching, the word for trading was "anaquash" and town was "tanik," so Anaquashtanik was what the mapmakers recorded as "Nacotchtanck."

 Native names, like many foreign names, went through a lot of changes as they were used by English settlers. But as evidence of how quickly the tribe name moved away from the Nacotchtanck form, the name used for the tribe in the Peace and Amity treaty of 1666 was "Anacostanck." (In a previous version of this post, a reading of the name as "Anacostaub" was included. Searching the transciption given in the Maryland Achives link that follows, it seems that the apparent "ub" ending is an old script for "ck.")

 Here's a link for the full text of the treaty. The name "Nacotchtank" or it's derivations isn't in the treaty.

Currently, Wikipedia still has an entry for "Nacotchtank." Their entry on the 1666 treaty says the name of the tribe was "Anacostanck," which is an active link to their Nacotchtank entry. Despite previous attempts, getting the cabal that controls the content of the entry to change the discussion of the name and several other confusions in the text, little or no progress has been made. Maybe pointing out the absence of Nacotchtank in this 17th century legal document will move an editor to correct the explanation of the Anacostan tribe's name.

Bolling Plans to Add Native History to It's Website!

Today, Abigail Meyers, an associate PR person at Bolling, called to inform me that the Base is working on adding information on it's Native history to the Base website !

It probably won't be more than 1 or 2 paragraphs, but even that will be much greater than zero!

The Absence of the Anacostan Natives of DC from the National Museum of the American Indian

After the talk I gave on Oct 8 at the Anacostia Library about the Anacostan history in DC, the subject came up of why this topic isn't included in the materials offered by the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) here in DC.
The 1st letter in this blog was addressed to Kevin Gover, Director of the NMAI.
It seemed like a good time for a follow-up.
Here's the letter sent on 10/15/18:

                                                                                                       sent by US Mail & email

Kevin Gover, Director

National Museum of the American Indian

Washington, DC

October 15, 2018

Re: The Absence of the Anacostan Natives of DC from the National Museum of the American Indian

Dear Kevin Gover,

In my previous letter to you in 2016 (copy attached), I briefly explained how my time in Melbourne, AU has sensitized me to the issue of acknowledging the Native people who came before us. In Melbourne, each public meeting begins with mention of the indigenous people who originally occupied the land in the city. The Melbourne city website devotes an entire section to their indigenous people.

https://whatson.melbourne.vic.gov.au/Placestogo/indigenous/Pages/indigenous.aspx

At that time I had collected some documents and maps that showed an Anacostan/Nacotchtank village once existed in the area around Garfield Park, SE. Since that time I have collected more extensive information on the history of the Anacostan Natives who once farmed, quarried and buried their dead on the land that is now Washington, DC. I have collected and offered those materials online as a website, a blog, and in a full referenced article citing the resources I've identified (see links at end).

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but unfortunately, I have not been able to find any mention of the Anacostan Natives of DC in your National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). To the best of my knowledge, currently there is no public display that acknowledges the past existence of Anacostan villages, their quarries or burial sites. Can we initiate a future display for DC-Area Native Americans?

I understand your challenge in presenting the extensive history of the American Indian to the public. However, the absence of a telling of the story of the Natives of DC stands in sharp contrast to the excellent detail in which the story of the Manahatta Indians is told on your website: “Manahatta to Manhattan, Native Americans in Lower Manhattan” (http://nmai.si.edu/sites/1/files/pdf/education/Manahatta_to_manhattan.pdf)

The current NMAI exhibit “Return to a Native Place: Algonquin Peoples of the Chesapeake,” which sits outside the elevators on the second floor of the museum, would be expected to include the Anacostans, who were the Algonquins native to DC and nearby Maryland. As is shown in the picture below, the exhibit's discussion of the Piscataway Algonquins who lived along the Potomac does not even include the part of the Potomac that reaches Washington.

Washington, DC is currently celebrating the “Year of the Anacostia.” There has not been a great deal of public recognition of the Anacostan Natives who gave the river it's name. Of all the many public groups to overlook the history of these Native People, it's extremely sad that the NMAI is currently included. There is still time to rectify this oversight. I will be happy to contribute my time to work with your staff to help acknowledge the Anacostan Natives who previously lived on the land of this city for thousands of years.

I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you, or a staff member to review the options for a display or on-line acknowledgement of DC-Area Native Americans.

Sincerely yours,

Armand

Armand Lione, Ph.D.

533 4th St. SE, DC, 20003

armandlione@gmail.com

202.487.7092

Links:

Blog: http://nativevillagemarker.blogspot.com/

Map: http://onceasitwasdc.org/

Article: http://onceasitwasdc.org/media/Why%20Did%20the%20Anacostan%20Indians%20Choose%20to%20Live%20on%20Capitol%20Hill%20Feb%202018.pdf

The Cost of Forgetting video

This 1.5 min video was added as a link to the Once As It Once Was map.
It tells the background of construction that was done on the site of the Anacostan Village that was once on Giesling Point in SE DC.

The Once As It Was map of Washington, DC

You'll see the Melbourne, AU version of this map in the following post.
Here's the Once As It Was map for DC that was inspired by the Melbourne map!
Click the link below to go to the website. Each of the icons on the map will open a box explaining the Anacostan history that relates to site.

http://onceasitwasdc.org/

The History of the Anacostan/Nacotchtank Indians in Washington, DC

Here's an article I put together that retells some of the major archaeological finds regarding the American Indians, the Anacostans, sometimes called the Nacotchtank, who lived in DC when the European settlers arrived in America. Click the link below to see the pdf:*

“Why Did the Anacostan Indians Choose to Live on Capitol Hill?”

                                Drawing from 1590s showing a Dog in a Virginia Native Village
The article discusses the roles dogs played in Native life.

*Note: the first pdf has been replaced with an updated version, including more information about the various names that have been used for the Anacostan/Nacotchtank natives of Washington, DC.