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Nacotchtank
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<p>The Nacotchtank, also Anacostine, were an <a href="/facts/Algonquian_peoples/zXDb2kwD">Algonquian</a> <a href="/facts/Indigenous_people_of_the_Northeastern_Woodlands/T5uyzvCB">Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands</a>. </p><p>During the 17th century, the Nacotchtank resided within the present-day borders of <a href="/facts/Washington%2c_D.C./enXPK156">Washington, D.C.</a>, along the intersection of the <a href="/facts/Potomac_River/a6pTbEn0">Potomac</a> and <a href="/facts/Anacostia_River/DmbznQUC">Anacostia</a> rivers. </p><p>The Nacotchtank spoke <a href="/facts/Piscataway_language/mtMnULkY">Piscataway</a>, a variant of the <a href="/facts/Algonquian_languages/q1d12Dh2">Algonquian subfamily</a> spoken by many tribes along the coast of the <a href="/facts/Atlantic_Ocean/EI4uChIb">Atlantic Ocean</a>. This was due to close association and tribute with the nearby <a href="/facts/Piscataway_people/KCrGwPau">Piscataway</a> chiefdom, whose <i>tayac</i> (grand chief) ruled over a loose confederacy of tribes in Southern Maryland from the village of <a href="/facts/Accokeek_Creek_Site/PPq7jymf">Moyaone</a> to the south. </p><p>As the neighboring <a href="/facts/Province_of_Maryland/81lppC22">Maryland colony</a> sought land for tobacco plantations, the Nacotchtank were encroached upon and forcibly removed. They were last recorded in the late 1600s to have taken refuge on nearby <a href="/facts/Theodore_Roosevelt_Island/gQb2fPuo">Theodore Roosevelt Island</a> located in the <a href="/facts/Potomac_River/a6pTbEn0">Potomac River</a>. Over time, the small population that was left behind after battle and disease was absorbed into the Piscataway. </p><p>In his 1608 expedition, English explorer <a href="/facts/John_Smith_(explorer)/x96kJSdx">John Smith</a> noted the prosperity of the Nacotchtank and their great supply of various resources. Various pieces of art and other cultural artifacts, including hair combs, pendants, pottery, and dog bones, have been found in excavations throughout Washington, D.C., on Nacotchtank territory. </p>