Early Saturday morning, residents, community members and local leaders alike gathered to exchange ideas and give input on what should be the focus of the management plan for the recently approved Southern Maryland National Heritage Area.
The Southern Maryland National Heritage Area came to fruition last year after Congress passed the Southern Maryland National Heritage Act in December 2022 and President Joe Biden signed it into law on Jan. 5, 2023. The area includes Calvert, Charles, St. Mary’s and southern Prince George’s counties.
Congress designates National Heritage Areas due to their historical and cultural significance. According to the National Park Service, the designation allows for federal, state and private support for historic preservation, education and natural resource conservation within the region through partnerships. There are 62 National Heritage Areas within the United States.
The creation of the local heritage area authorizes $10 million in federal funding over the next decade to support education, conservation and preservation efforts within the region. Maryland leaders, including Gov. Wes Moore (D), celebrated the official designation last May at Piscataway Park in Accokeek.
Last Saturday’s event, “Exchange: A Regional Planning Forum,” was held at the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland in California and was open to the public. The exchange featured moderated workshops garnering public input on youth engagement, historic preservation, heritage tourism, stewardship of the landscape, planning for Maryland’s 400th anniversary, sharing your heritage, and sharing Piscataway stories and culture.
Workshop moderators and note-takers from St. Mary’s College of Maryland recorded attendees’ input. According to the management plan consultant Carolyn Brackett, participants’ input will be directly considered when crafting the management plan.
Management plans guide new National Heritage Area policies and goals. The Secretary of Interior must sign and approve the management plan before any federal funding can be released.
“We are the fastest moving National Heritage Area there has ever been,” Southern Maryland National Heritage Executive Director Area Lucille Walker said.
Walker said the management plan process typically takes three years, but the organization is trying to complete it in 11 months.
“We feel that the 400th [anniversary] is coming for Maryland in just 10 years, and Southern Maryland is where Maryland began, and so we really need to get ready and we need to get ready now,” she said.
Walker said the organization held the forum on a weekend with the hopes of attracting participation from residents who work full-time jobs and are otherwise unable to participate.
“We don’t wanna just preach to the choir, we don’t wanna just get the same people all the time who can come because it’s part of their job. We want community members, we want members of different organizations that would not normally be able to come during the week,” Walker said. “This is a chance for people to hear more about what we do, to explore our themes which are very important in guiding us, and help us figure out some action items, like how we can have the biggest impact.”
Attendees brought up several ideas within the workshops, ranging from focusing on conserving the area’s natural resources to properly commemorating the story and culture of the Piscataway people.
When Europeans settled in the early 17th century, the Piscataway was the most powerful and dominant tribal nation in the area between the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River. In the face of aggressive colonization, the Piscataway people were displaced and their stories largely disregarded in the public narrative.
“We are always put in the past, that we are not an intricate part of today’s society and today’s world, and we only exist in John Wayne Hollywood movies or cartoon characters or people’s mascots. But we are humans, we are people,” Chief Mark Tayac of the Piscataway Indian Nation said at Saturday’s forum. “We laugh, we smile, we have husbands, we have wives, we have children, we are moms, we are dads, we are grandparents, we are great grandparents, and we have a story to tell.”
Tayac called for a narrative inclusive of Piscataway voices, culture and history led by the Piscataway people.
“There is a cycle that needs to be broken. We need to tell our stories through our eyes, through our words, through our experiences, and I would say you can help but not dictate,” Tayac said.
Tayac also called for the proper commemoration of his late grandfather, Turkey Tayac, a notable Piscataway leader who was instrumental in gaining recognition and rights for the Piscataway people.
“There are no more Indians, that’s what happened to us,” Tayac said. “I would love to see a plaque with his photo; he was one of the last people that spoke the language.”
Others mentioned they would like to see resources go to land stewardship as well as the further incorporation of indigenous education and memorialization into schools and public areas.
The Southern Maryland National Heritage Area is seeking expertise and consultation from Francis Gray, the chair of the Piscataway Conoy tribal council, Piscataway Chief Mark Tayac, and others regarding the National Heritage Area and Piscataway culture.
Gwendoline Bankins, vice president of the Historic Sotterley trustee board and a member of the steering committee for the Southern Maryland National Heritage Area, said the heritage area is about educating people on the history of Southern Maryland and making sure that all voices are included every step of the way.
“In this area, the land, the lives and the people matter, and the heritage area is about telling that,” Bankins said. “From the Piscataway nation, to the military, to the Amish community, to the African American and Hispanic communities, it’s about telling our inclusive history, our connected history and our shared heritage.”
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