CAMBRIDGE — Since 1989, the Nause-Waiwash Band of Indians have preserved, honored and passed down the stories of their ancestors, many of whom were Nanticoke people living along the Choptank River.
Chief Donna Wolf Mother Abbott is the band’s leader. The group preserves the tradition of the indigenous people who fled in the 1700s to the marshes after being converged on by foreign settlers.
Abbott’s passion for exploring the county’s native history began when she enrolled in the Nause-Waiwash around 20 years ago, though she wasn’t always dead set on joining.
“There were probably two, three, maybe four generations that were brought up believing that it was disgraceful to claim your heritage, so they didn’t teach it to their children,” Abbott said. “And my grandmother was one of those.”
Abbott’s cousins convinced her to enroll around 10 years before she became the band’s second chief in 2014, following the death of former Chief Sewell Winterhawk Fitzhugh.
“They brought up a very good point, and that was, ‘If you don’t (join), how are we going to preserve the history?’” Abbott recalled her cousins telling her. “‘Because it’s fading, it’s dying quickly. And what are you going to tell your grandchildren?’”
The Nause-Waiwash is made up of around 300 descendants of not just the Nanticoke, but Choptank and Pocomoke people as well. Nause was a Nanticoke village outside of Vienna and Waiwash a Choptank village outside of Cambridge, Abbott said.
It’s a “matrilineal society,” one where the women hold the power to elect a chief and make important decisions. At meetings, the nonprofit organization plans upcoming events and collaborations with other tribes in the state, along with discussing heritage and history.
Two churches — Hughes African Methodist Episcopal Chapel near Cambridge and Wesley Chapel south of Cambridge in Andrews — are being renovated so the Nause-Waiwash can provide services and have a resource center. The organization is hosting its 32nd annual Native American Festival on Sept. 14 in Vienna.
Such outreach events are meant to educate people on the history of who occupied Dorchester land, but also how Native Americans treated the land and surrounding waters.
UNCOVERING HISTORYDespite living on the Western Shore, Erin Kennedy, a member of the Nause-Waiwash, often combs through records and land deeds in and around Taylor’s Island, the community in which she grew up, hoping to piece together her mother’s side of the family.
She took inspiration from her uncle, who created a family tree for her father’s side of the family.
Online resources, records from the Maryland State Archives and discussions with fellow indigenous descendants on the Eastern Shore have helped Kennedy and other members of the Nause-Waiwash understand their line of ancestors.
Abbott emphasized that she’s learning every day as well. She’s uncertain if permanent state recognition is in the Nause-Waiwash’s future given that it’s not quite as large as other tribes. However, recent recognitions such as a historical roadside marker next to the Choptank River have raised the prominence of the dedicated nonprofit’s work.
Nearly 10 years in, Abbott is developing a love and commitment to the work of the Nause-Waiwash.
“I have this passion for it, which I never really knew I had until I became involved,” Abbott said. “And I do know that a lot of our history is gone. I want to read all these books and see if I can’t find some new information out that I don’t know. So I’m reading books that I’d never thought I’d ever read before.”
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