Montgomery Parks is recognizing and honoring the history, culture, and enduring contributions of the Piscataway people, whose ancestral homelands include present-day Montgomery County, through the installation of interpretive signage. The signage project is part of a larger initiative to highlight the Indigenous experience in Montgomery County and across parkland.
You can read the text for these educational signs on this webpage or visit the bilingual (English and Spanish) signs at Agricultural History Farm Park, the Rock Creek Hiker-Biker Trail, and the Capital Crescent Trail.
We Are Still Here
Today Piscataway peoples remain in their homelands, continuing their culture and exercising their sovereign rights.
Indigenous Peoples in Maryland
Montgomery County is within the ancestral homelands of the Piscataway. They lived here for thousands of years before Europeans arrived in the 1600s. Tight-knit communities continue in Southern Maryland despite land loss, conflicts, forced removals, and 20th century assimilationist practices. In 2012 the state officially recognized the Piscataway Conoy Tribe and the Piscataway Indian Nation.
Fighting for Indigenous Rights
Fueled by the American Indian Movement and the end of federal termination policies, the 1970s began a period of political and cultural revitalization for many Native nations. Decades before, Piscataway leader Chief Turkey Tayac (1895-1978) began working on behalf of his people. He traveled nationally to raise awareness, and passed down cultural knowledge to the next generation. His legacy continues today. Piscataway people work tirelessly to maintain communities, defend sovereign rights, and educate the public. Many Piscataway people also participate in larger Indigenous movements, such as protecting sacred sites, asserting rights to ancestors through repatriation, and opposing environmental degradation.
Native Farming
Many of today’s sustainable agriculture methods come from techniques Indigenous women introduced.
Intercropping
In the spring (cattapeuk), women planted corn (cawl-na-woop), beans, and squash in mounds. Used by many Native communities, this technique is called the “Three Sisters.” Elevated mounds drain the soil and reduce erosion. Planting multiple crops together, known today as intercropping, is self-sustaining and effective. The beans add nitrogen to the soil. This fertilizes the corn which then grows into a trellis for the beans. At the base, squash vines trap moisture.
Field rotation
While the farming methods described here are not unique to the Piscataway, the words shown in italics are in the language of the Piscataway, whose ancestral homelands include Montgomery County.
Throughout the summer (cohattayough), women weeded and prepared for the autumn harvest (taquitock). As it got cooler, they gathered, dried, and stored crops for the winter (popanow). They did not re-seed crops after a field reached peak productivity. Instead, they let it rest until fertile enough for later planting. They also harvested wild foods such as cattails (ahpuwiyazq), wild rice (manominx), and pawpaw (ahzzamintz).
Harvest leftovers
Archaeologists found these miniscule remains of burnt corn at a village site near the Potomac River. Known as a “corn cupule,” each is the cup-shaped part that holds the kernel. Estimated to be 400 to 500 years old, these cupules indicate agricultural practices at the site.
Native American Veterans
Indigenous people have served continuously in the United States military since the American Revolution
Chief Turkey Tayac (1895-1978)
Also known as Philip Proctor, Turkey Tayac was Piscataway, a tribe native to Maryland. He was one of over 12,000 Indigenous men who served in the military during World War I. Following his tour in France, Turkey returned to the United States with a mission to raise awareness about his people and their culture. This was a time when Native Americans faced immense racism and discrimination—challenges still confronting them today. Despite persistent inequities, Indigenous people serve in the armed forces at a rate five times the national average.
Women Warriors
Today, 20 percent of all Indigenous service members are female. Throughout the 20th century, women took on many military roles, from volunteering as nurses during World War I to fighting on the front lines in Afghanistan. Indigenous women veterans in Maryland include Piscataway Conoy tribal members Lisa A. Savoy (far left), an Operations Specialist with the U.S. Air Force (1984-1989), and Dawn Savoy-Dyette (left), a Combat Telecommunication Center Op in the U.S. Army (1983-1990). Ms. Savoy completed tours in Mississippi, San Vito, Italy, and Fort Meade, Maryland. Ms. Savoy-Dyette was stationed in Germany, Panama, New York, and Alabama.
