Tribal leadership unveils new City of Cambridge historic marker
Cambridge, Md. – In Dorchester County, tribal, municipal, local and state leaders gathered for the unveiling of a new historic marker for the City of Cambridge on Tuesday.
On the steps outside the Dorchester County Visitor Center, members of the Nause-Waiwash Band of Indians gathered with members of the community to acknowledge and honor the tribe’s history and that of the surrounding area.
Nause-Waiwash Chief Donna “Wolf Mother” Abbott has worked with state, tribal and local leaders to continue to share the history of her people and other native communities to highlight the rich culture of the area.
“It just means that the information is more accurate and shines a different light on our history,” Abbott said. “The Nause-Waiwash support this wonderful program that Maryland has so graciously extended us. It allows us to continue our mission to tell our story, preserve our history, and educate the community.”
David Hanley, the senior archeologist for Maryland Department of Transportation’s Office of Cultural Resources coordinated with the Maryland Roadside Historical Market Program and the Nause-Waiwash to erect the new marker.
“The Maryland Department of Transportation acknowledges the painful history of forced removal of Native people from their territory and honors these diverse indigenous cultures still connected to this land,” he said. “We are committed to relationship building with the Nause-Waiwash Band of Indians and raising awareness of their strength and perseverance through public education along our transportation systems.”
Pocomoke and Accohannock tribe leadership were also in attendance for the unveiling. Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs Chair Tom Bradshaw, who is also a member of the Nause-Waiwash, said though some of the stories put together in the past were not always necessarily “wrong,” it was important to make sure they were updated with the most up-to-date and accurate information.
“With technology, it has allowed us to better research our history, our stories, and we’re in the process of adding to them, correcting them for those who are here and those who are to come,” Bradshaw said. “As Chief Donna’s former predecessor and my late friend and mentor, Chief Winter Hawk, would say, ‘We are here. We never left, and this is a way to let those know, let those people know that yes, we are here, and this is our story.'”
Cambridge Mayor Lajan Cephas-Bey was also in attendance to mark the occasion and marked the significance of highlight Native history as well as that of formerly enslaved individuals and settlers.
“If we don’t keep these stories alive, if we don’t identify factual information again, how do we know where we’re going?” Cephas-Bey said, stating that the marker was a way for the past to inform the future. “They’ll learn about stories — of course, Harriet Tubman. But there’s other stories of history aside from Harriet. We have the stories of our watermen. We have the stories of our Native Americans, of course, and then of course the story that we want to share our vision moving forward.”
Abbott said updating historical understanding is key to highlighting the histories of all of the communities that have called the area home.
“It’s educating the community on their own history. Not this isn’t just not the Nause-Waiwash history or Choptank history,” she said. “This is the history of Cambridge and Dorchester County. So that is very important. And that’s a big part of all of this. It’s not just us.”
The historical marker now reads:
“Cambridge
Cambridge is the homelands of the Choptank Indians.
In 1669, colonists assumed possession of the land reserving a portion for the Native People. The Choptank paid a yearly rent of 6 beaver skins.
In the 1684, Dorchester County commissioners founded Cambridge and made the city a deep-water port of entry. An Act of Assembly incorporated the city in 1793. Cambridge is one of the only surviving 17th century Maryland settlements.– Maryland Department of Transportation, Maryland Historical Trust”
