| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Extinct as a tribe | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Maryland | |
| Languages | |
| Eastern Algonquian | |
| Religion | |
| Native American religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Nanticoke |
The Ozinie, also known as the Wicomiss, [1] were a group of Native Americans living near modern-day Rock Hall, in Kent County, Maryland. [2] They were hunter-gatherers and fished. [1]
Territory
They lived in a village near Chester River that flowed in the Chesapeake Bay. [1] They used Eastern Neck Island for shellfishing. [1]
Population
They had an estimated population of 255 people. [2]
Language
The Ozinie spoke an Algonquian language and were related to the Nanticoke, [3] another Algonquian-speaking tribe,
17th-century history
Captain John Smith encountered the Ozinie in 1608. [3] By 1631, William Claiborne, a British colonist in Virginia, maintained a lucrative fur trade with the local tribes. The Ozinies and the Nanticokes fought against the English colonists who encroached upon their lands. [4] By the mid-17th century, the Ozinie, Matapeakes, and Mononposons disappeared from the historical record. [1] The Ozinie assimilated with the neighboring Nanticokes by the 1660s. [3] [2]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e William B. Cronin, The Disappearing Islands of the Chesapeake, p. 41.
- ^ a b c "Maryland at a Glance: Native Americans". Maryland Manual On-Line. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge". U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
- ^ William B. Cronin, The Disappearing Islands of the Chesapeake, p. 42.
References
- Cronin, William B. (2005). The Disappearing Islands of the Chesapeake. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9780801874352.