Nanticoke Indian roots go deepest
On March 10, the Nanticoke Indian Association will reach the 135th anniversary of official recognition by the Delaware General Assembly. While that milestone has significance in the history of Delaware as a state, the history of the Nanticoke people and their ancestors on this post-ice age peninsula we call Delmarva reaches back thousands of years.
That’s why, when it comes to annual celebrations, the Nanticoke Indian Association doesn’t look to that 1881 date, when it finally received official recognition. Instead, the Nanticokes look forward to their annual Powwow in September for celebrating their heritage and renewing their spirit.
This year’s Nanticoke events come under the leadership of Natosha Carmine, who took over as chief of the association in January. The first female chief in the association history, Carmine takes no special pride in that milestone.
Rather, in the understated and humble manner that typifies her people, Carmine said in a recent Cape Gazette article that she is focused on the 39th annual Powwow when she will step confidently into the dance arena as chief and reflect, naturally, on what the Nanticoke Indians stand for.
The history of displacement of Native American peoples, along with promises made and promises broken, is vaguely familiar to many. Still, Delaware would do well to delve more deeply into its past to better uncover and document existing information about the Nanticokes and their struggles. Part of that history is presented by the Nanticoke Nation flag, which displays a corn-grinding mortar and a woven eel trap.
An explanation of those two symbols tells us that, by working the land and the water, the Nanticokes were able to sidle their way into the European economy that developed here in the 1600s. The sale of the fruits of their labor allowed them to buy land - along their namesake Indian River - that had long provided their subsistence via a more ancient and nomadic system.
Heritage and history are important to Sussex County, and no group’s roots go deeper than those of the Nanticoke people.
