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Language: Nanticoke Indians all speak English today. Their native language, Nanticoke, has not been spoken since the 1800's. Nanticoke was an Algonquian language closely related to Lenape and Munsee. You can read a Nanticoke picture glossary here. Hunting: Because the Northern climates made agriculture difficult, the Algonquin were a semi-nomadic people, moving their encampments from one place to the next in search of food, which came from hunting, trapping, fishing and the gathering of various plant roots, seeds, wild rice and berries. They travelled on foot and by birch bark canoe in the summer months, and used toboggans and snowshoes in the winter. Their clothes were made from animal skins, as were their tents, also known as wigwams; sometimes also covered with birch bark. Wars: Nanticoke leaders tried to have Maryland authorities restrict alcohol sale on the reservation by punishing traders who had tricked them, but it was nearly impossible to enforce. In 1742, the Nanticoke were tired of nearly 100 years of conflict. Their leaders met in Winnasoccum Swamp, near the Pocomoke River to plan for war. The plan, however, came to an end when a Choptank Indian informed Maryland colonists and leaders. They threatened to take the Nanticoke land. As the Powhatan Tribes had all faced similar conflicts, some of the Nanticoke, tired and disgusted, chose to accept an offer from the Six Nations of the Iroquois in the New York, Pennsylvania, and Canadian areas. Once their enemies, the Iroquois promised the Nanticoke both land and protection. The offer was also extended to other tribes, including the Cayuga, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, Mohawk, and Tuscarora. Other tidewater tribes in the Delaware - Maryland area chose to move west to the Oklahoma Territories. In fact, all of the Nanticoke did not leave the Eastern Shore. Starting in 1744, some individual families left in dug out canoes and traveled north up the Susquehanna River. Others walked westward. But, a significant number of Nanticoke moved eastward into Delaware and settled in Indian River Hundred, near the Indian River. By the 1800's, the Nanticoke who remained had purchased land and assimilated into the predominant culture.
http://www.nanticokeindians.org/history.cfm Nanticoke Indians were planting corn and beans, and drying them for later use. Women and children cared for lush gardens of corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, sunflowers, and tobacco. They gathered nuts, berries, birds’ eggs, and edible plants in season. As they lived close to the rivers, in warmer months, they dined on delicious seafood, including clams, oysters, mussels, crab, eels, and fish. Nets, snares, baskets, and spears were fashioned by the men to harvest the water’s bounty. The men hunted the forests and meadows of the Eastern Shore for squirrels, turkeys, deer, opossums, rabbits, bear, partridges, ducks and geese. Domestic- they gathered nuts, berries, birds, eggs and edible plants. Native American women of the Eastern woodland regions fashioned clothing from animal skins and furs for warmth. Decorations and jewelry were made from shells and quills. Some tribes tattooed or painted their skin using berries. Later, after European contact, eastern tribes traded furs for cooler cotton fabrics called "trade cloth" and decorated them with ribbon strips of fabric, making ribbon shirts and dresses. Moccasins, made of deerskin, served as traditional native footwear, because they were soft and comfortable.
