The
Algonquian-speaking
Piscataway people inhabited present-day Washington, D.C. and lands around the
Potomac River when Europeans first arrived and
colonized the region in the early 17th century. The
Nacotchtank, also called the Nacostines by
Catholic missionaries, maintained settlements around the
Anacostia River in present-day Washington, D.C. Conflicts with
European colonists and neighboring tribes ultimately displaced the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near
Point of Rocks, Maryland.