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The Choptank Indian Tribe was an Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe that historically lived on the Eastern Shore of Maryland on the Delmarva Peninsula. They occupied an area along the lower Choptank River basin,〔("Choptank River Basin" ), Dept of Natural Resources, Maryland, accessed 18 Mar 2010〕 which included parts of present-day Talbot, Dorchester and Caroline counties.〔(Wayne E. Clark, "Indians in Maryland, an Overview" ), ''Maryland Online Encyclopedia', 2004-2005, accessed 18 Mar 2010〕 The river emptied into the Chesapeake Bay. They spoke Nanticoke, an Eastern Algonquian language closely related to Delaware.〔(Nanticoke Language ), Native Languages of the Americas, accessed 18 Mar 2010〕〔(Nanticoke Tribe ), Native Languages of the Americas, accessed 18 Mar 2010〕 The Choptank were the only Indians on the Eastern Shore to be granted a reservation in fee simple by the English colonial government.〔(Wayne E. Clark, "Indians in Maryland, an Overview" ), ''Maryland Online Encyclopedia', 2004-2005, accessed 18 Mar 2010〕 They retained the land until 1822, when the state of Maryland sold it, in part to pay for the state's share of the District of Columbia. ==History== The name Choptank is thought to be from the ''Nanticoke'' language, the word ''tshapetank'' (a stream that separates)〔(Terry Plowman, "Native Americans of Delmarva" ), ''Delmarva Millennium'', Vol. 1, 1999, accessed 18 Mar 2010〕 or (place of big current).〔(Choptank River Basin ), Dept of Natural Resources, Maryland, accessed 18 Mar 2010〕 The Algonquian-speaking Choptank were independent, but they were related in culture and language to the Nanticoke, the larger paramount chiefdom immediately to their south, which was dominant on the Eastern Shore.〔(Wayne E. Clark, "Indians in Maryland, an Overview" ), ''Maryland Online Encyclopedia', 2004-2005, accessed 18 Mar 2010〕 After the arrival of English colonists, the tribes' histories took different paths. The Choptank maintained good relations with the European settlers. Eventually they were assimilated into the mainstream society through intermarriage. Like many other small tribes, they ceased to exist as a separate entity, although their descendants survive. The only Indian reservation which the English established in fee simple on the Eastern Shore was the Choptank Indian Reservation in 1669.〔(Wayne E. Clark, "Indians in Maryland, an Overview" ), ''Maryland Online Encyclopedia', 2004-2005, accessed 18 Mar 2010〕 The territory included what later became the city of Cambridge,〔(Cambridge Historical Marker )〕 the county seat of Dorchester County. The last town in Dorchester County occupied by the Choptank was Locust Neck Indian Town, which they left about 1790.〔("Lower Choptank River Historic Site" ), ''Choptank and Tuckahoe River Guide'', accessed 18 Mar 2010〕 In 1822 the state of Maryland sold off the land of the reservation for development. The state used some of the proceeds to pay its share of contribution to the formation of the District of Columbia.〔(Federal Writers Project, ''Maryland: A Guide to the Old Line State'' ), New York: Oxford University Press, 1940, accessed 18 Mar 2010〕 The U.S. Navy tugboat ''Choptank'' was named after the tribe. It served from 1918 until 1946.〔("Choptank" - Naval History )〕 The towns of Choptank, Maryland and Choptank Mills, Delaware〔(Placenames - Choptank Mills, Kent County, Delaware, U.S.A. )〕 are named after the river. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Choptank tribe」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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