Maryland Agency Receives $50K Grant To Help Document Native American Heritage In Baltimore
CROWNSVILLE, Md. (WJZ) -- A state agency has received a $50,000 National Park Service grant to document Native American history and culture in Baltimore City.
The Maryland Historical Trust, a division of the Maryland Department of Planning, will use the money to research significant landmarks associated with Native Americans in Baltimore and nominate them for the National Register of Historic Places.
Members of the Piscataway and the Susquehannock tribes lived on the land that now makes up Baltimore City before the arrival of European colonists, the planning department said.
Starting in the 1890s, members of the Lumbee Tribe, whose ancestral home is in North Carolina, began emigrating to Baltimore, with thousands arriving after World War II seeking new job opportunities. Many settled in the Upper Fells Point and Washington Hill neighborhoods, an area some Lumbee referred to as "the reservation," the planning department said.
"We anticipate this endeavor will provide new opportunities for collaboration and recognition," said Elizabeth Hughes, Maryland Historical Trust Director and the State Historic Preservation Officer. "Documentation is the critical first step that will assist preservationists and community members to advocate for preserving the places important to Native heritage."
Ashley Minner, a folklorist and enrolled member of the Lumbee tribe, has created a digital map of Lumbee landmarks in Southeast Baltimore. Locations include the South Broadway Baptist Church, where Lumbee attended services; the Baltimore American Indian Center and Heritage Museum; and the former site of Moonlight Restaurant, one of the first eateries where Lumbee could sit down for a meal.
The Maryland Historical Trust said her work will serve as a foundation for its research.
The agency has previously received National Park Service funding from the Underrepresented Community grant program to document buildings associated the civil rights movement, women's suffrage movement, and Asian American heritage.
