{Washington Mall originally posted by the National Park Service} The National Mall in what is now Washington D.C. was originally the village of Nacotchtank. When we talk about public land, we often thing large western parks, but the National Parks run many urban parks as well. It is important to remember that these urban spaces, especially cities like D.C. which are steeped in the American mythos, are also Native Land with complex social histories far predating European settlement.

The Nacotchtank or Anacostans controlled an important trading center bringing together a number of coastal tribes and confederacies. War and diseases brought by Europeans destroyed their network, however, forcing the Nacotchtank to disperse, joining other tribes in the region including the Piscataway, a state recognized tribe in Maryland.