Potomac Peoples

Slanted Wayside Exhibit:
Potomac Peoples
400 words / Total Audio Description: 2 minutes, 13 seconds

Site Information
128 words / 42 seconds

This is an audio description of an interpretive sign titled Potomac Peoples. The sign consists of a graphic panel measuring 3 feet (1 meter) wide by 2 feet (0.5 meters) tall. An audio speaker with push buttons and two solar panels is to the right of the graphic panel. All parts are set within an angled black metal frame with two legs that raise the sign 3 feet (1 meter) off the ground. 60 feet (18.3 meters) beyond the panel is the Potomac River with a grassy area in between. The grass extends into the distance left and right bordered by the river and tree-lined paved trails. Across the river, 1500 feet (457.2 meters) is the heavily forested Theodore Roosevelt Island with an urban skyline in the distance.

Exhibit Panel Content
272 words / 1 minute, 30 seconds

The title reads Potomac Peoples.This panel features a river landscape illustration. In the grassy foreground, three Native Americans—an adult and two children—gaze toward the shoreline from a canoe loaded with goods, including netting or a basket. They wear simple brown clothing. Toward the background of the illustration, across the river, a complex settlement of at least 19 lodge houses shows a large community. Thin plumes of smoke waft from campfires at some of the houses. Behind the settlement, a deciduous forest is turning bright autumn hues of orange, red, yellow, and green.

Dark text on the blue river reads:

People have lived along the Potomac River for thousands of years. Algonquian, Siouan, and Iroquoian speaking peoples traveled the river as far as the Atlantic Ocean and the Ohio River Valley to move themselves, ideas, and goods. Here, they lived, hunted, fished, and grew crops. These settlements were political and social centers, and the river served as both a crossroads and a boundary. Most indigenous communities were decimated by years of war and disease. They were driven away by prejudice and persecution and struggled to maintain their cultural identity. However, after Washington, DC became the capital of the US in 1800, the Potomac became a place of Native treaty making, politics, and protest. Today, thousands of Native Americans, including the Piscataway Tribe, continue to make their home along the Potomac River.

Near the canoe, a caption in white text reads:

Indigenous people who lived in this area moved with the seasons. The location of their summer and winter villages changed depending on where game moved or where they planted crops.

[End of description.]