Results for the 2006
Eaglet-Naming Contest!

The Friends of Blackwater are happy to announce that Jess M. from West Virginia was randomly chosen as our contest participant winner. The winner will receive a gift from our Eagle Festival merchandise selection.

And we are proud to announce that our two eaglets are now named Nause and Waiwash (pronounced nah-soo and WAY-wash).

Nause (the oldest eaglet) and Waiwash (the youngest) were the names of two Nanticoke Indian ancestral villages that were based in Dorchester County, Maryland -- where Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge resides.

The Nause-Waiwash Indian tribe now consists of over 250 descendants of the original Nanticoke Indians from the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

In past events at Blackwater Refuge, Chief Sewell Winterhawk Fitzhugh, of the Nause-Waiwash tribe, has brought his Indian lore and customs to our visitors. And in 2004, when the Washington, DC area welcomed the opening of the Smithsonian's beautiful National Museum of the American Indian, Chief Winterhawk was invited to chant a prayer at the dedication.

The tribe has restored their Longhouse at the corner of Maple Dam Road and Greenbriar Road, half a mile from Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, which is adjacent to Fishing Bay Wildlife Management Area. In Fishing Bay are Guinea and Chance islands, the ancestral home of the Nause-Waiwash Indian tribe who still make annual visits.

If you'd like to learn more about the Nause-Waiwash Indians, you can attend the 11th Annual Shad Festival on April 29, 2006, in Vienna, Maryland, where the tribe will have an educational display. And you can also attend the tribe's 14th Annual Native American Festival, where they'll have Native American traditional dancers, singers, and drummers; vendors; fry bread; and a crafts artist demonstration. The festival will be held at the Vienna Ball Park in Vienna, Maryland on September 16-17, 2006 (call 410-376-3889 for more info).

The Friends of Blackwater are proud that our eaglets have been given names representing the local Native American community. Much thanks to everyone who participated in our contest this year!