Indigenous Context on the Waterways
What are the 4 artifacts that have been found on the islands?
1. Ceramics
2. Projectiles
3. Lithics artifacts
4. Multiple Oyster middens
Oysters have been around for _____ million years with very little evolutionary changes.
50 million.
Oysters filter about ______ gallons of water per day. The filter out _______ and _________, both of which can be harmful pollutants. Oysters use these nutrients for themselves to help their shells grow. Or they are __________ and _________ into small packs and are no longer harmful.
50 gallons. nitrogen and sediment. Compacted and deposited.
Estuaries are a broader term covering an area where ______ water rivers meet the _____. Salt marshes are a part of those areas.
fresh. ocean
Salt marshes bury more _______ in their soil each year than a ________ _________.
Carbon. Tropical rainforest.
Use of waterways by the peoples of Werewocomoco established ____ miles upstream, across the river/islands historic ______ tribal lands.
10 miles. Kiskiack tribal lands.
The first people of VA were so successful because of oysters. They were used as _____ in the coastal plains where stone was limited and a great source of protein.
Tools.
Oyster reefs provide habitat for marine life such as _____ shrimp, _____ crabs, anemones, barnacles, and other lower chain species which in turn attract predators like stripped ____ and blue _____
grass shrimp, mud crabs, bass, and blue crab.
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest ______ in the U.S. With a watershed the encompasses more than _______ miles, ___ states, and more than ____ million people.
Estuary. 64,000 miles, 6 states, and 18 million people.
Estuaries help keep pir water clean by filtering runoff from the land through vegetation, preventing the _________ from traveling further out into the _______.
pollutants. ocean.
Werewocomoco was the capital of the _________ Confederacy which was made up of ____ different tribes across the tidewater region known as _________
Powhatan. 32. Tsenacomacah.
When colonists arrived there are accounts of the bay being littered with oyster reefs so grand they would crest the surface of the water and create deadly ________ for the boats.
Obstacles
The populations have been so diminished that today it takes the remaining bay oysters more than _______ to filter the entire bay.
A year
Estuaries across the U.S. provide habitat for _____% of the commercial fish catch and _____ of the recreational catch.
68% and 80%.
peat. absorbs. flooding.
Werewocomoco was the seat of Chief _________'s power. He was a paramount chief to whom other chiefs within the confederacy paid tribute to.
Powhatan's
Oysters are ________ organisms meaning they need to attach to a substrate. This is how reefs are formed as oysters release their ________ (early stage of life) which then attach to surrounding shells and grow to _______.
sessile. adults
The Chesapeake Bay is only considered to be about ______ years old.
10,000 years old
Marshes provide habitat and hunting grounds for turtles such as the ____________ terrapin who is an abundant resident of the park.
Diamondback
Storm _______ and ________ are also impeded by the existence of marshes and _______ as they provide a protective barrier.
surge. erosion. estuaries.
Today only _____ tribes across VA are stare or federally recognized and have retained strong connections to waterways across the Chesapeake Bay.
11
Historically, oysters were able to filter the entire Chesapeake Bay (______ trillion gallons) within ____ week.
19 trillion. 1 week.
Oysters were one of the main reasons why the Powhatan confederacy was able to grow to some ______ people.
15,000
The marshes act as a _______ ________ meaning they absorb and safely store carbon that is in our atmosphere. During the winter season when grasses die down, they are flooded with water which packs them down where they will eventually _________.
carbon sink. decompose.
The salt marshes serve as an excellent ________ and ________ grounds for all of the birds looking for habitats.
hunting. feeding