Recap: First Native American Heritage & Artifact Day
With more than 750 attendees, the first Native American Heritage & Artifact Day was an inspiring success. Held on February 21, 2026, during Easton’s Fire & Ice Festival, the Waterfowl Festival Building was filled with remarkable local artifact collections, including stone tools dating back more than 10,000 years.
The event featured hands-on demonstrations by Tradition Bearers of the Pocomoke Indian Nation, a lecture by Norris (Buddy) Howard Jr., oral history shared by Drew Shuptar-Rayvis, historic maps and primary documents, and opportunities to connect with representatives of local tribes.
We are especially thankful for the Nause-Waiwash Band of Indians and Pocomoke Indian Nation sharing their history and providing first-hand experiences around the Indigenous history of this land.
We are also grateful to the Talbot Historical Society and the Talbot County Free Library for their generous financial support, and to the Waterfowl Festival for providing such a wonderful space to host the event.
Thank you as well to our exhibitors (shoutout to Mike Mielke and Terry Crannell for recruiting such premier artifact collectors), volunteers, and to Ted Mueller for beautifully capturing the day.
Talbot250 was proud to help support and coordinate this collaborative effort, and we look forward to continuing this important work together as we continue to acknowledge the nation’s 250th anniversary this year.
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