Indigenous peoples of Maryland

The Indigenous peoples of Maryland are the tribes who historically and currently live in the land that is now the State of Maryland in the United States of America. These tribes belong to the Northeastern Woodlands, a cultural region.

Only 2% of the state's population self-reported as having Native American ancestry in the 2020 US census. Many of these individuals belong to Native American tribes and Indigenous peoples of the Americas whose territory is outside of Maryland.

Indigenous peoples have inhabited the area at least since c. 10,000 BC. In 1608, Captain John Smith first made contact with tribes in the Chesapeake Bay. European settlers first settled in Maryland in 1634, but as the century progressed, violence and hostility between Indigenous peoples and European settlers increased. Various treaties and reservations were established in 17th and 18th century, but many Native peoples left the area in the mid-to-late 18th century. Today, individual Native Americans live throughout the state, including a sizable Lumbee population in Baltimore.

Most of the historical Native American population in Maryland was composed of Algonquian and Iroquoian peoples, with a smaller Siouan-speaking population emigrating to the area in the mid-18th century. Many of these peoples assimilated into mainstream society or moved to the Great Lakes region or Oklahoma as part of widespread Indian removal efforts in the 19th century.

Maryland has no federally recognized tribes, but the state recognizes three tribes: the Piscataway-Conoy Tribe of Maryland, the Piscataway Indian Nation and Tayac Territory, and the Accohannock Indian Tribe. A state commission on Indian Affairs serves eight unrecognized tribes.