Peter Toth sculpted an Assateague Indian figure and gave it to the people of Maryland, part of his effort to create an Indian monument in each of the fifty states to honor his heritage and raise awareness of the plight of Native Americans. Completed in 1976 and carved from 100 year old oak, the work represents the Assateague, a sub-tribe of the Nanticokes; both spoke a dialect of the Lenapes or Delaware Indian and were members of the Algonkian family. Indian groups living near Assateague Island included the Pocomoke, Annamessex, Manokin, Nassawattex, Acquintica, Assateague, Chincoteague and Kicotanks. By the early 1700’s, the Assateague and the other Indian tribes in the area were pressured by colonists to move northward out of the region, migrating through Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York and finally into Canada, where they were lost to history.