10/12/2026
This Indigenous Peoples’ Day we recognize the Doeg People - also known as the Dogue, Taux, Tauxenent, or Moyumpse.
Generations before European colonists came to Virginia, the Doeg people lived on the peninsula now called Mason Neck in Fairfax County. Europeans initially called the spit of land Doeg’s Island or Doeg’s Neck. This group of native people also moved fluidly across the surrounding bodies of water into other parts of Fairfax County, Prince William County, and Maryland.
The Doeg spoke a dialect of Algonquin and lived along the Potomac and Occoquan Rivers with villages throughout the area, the largest known as Tauxenent (Taw-sheh-nont) along the Occoquan. Their language is still found today in the roots of many place names including Occoquan, Quantico, Pohick, and more. They hunted, fished, grew native crops like maize, squash, and beans, and traded with other local tribes.
As European colonists arrived in Virginia, diseases, violent clashes, and forced displacement took a heavy toll on the Doeg population. During Bacon’s Rebellion, many were forced to move from their homes and cross the river, where the remnants of the tribe were likely taken in by the Piscataway. The formal tribe ceased to exist by 1747, 8 years before the construction began on Gunston Hall.
While the Doeg do not exist as a political entity today, their descendants live on through the Piscataway People and other Native American nations, and we remember them through their history, the names of places, and the evidence that they left behind through archaeology. We honor them by preserving and sharing their history and by supporting the Native American community today.
