Mervin Savoy was the former Tribal Chair of the Piscataway Conoy Tribe of Maryland. She worked throughout her 40+ year career to grow state and national recognition of the Piscataway culture and heritage. Then-Governor Martin O’Malley officially recognized the Piscataway Conoy Tribe and the Piscataway Indian Nation on January 9, 2012.
Savoy served on the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs and on the advisory team that completed the feasibility study of the National Park Service’s Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Heritage Trail. This was the first US water-based national historic trail; it spans about 3,000 miles across the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
Savoy was the Project Director for the Title V Indian Education Program for Charles County Board of Education prior to her retirement in 2007.
In 2021, St. Mary’s College of Maryland awarded her the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
The Piscataways are Maryland’s first indigenous tribe. Savoy’s advocacy brought justice and recognition to long-overlooked people in Maryland.