Maine -
The Indian Tribes of North America by John R. Swanton
Abnaki. Properly Wabanaki, "those living at the sunrise," "those
living at the east," "easterners." Also called:
Alnanbal, own name, meaning "Indians," or "men."
Aquannaque, Wabanaki as pronounced by Huron.
Bashabas, name given them from a principal chief.
Gannon-gageh-ronnons, name given by Mohawk.
Moassones, from a name applied to their country; perhaps
from Penobscot
Maweshenook, "berry place."
Narankamigdok epitsik arenanbak, "villages of the
Narankamigdog," said to be a collective name for all the Abnaki
villages.
Natio Luporum, "Wolf Nation."
Natsagana, name given by Caughnawaga Iroquois.
Onagungees, Onnogonges, Anagonges, or Owenagunges, name
given by the Iroquois.
Skacewanilom, name given by the Iroquois.
Tarrateens, name given by the tribes of southern New
England.
Connections - The Abnaki belonged to the Algonquian linguistic
family, their closest connections with their neighbors to
the east and west. Indeed their name has very commonly been
extended to include the Malecite, Penobscot, and Pennacook, and
even the Micmac, though on the other hand the Sokoki have
sometimes been left out.
Location - The main body was in western Maine, in the valleys of
the Kennebec, Androscoggin, and Saco Rivers and on the
neighboring coast, overlapping also into Carroll County, N.H.
A single tribe, the Missiassik, was in northwestern Vermont,
representing probably a late intrusion. (See also New Hampshire
and Vermont.)
Subdivisions
Amaseconti, on Sandy River, Franklin County.
Arosaguntacook, on the lower course of Androscoggin River.
Missiassik, in the valley of Missisquoi River, Franklin County,
Vt.
Norridgewock, on Kennebec River.
Ossipee, on Ossipee River and Lake in Maine and New Hampshire.
Pequawket, on Lovell's Pond and the headwaters of Saco River,
Maine and New Hampshire.
Rocameca, on the upper course of Androscoggin River.
Sokoki, on Saco River and in the adjacent parts of Cumberland and
York Counties.
Wawenoc, on the seacoast of Sagadahoc, Lincoln, and Knox
Counties.
Villages
Amaseconti; there were two villages of this tribe, at Farmington
Falls and New Sharon, respectively.
Aquadocta, westward of Saco.
Arosaguntacook town, probably near Lewiston.
Cobbosseecontee, a town or band on the stream of that name, which
empties into the Kennebec River at Gardiner.
Ebenecook, at Ebenecook Harbor, Southport Island.
Kennebec, between Augusta and Winslow.
Ketangheanycke, near the mouth of Kennebec River.
Masherosqueck, near the coast and not certainly Abnaki.
Mecadacut, on the coast between Penobscot and Kennebec Rivers.
Missiassik, belonging to the Missiassik tribe, on Lake Champlain
at the mouth of Missisquoi River, Vt.
Moratiggon, probably on the Maine or New Hampshire coast and
possibly not Abnaki.
Moshoquen, on or near the coast.
Muscongus, on the coast and probably near Muscongus Island.
Negusset, about the site of Woolwich.
Ossaghrage, Iroquois name of an Abnaki village.
Ossipee, probably on Ossipee Lake.
Ouwerage, probably on Ossipee Lake.
Pasharanack, probably on the coast.
Pauhuntanuc, probably on the coast.
Pemaquid, near Pemaquid, Lincoln County.
Pequawket town, about Fryeburg.
Pocopassum, probably on the coast.
Sabino, at the mouth of the Kennebec River, possibly on the west
side.
Sagadahoc, at the mouth of the Kennebec River.
Satquin, on the coast southwest of the Kennebec River.
Segotago, probably identical with Sagadahoc.
Sowocatuck, perhaps the chief village of the Sokoki, Saco River.
Taconnet, at the falls of the Kennebec near Waterville.
Unyjaware, Iroquois name for an Abnaki village.
Wacoogo, probably on or near the coast.
History - The Abnaki and their neighbors claim to have immigrated
into their historic seats from the southwest. Aside from possible
Norse visitants in 1000-1010, John Cabot, during his second
voyage in 1498, probably brought the first white men within sight
of Abnaki territory, but he seems to have had no dealings with
the people. From that time on, Breton, Basque, Norman, and
English fishermen constantly visited the coast. In 1604 Champlain
passed along it from north to south and visited several Abnaki
bands, and in 1605 Waymouth penetrated the Wawenoc country. In
1607-08 came an abortive attempt on the part of the Plymouth
Company to make a permanent settlement at the mouth of the
Kennebec River, but it is probable that English fishermen were on
Monhegan Island almost continuously after that date. Pemaquid was
also occupied at an early period. The Abnaki were soon afterward
missionized from Canada and became attached to the French
interest. For a time they were successful in driving the English
colonists away but later they suffered several severe
defeats- particularly the capture of Norridgewock in 1724 and the
defeat of the Pequawket in 1725 -- were much reduced in numbers,
and finally withdrew to Canada where they were settled at
Becancour and Sillery, and later at St. Francis, along with other
refugee tribes from the south.
Population - Mooney (1928) estimates this at 3,000 in 1600,
including the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy. The St. Francis
Indians, including remnants of other New England tribes, numbered
395 in 1903, and 280 in 1924.
Connection in which they have become noted - The activities of
the missionary Rasles, compilation by him of the Abnaki
dictionary, the destruction of Norridgewock, and the defeat of
the Pequawket on Lovell Pond, as mentioned above, have made the
Abnaki famous.
Malecite. They extended into the northeastern part of the State
of Maine from Canada (q.v.).
Passamaquoddy. Signifying "Those who pursue the pollock," but
strictly "pollock-plenty-place" (Eckstorm). Also called:
Machias Tribe, applied to some living on Machias River.
Quoddy, abbreviation of Passamaquoddy.
St. Croix Indians, from one of the rivers they inhabited.
Scotuks, from the name of the Sehoodic Lakes.
Unchechauge or Unquechauge.
Connections - The Passamaquoddy belong to the Algonquian
linguistic family, their closest connections being the Malecite,
and their more remote relatives the Abnaki, Penobscot, and
Pennacook.
Location - On Passamaquoddy Bay, St. Croix River, and the
Schoodic Lakes. (See also Canada.)
Villages
Gunasquamekook, on the site of St. Andrews, N.B.
Imnarkuan, on the site of Pembroke, Washington County.
Sebaik, at Pleasant Point, Passamaquoddy Bay, near Perry,
Washington County.
Other towns were on Lewis Island and at Calais, in Maine, and on
the New Brunswick side of St. Croix River.
History - The early history of the Passamaquoddy was identical
with that of the Malecite (q.v.). When the territory of the 13
colonies was separated from English rule, the greater part of
this tribe was left on the south side of the boundary. They
enjoy, jointly with the Penobscot, the privilege of having a
representative in the Maine State legislature, though he speaks
only on matters of concern to the two tribes.
Population - The population of the Passamaquoddy was estimated
at about 150 in 1726, 130 in 1804, 379 in 1825, 400-500 in 1859;
and was enumerated as 386 in 1910. In 1930, 436 Indians were
returned from Washington County, and practically all of these
must have belonged to this tribe.
Connection in which they have become noted - The Passamaquoddy
have given their name to Passamaquoddy Bay, which forms part of
the eastern boundary of the State of Maine and are the
easternmost body of Indians in the United States.
Pennacook. The Aceominta and Newichawanoc of the extreme
southwestern part of the State belonged to this tribe. (See New
Hampshire.)
Penobscot. Meaning "the rocky place," or "the descending ledge
place" (Eckstorm), referring to the falls between Oldtown and
Bangor. Also called:
Pentagouet, from the name of their principal village near
Castine.
Connections - The Penobscot belonged to the Algonquian linguistic
stock, their nearest connections being the Abnaki, Passamaquoddy?
Malecite, and Pennacook, with whom they were frequently classed
under the name of the first mentioned.
Location - On both sides of Penobscot Bay and in the entire
drainage area of Penobscot River.
Subdivisions
A body of Penobscot on Moosehead Lake were known as "Moosehead
Lake Indians," but their separation from the rest was probably
temporary.
Villages
Agguncia, said to have been a small settlement near Brewer,
Penobscot County, from which the fabulous city of "Norumbega"
derived its name.
Asnela, a settlement on an island of the same name in Penobscot
Bay.
Catawamtek, at Rockland.
Kenduskeag, at Bangor, near the site of the Penobscot Exchange
Hotel.
Mattawamkeag, about Mattawamkeag Point, Penobscot County.
Meecombe, on the lower course of Penobscot River.
Negas, in Penobscot County.
Olamon, on an island in Penobscot River near Greenbush.
Oldtown, the present village on an island of the same name.
Passadumkeag, on an island in Penobscot River near the present
Passadumkeag.
Pentagouet, at or near Castine.
Precaute, on the southeast coast of Maine; it may have been a
Passamaquoddy town.
Segocket, near the mouth of Penobscot River.
Wabigganus, probably near the mouth of the Penobscot River.
History - Native tradition brings the Penobscot from the southwest.
They were encountered by French and English fishermen and
explorers early in the sixteenth century, and one of their towns
came to have a European reputation as a city of fabulous size and
importance under the name of Norumbega. In the seventeenth
century their chief, known to the Whites as Bashaba, seems to
have extended his authority, probably his moral authority only,
over the tribes to the westward as far as the Merrimac. The
Penobscot were visited by Champlain in 1604 and by numerous later
explorers. They assisted the French against the English until
1749, when they made peace and in consequence did not remove to
Canada with the Abnaki. They have remained in their old country
to the present day, their principal settlement being on Oldtown
Island. Conjointly with the Passamaquoddy, they have a
representative at the sessions of the Maine State legislature
privileged to speak on tribal affairs only.
Population - The following are early estimates of the Penobscot
population: 650 in 1726, 1,000 in 1736, 700 in 1753, 400 in 1759,
700 in 1765, 360 in 1786. According to the United States Census
of 1910, there were 266, including 13 scattered outside of the
State of Maine. The census of 1930 returned 301 Indians from
Penobscot County, practically all belonging to this tribe.
Connection in which they have become noted - The Penobscot have
given their name to a bay, a river, and a county in the State of
Maine, to a post village in Hancock County, and a branch post
office in Detroit. The title of the chief above mentioned,
Bashaba or Besselbes, became the center of a myth among the
Whites in which he was elevated to the dignity of a local king or
emperor. The widely quoted myth of Norumbega should also be
mentioned in this connection. This tribe and the Passamaquoddy
constitute the only bodies of Indians of any size remaining in
New England.
Maryland and the District of Columbia
The Indian Tribes of North America by John R. Swanton
Conoy. Probably a synonym of Kanawha, but the meaning is unknown;
also spelled Canawese, and Ganawese. Also called:
Piscataway, from a village on Piscataway Creek where the
Conoy chief resided.
Connections - The Conoy belonged to the Algonquian linguistic
stock and were probably intermediate between the Nanticoke and
Powhatan Indians.
Location - Between the Potomac River and the western shore of
the Chesapeake.
Subdivisions
Acquintanacsuak, on the west bank of Patuxent River in St. Marys
County.
Conoy proper or Piscataway, in the southern part of Prince
Georges County.
Mattapanient, on Patuxent River, probably in St. Marys County.
Moyawance, on the West bank of the Potomac River above the Conoy
proper.
Nacotchtank, on the eastern branch of the Potomac, in the
District of Columbia.
Pamacocack about the mouth of Mattawoman Creek and the present
Pomonkey, Charles County
Patuxent, in Calvert County.
Potapaco, in the southern and central parts of Charles County.
Secowocomoco, on Wicomico River in St. Marys and Charles
Counties.
Villages
The principal settlement of each of the above subdivisions was
generally known by the same name. In addition we have the
following:
Catawissa, at Catanwissa, Columbia County, Pa.
Conejoholo, on the east bank of the Susquehanna on or near the
site of Bainbridge, Lancaster County, Pa.
Conoytown, on Susquehanna River betneen Conejoholo and Shamokin
(Sunbury), Pa.
Kittamaquindi, at the junction of Tinkers Creek with the
Piscataway a few miles above the Potomac, Prince Georges County,
the principal village of the colony proper.
History - If the name of the Conoy is identical with that of
Kanawha River, as appears probable, they must have lived at some
period along that stream. They were found by Smith and the
Maryland colonists in the location above given and missions were
established among them by the Jesuits on the first settlement of
Maryland in 1634. They decreased rapidly in numbers and were
presently assigned a tract of land on the Potomac, perhaps near
the site of Washington. In 1675 they were attacked by the
Susquchanna Indians who had been driven from their own
territories by the Iroquois, retired up the Potomac River, and
then to the Susquehanna, where they were finally assigned lands
at Conejoholo near the Nanticoke and Conestoga. Some of them were
living with these two tribes at Conestoga in 1742. They gradually
made their way northward, stopping successively at Harrisburg,
Shamokin, Catawissa, and Wyoming, and in 1765 were in southern
New York, at Owego, Chugnut, and Chenango, on the eastern branch
of the Susquehanna. They moved west with the Mahican and Delaware
and soon became known only as constituting a part of those
tribes. They used the Turkey as their signature at a council held
in 1793.
Population - The number of Conoy was estimated by Mooney (1928)
at 2,000 in 1600; in 1765 they numbered only about 150.
Connection in which they have become noted - The name Conoy is
perpetuated by Conoy, 2 miles north of Falmouth, Lancaster
County, Pa., and probably (see above) by the Great and Little
Knawha Rivers, Kanawha County, Kanawba Ridge, and several places
in West Virginia, besides post villages in Hancock County, Iowa,
and Red River County, Tex.
Delaware. They probably occupied, or at least hunted over, some
territory in the extreme northeastern part of the State.
(See New Jersey.)
Nanticoke. From Nentego, a variant of Delaware Unechtgo, or
Unalachtigo, "Tidewater people," the neighboring division of
Delaware being known by the same name. Also called:
Doegs, Toags, or Taux, by some early writers, probably
shortened from Tawachguans.
Canniataratich-rone, Mohawk name.
Otayachgo, Tawachguans, Mahican and Delaware name,
meaning "Bridge people."
Skaniadaradighroonas, "Beyond-the-sea people," Iroquois
name.
Connection - The Nanticoke belonged to the Algonquian linguistic
family, their closest connections probably being with the
Unalachtigo Delaware- as the name implies- and also with the
Conoy.
Location - Although the Nanticoke are frequently more narrowly
delimited, it will be convenient to group under this head all
of the Indians of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and southern
Delaware.
Subdivisions
Annamessicks. in the southern part of Somerset County.
Choptank, on Choptank River.
Cuscarawaoc, at the head of Nanticoke River in Maryland and
Delaware.
Manokin, on Manokin River in the northern part of Somerset
County.
Nanticoke proper, on the lower course of Nanticoke River.
Nause, in the southern end of the present Dorchester County.
Ozinies, on the lower course of Chester River; they may have been
part of or identical with the Wicomese.
Tocwogh, on Sassafras River, in Cecil and Kent Counties.
Wicocomoco, on Wicocomoco River in Somerset and Wicocomoco
Counties.
Wicomese, in Queen Anne's County.
Villages
Ababco, a subtribe or village of the Choptank on the south side
of Choptank River in Dorchester County, near Secretary Creek.
Askimimkansen, perhaps Nanticoke, on an upper eastern branch of
Pocomoke River, probably in Worcester County.
Byengeahtein, probably in Dauphin or Lancaster County, Pa.
Chenango, a mixed population on Chenango River about Binghamton,
N.Y.
Hutsawap, a village or subtribe of the Choptank, in Dorchester
County.
Locust Necktown, occupied by a band of Nanticoke proper known as
Wiwash, on Choptank River, in Dorchester County.
Matchcouchtin, consisting of Nanticoke proper, probably in
Pennsylvania.
Matcheattochousie, Nanticoke proper, probably in Pennsylvania.
Natahquois, Nanticoke proper, probably on the eastern shore of
Maryland or on the Susquehanna, Pennsylvania.
Nause, belonging to the tribe of the same name, on the north bank
of Nanticoke River near its mouth.
Pekoinoke, Nanticoke proper, still existing in Maryland in 1755.
Pohemkomeati, on lower Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania.
Teahquois, Nanticoke proper, probably on lower Susquehanna River,
Pennsylvania.
Tequassimo, a subtribe or village on the Choptank, on the
southern shore of Choptank River.
Tocwogh, the principal village of the tribe of that name, said to
be on the south side of Chester River in Queen Anne County, but,
unless this is a later location, probably on the south side of
Sassafras River in Kent County.
Witichquaom, Nanticoke proper, near Susquehanna River in southern
Pennsylvania
History - Traditionally, the Nanticoke arc supposed to have come
from the west at about the same time as the Delaware, but they
were found in the location above given by the earliest white
explorers and settlers. They were at war with the Maryland
colonists from 1642 to 1678. In 1698 reservations were set aside
for them. Soon after 1722 the greater part of them began to move
north, stopping for a time on the Susquehanna at its junction
with the Juniata. In 1748 the greater part of the tribe went
farther up, and, after camping temporarily at a number of places,
settled under Iroquois protection at Chenango, Chugnut, and
Oswego. In 1753 part of these joined the Iroquois in western New
York, and they were still living with them in 1840, but the
majority, in company with the remnants of the Mahican and
Wappinger, emigrated west about 1784 and joined the Delaware in
Ohio and Indiana, with whom they soon became incorporated,
disappearing as a distinct tribe. Yet a part did not leave their
old country. Some were living in Maryland in 1792 under the name
of Wiwash, and some mixed-bloods still occupy a small territory
on Indian River, Delaware. The Choptank, or a part of them, also
remained in their old country on the south of Choptank River,
Dorchester County, where a few of their descendants, their blood
much mixed with that of Negroes, were to be found in 1837. Some
Wicocomoco must also have stayed about their ancient seats, since
a few mongrels are said to retain the name.
Population - Mooney (1928) estimated a total Indian population on
the eastern shore of Maryland in 1600 of 2,700, including 700
Toewogh and Ozinies, 400 Wicocomoco, and 1,600 Nanticoke and
their more immediate neighbors. In 1722 they are said to have
numbered about 500 and in 1765 those who had emigrated to New
York were supposed to count about 500 more. In 1792 the Nanticoke
proper left in Maryland were said to comprise only 30 persons,
but in 1911 Speck (1915) estimated their descendants in southern
Maryland at 700.
Connection in which they have become noted - The name Nanticoke
is perpetuated in that of Nanticoke River between Wicomico and
Dorchester Counties, and by the town of Nanticoke in the former.
There are also places of the name in Broome County, N.Y., and
Luzerne County, Pa.
Powhatan. The Accohanoc Indians of the panhandle of Virginia, who
extended over into Worcester County, were the only representative
of the Powhatan Indians in Maryland, though the Conoy were
closely related to them. (See Virginia.)
Shawnee. Shawnee Indians settled temporarily in western Maryland
near the Potomac and in the northeastern part of the State
on the Susquehanna. (See Tennessee.)
Susquchanna. They lived along and near the Susquehanna River.
(See Pennsylvania.)
Massachusetts
The Indian Tribes of North America by John R. Swanton
Mahican. The Mahican extended over most of Berkshire County,
where they were represented mainly by the Housatonic or
Stockbridge Indians. (See New York.)
Massachuset. Meaning "at the range of hills," by which is meant
the hills of Milton.
Connections.- The Massachuset belonged to the Algonquian
linguistic stock, their tongue being an n-dialect, and formed one
group with the Narraganset, Niantic (East and West), and
Wampanoag, and probably the Nauset.
Location.- In the region of Massachusetts Bay between Salem on
the north and Marshfield and Brockton on the south. Later they
claimed lands beyond Brockton as far as the Great Cedar Swamp,
territories formerly under the control of the Wampanoag.
Subdivisions
Johnson (1881) says that there were "three kingdoms or
sagamoreships having under them seven dukedoms or petty
sagamores." Some of these undoubtedly correspond to the divisions
recently worked out by Speck (1928) by means of provincial
documents. He identifies six main divisions, two of them further
subdivided, all called by the names of their chiefs, as follows:
(1) Band of Chickataubut (including the later bands of Wampatuck
and some other of his heirs and a district and band earlier
controlled by Obatinnewat or Obtakiest), all of the Massachuset
territory south of Charles River and west of the neighborhood of
Ponkapog Pond.
(2) Band of Nanepashemet, all the Massachuset territory north of
Charles River. Nanepashemet's domain was afterward divided among
his three sons: Winnepurkit, owning about Deer Island and in
Boston Harbor; Wonohaquaham, owning about Chelsea and Saugus; and
Montowampate, owning about Lynn and Marblehead.
(3) Band of Manatahqua, about Nahant and Swampscott.
(4) Band of Cato, a tract 5 miles square east of Concord River.
(5) Band of Nahaton, around Natick.
(6) Band of Cutshamakin, Cutshamequin, or Kutchamakin, about
Dorchester, Sudbury, and Milton.
Villages
Conohasset, about Cokasset.
Cowate, "Praying Indians," at the Falls of Charles River.
Magaehnak, probably "Praying Indians," 6 miles from Sudbury.
Massachuset, location uncertain.
Mishawum, at Charlestown.
Mystic, at Medford.
Nahapssumkeck, in the northern part of Plymouth County, probably
on the coast.
Natick, "Praying Indians," near the present Niatick.
Neponset, on Neponset River about Stoughton.
Nonantum, on Nonantum hill Newton.
Pequimmit, "Praying Indians," near Stoughton.
Pocspawmet, on the south shore of Massachusetts Bay.
Punkapog, "Praying Indians," near Stoughton.
Sagoquas, south of Cohnsset.
Saugus, near Lynn.
Seccasaw, in the northern part of Plymouth County.
Titicut, "Praying Indians," possibly Wampanoag, in Middleborough
town.
Topeent, on the north coast of Plymouth County.
Totant, at or near Boston.
Totheet, on the north coast of Plymouth County.
Wessagusset, near Weymouth.
Winnisimmet, at Chelsea.
Wonasquam, near Annisquam, Essex; County, perhaps a later
outvillage.
History.- The Massachuset were visited by several voyagers,
beginning at least as far back as the time of John Cabot but were
first particularly noted by Captain John Smith, who coasted their
territory in 1614. In 1617 they were much reduced by a pestilence
and about the same time they were depleted by wars with their
north-eastern neighbors. The Puritans settled in their country in
1629, and mission work was soon begun among them, and was pursued
with particular zeal by John Eliot. Tho converts were gathered
into separate villages, where they gradually declined in numbers
and presently disappeared as distinct bodies, though a few
descendants of the Punkapog town people are still living in
Canton, Mattapan, and Mansfield.
Population.- The number of Massachuset is estimated by Mooney
(1928) to have been 3,000 in 1600. In 1631 it was reduced to
about 500, and soon considerably below that figure by smallpox.
Connection in which they have become noted.- The Massachuset gave
their name to Massachusetts Bay and through that to the present
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Massachuset are also noted as
the tribe in which the famous apostle to the Indians, Jolm Eliot,
labored, through whom a large part of them were gathered into
villages of "Praying Indians." The "Eliot Bible" and other works
by him have preserved a knowledge of the Massachuset language to
our own day. Crispus Attucks, who was killed in the Boston
massacre and is generally regarded as the first victim of the
American Revolution, was of mixed Negro-Massachuset ancestry. The
marriage of Winnepurkit, a Massachuset chief whose lands were
about Boston Harbor, to the daughter of Passaconaway, chief
sachem of the Pennacook, was made by Whittier the subject of a
poem, "The Bridal of Pennacook."
Nauset. Meaning unknown. Also called:
Cape Indians, from their situation.
Connections.- (See under discussion of the Massachuset.)
Location.- All of Cape Cod except the extreme western end.
Subdivisions
Speck (1928) has identified the following: Iyanough, Wiananno, or
Hyannis (centering about Barnstable); Manomoy, or Monomoy (about
Chatham); auset (from Easthan- to Truro).
Villages
Aquetnet, at Skauton Neck, Sandwich, Barnstable County.
Ashimut or Ashimuit, at a large spring near the junction of
Falmouth, Mashpee, and Sandwich Townships, Barnstable County.
Coatuit, near Oslerville, Barnstable County.
Codtaumut or Cataumut, in Mashpee Township.
Cummaquid, at Cummaquid Harbor.
Manamovili, near Chatham.
Mashpee, on the coast of Mashpee Township.
Mattakees or Mattakeset, in Barnstaible and Yarmouth Townships.
Meeshawn, in Provincetown or Truro Township.
Nausei, near Eastham.
Nemskaket, on or near Nemskaket Creek.
Nobsqussit or Nobscussct, near Dennis.
Pamet, near Truro.
Pawpoesit, near Barnstable.
Pispogutt or Pispoqutt, in the western part of Barnstable County,
near Buzzards Bay.
Poponesset, near Poponesset Bay
Potanurnaquut, on Pleasant Bay near Harwich.
Punonaknit, at Billingsgate near Wellifleet.
Satuit, on Cotuit River near Mashpee.
Sawkatuket or Satucket, in Brewster or Harwich.
Skauton, near Sandwich, probably on Bazzards Bay.
Sokones or Succonessct, near Falmouth.
Wakoquet, or Waquoit, near Waquoit or Weequakit, in Barnstable
Township.
Wessquobs or Weesquobs, near Pocasset.
Many of these contained Wampanoag Indians and some Indians of
other tribes.
History.- From the exposed position of the Nauset on Cape Cod
their territory came under the observation of many of the
earliest explorers, but actual contact with the people was not so
simple a matter. In 1606 Champlain had an encounter with them. In
1614 Hunt carried off 7 Nauset Indians and 20 Patuxet of the
Wampanoag tribe whom he sold into slavery. They seem to have
escaped the great New England pestilence of 1617. Although they
behaved in a hostile manner toward the Pilgrims at their first
landing in 1620, they soon became firm friends and even rendered
some assistance against King Philip (1675-76). Most of them had
been Christianized before this time and collected into churches.
In 1710 many died of fever, but the number of Indians in Nauset
territory was increased by additions from other tribes driven
from their proper territories, so that the population of the
principal Indian settlement at Mashpee has not fallen below 200
down to the present day, though a great deal of mixture with
other races has taken place.
Population.- The number of the Nauset was estimated by Mooney
(1928) at 1,200 in 1600. In 1621 they were believed to number
500; in 1674, 462 were reported in the various inhabited centers
on Cape Cod, containing Nauset, Wampanoag, and other Indians. In
1698, 515 Indians were reported from Mashpee, mainly Nauset and
Wampanoag. In 1767, 292 were reported at the same place and the
number has varied between 200 and 300 down to 1930. The United
States Census of 1910 reported 206 Indians of this band, all but
5 in Massachusetts. Speck (1928) estimates that there were 230 in
1920, all of whom were mixed-bloods. The census of 1930 returned
only 38 Indians from Barnstable County and 54 from Massachusetts,
but it may be incomplete.
Connection in which they have become noted.- As already remarked,
it was in the Nauset temtory and in considerable measure through
their blood that the Massachusetts aborigines maintained their
existence longest. Nauset Beach, Nauset Harbor, and Nauset Light
perpetuate the name.
Nipmuc. From Nipmaug, "fresh water fishing place."
Connections.- The Nipmuc belonged to the Algonquian linguistic
family, their language being an l-dialect. Their nearest
relatives were the other tribes of Massachusetts and the tribes
of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and the Hudson River Valley.
Location.- The Nipmuc occupied the central plateau of
Massachusetts, particularly the southern part of Worcester
County, but they extended into northern Rhode Island and
Connecticut. (See also Connecticut and Rhode Island.)
Subdivisions and Villages
Acoomemeck, location uncertain.
Attawaugan, near Attawaugan in the town of Killingly, Conn.
Chabanakongkomun, near Dudley.
Chachaubunkkakowok, location uncertain.
Coweset, in northern Rhode Island west of Blackstone River.
Hassanamesit, at Grafton.
Magunkaquog, at Hopkinton.
Manchaug, near Oxford.
Manexit, near Thompson, Conn.
Mashapaug, at Mashapaug Pond in the town of Union, Conn.
Medfield, at Medfield, native name unknown.
Menemesseg, near New Braintree.
Metewemesick, near Sturbridge.
Missogkonnog, location uncertain.
Muskataquid, location uncertain.
Nasbobnh, near Magog Pond, in Littleton.
Nichewaug, about Nichewaug, near Petersham.
Okommakamesit, near Marlborough.
Pakachoog, near Worcester, probably in Millbury.
Quabaug, near Brookfield.
Quadick, near the present Quadick Reservoir, Thompson County,
Conn.
Quantisset, on Thompson Hill, near Thompson, Conn.
Quinebaug, on Quinebaug River near Quinebaug Station, town of
Thompson, Conn.
Quinetusset, near Thompson in northeast corner of Connecticut.
Segunesit, in northeastern Connecticut.
Tatumasket, west of Mendon, in the southern part of Worcester
County.
Wabaquasset, about 6 miles from Quinebaug River, south of
Woodstock, Conn., sometimes regarded as an independent tribe.
Wacuntug, on the west side of Blackstone River, near Uxbridge.
Wenimesset, at New Braintree.
History.- There was no coherence among the people bearing the
name of Nipmuc and some of them were from time to time attached
to the more powerful tribes in their neighborhood, such as the
Massachuset, Wampanoag, Narraganset, and Mohegan. The Whites
first met them after Plymouth and the Massachusetts Bay were
settled. In 1674 there were seven villages of Christian Indians
among the Nipmuc but in 1675 practically all took part with King
Philip against the colonists and at its close fled to Canada or
to the tribes on Hudson River.
Population.- Mooney (1928) estimates that there were 500
independent Nipmuc in 1600. If we consider as Nipmuc the Indians
returned from Worcester County, Mass., and Windham and Tolland
Counties, Conn., in 1910, there were then 81.
Pennacook. The following bands of Pennacook lived in the
northeastern part of Massachusetts: Agawam, Nashua, Naumkeag,
Pentucket, Wachuset, Wamesit, and Weshacum. (See New Hampshire.)
Pocomtuc. Meaning unknown.
Connections.- The Pocomtuc belonged to the Algonquian linguistic
family, and spoke an r-dialect, their nearest relatives probably
being the Wappinger.
Location.- The Pocomtuc home was in the present counties of
Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden, Mass., and in the neighboring
parts of Connecticut and Vermont.
Subdivisions and Villages
Agawam, about Springfield, their principal village of the same
name being on Long Hill.
Mayawaug, near W. Suffield, town of Suffield, Conn.
Nameroke, in the town of Enfield, east of Thompsonville, Conn.
Nonotuc, a division and village about Northampton.
Pocomtuc, a division in Deerfield River Valley and the adjacent
parts of the Connecticut River Valley, the principal town of the
same name being near Deerfield. (See also Vermont.)
Scitico, near the place of that name in the eastern part of the
town of Enfield, Conn.
Squawkeag, on both sides of Connecticut River in the northern
part of Franklin County, their principal village, of the same
name, being near Northfield.
History.- The fort of the Pocomtuc proper, on Fort Hill near
Deerfield, was destroyed by the Mohawk in 1666. The Pocomtuc
combined with the Narraganset and Tunxis in attacks on the
Mohegan chief, Uncas, and later joined the hostile Indians under
King Philip. At the close of the war they fled to Scaticook on
the Hudson, where some of them remained until 1754, going then to
St. Francis, Canada.
Population.- Mooney (1928) estimates that there were 1,200
Pocomtuc in 1600. If we count as Pocomtuc the Indians returned
from Hampden and Hampshire Counties in 1910, there were then 23
left, but they may have been of quite other origin.
Wampanoag. The name has the same meaning as Abnaki, "eastern
people." Also called:
Massasoits, from the name of their famous chief.
Philip's Indians, from King Philip.
Connection.- The Wampanoag belonged to the Algonquian linguistic
stock, speaking an n-dialect like the neighboring Massachuset,
Narranganset, Niantic (East and West), and the Nauset.
Location.- The Wampanoag occupied Rhode Island east of
Narragansett Bay; Bristol County, Mass., the southern part of
Plymouth County, below Marshfield and Brockton; and the extreme
western part of Barnstable. The Indians of Martha's Vineyard
should also be added to them, and it will be convenient to treat
under the same head those of Nantucket and the Saconnet, or
Sakonnet, of Sakonnet Point, R. I., whose connection was more
remote. They controlled Rhode Island in Narragansett Bay until
the Narraganset tribe conquered it from them. (See also Rhode
Island.)
Subdivisions
Speck (1928) gives the following mainland subdivisions:
(1) Band of Massasoit, in a territory called Sowwams on the east
side of Narragansett Bay; the western part of Bristol County,
Mass.; all of Bristol County, R. I.; and the eastern part of
Providence County, R. I.
(2) Band of Annawon, about Squannaconk swamps in Rehoboth
Township.
(3) Band of Weetamoe, a chieftainess, their territory being
called Pocasset, in southeastern Rhode Island, about Tiverton and
adjacent parts of Bristol County, Mass.
(4) Band of Corbitant or Caunbatant, about Swansea.
(5) Band of Tispaquin in or Tuspaquin, lands called Assawampset,
about Assawampset Pond.
(6) Band of Tyasks or Tyashk, about Rochester and Acushnet.
(7) Band of Totoson, in a territory centering about Mattapoisett
and Rochester.
(8) Band of Coneconarn or Cawnacome, in a territory known as
Manomet, extending from Manomet to Woods Hole.
(9) Band of Piowant or Piant, between Assonet Bay and Taunton
River.
There were several vacant tracts not occupied by any of the
above. In 1861 there were bands of Wampanoag at Herring Pond,
Dartmouth, Mamatakesett Pond, Tumpum Pond, and Watuppa Pond.
Speck (1928) gives the following bands on Martha's Vineyard, but
the classification applies to a time when Indians from various
parts of the mainland had begun to settle there:
(1) Band of Nohtooksaet who came from Massachusetts Pay, about
Gay Head.
(2) Band of Mankutquet (including the bands of Wannamanhut who
came from near Boston (Christian town) and Toohtoowee, on the
north shore of Chilmark), in the western part of Martha's
Vineyard excluding the preceding.
(3) Band of Tewanticut (including the bands of Cheesehahchamuk,
about Hornes' Hole; Warnpamag, of Sanchakankachet; and Tom Tyler,
about Edgartown), in the eastern section of Martha's Vineyard.
(4) Band of Pahkepunnasso, on the island of Chappaquiddick.
There were two bands on Nantucket, the names of which are
unknown, and we must also add the Sakonnet, on Sakonnet Point,
R. I., and the Indians of the Elizabeth Islands.
Villages
Mainland:
Acushnet, about Acushnet. Mattapoiset, near Mattapoiset,
Agawam, about Wareham. Plymouth County.
Assameekg, probably near Munponset, location unknown.
Dartmouth. Namasket, about Middleboro.
Assawompset, in Middleborough Nasnocomacack, on the coast and
Township. probably a few miles north of
Assonet, conjectural village Plymouth.
near the present Assonet. Nukkehkummees, near Dartmouth.
Coaxet, near Little Compton, Pachade, near Middleboro.
R. I.
Cohannet, about Fowling Pond Patuxet, at Plymouth.
near Taunton. Pocasset, near Tiverton, R. I.
Comassakumkanit or Herring Pokanoket, on Bristol
Pond, Herring Pond, Plymouth Peninsula, R. I.
County. Quittaub, in the southwestern
part of Plymouth County.
Cooxissett, probably in
Plymouth County.
Cowsumpsit, in Rhode Island. Saltwater Pond, in
Plymouth County
Jones' River, in Kingston Shawonet, near Somerset.
Township.
Kitteaumut, near Monument Pond, Wauchimoqut, probably near
Plymouth County. Seekonk.
Loquasquscit, near Pawtucket, Wawayontat, on Weweantitt River
R. I. near Wareham
Mattakeset, near Duxbury.
Martha's Vineyard:
Nantucket- Continued
Chaubaqueduck, on the Quays,a district and probably
main island or on village.
Chappquidick Island. Sasacackeh, a district and
probably village.
Gay Head, at Gay Head.
Nashamoiess, in the southeastern Shaukimmo, a district and
part of the island. probably village, south of
Nantucket Harbor.
Nashanekammuck, at Chilmark. Siasconsit, a district and
Nunnepoag, location uncertain. probably village, including
the site of the
Ohkonkemme, near Tisbury. present Siasconset.
Sanchecantacket, near Edgartown. Squam, a district and
Seconchqut, location uncertain probably village.
Nantucket: Talhanio, location uncertain
Tetaukimmo, a district
Miacomit, location uncertain. and probably village.
Podpis, a district and probably Toikiming, location uncertain.
village.
History. - With many older writers on the Norse voyages to
America, Mount Hope Bay, in the territory of the Wampanoag, was a
favorite site for the supposed Icelandic colony (ca. 1000-1010),
but the theory is now less popular. In 1602 Gosnold touched at
Martha's Vineyard and was kindly treated by the natives. Soon
after the Pilgrims had established themselves at Plymouth in 1620
they made a treaty of friendship with the Wampanoag head chief,
Massasoit, who played a great part in the early history of the
colony. He died in 1662 and was succeeded by two sons in
succession, the second of whom, Metacomet or Metacom, is the King
Philip of history. Observing the steady influx of White colonists
into Indian land, King Philip organized a native confederacy
against them and a bloody war followed (1675-76), in which King
Philip was killed and the power of the tribes of southern New
England finally destroyed. The Wampanoag survivors settled with
the Sakonnet, who had remained neutral, and formed towns with the
Nauset in the western part of Barnstable County. In 1763 they
suffered severely from an epidemic, but a number of bands have
preserved their autonomy, in a much mixed condition, to the
present day. The Indians of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, like
the Sakonnet, had refused to join the confederacy and
consequently maintained their numbers relatively intact for a
longer period. They continued to decline, however, and in 1764
two-thirds of the Nantucket Indians were destroyed by a fever.
Two or three mixed-bloods were left in 1809, and in 1855 Abram
Quary, the last of these, died. The Indians of Martha's Vineyard,
on the other hand, received considerable accessions from the
mainland and have maintained themselves down to our day though,
like the mainland Indians, much mixed with other tribes and other
races.
Population.- Of Wampanoag proper Mooney (1928) estimated that
there were 2,400 in 1600. They probably suffered severely in the
epidemic of 1617, but in 1630 they are said to have had about 30
villages. In 1700 the Sakonnet Indians, including most of the
Wampanoag remnants, were estimated at 400. In 1861 a partial
census gives 258, and we may suppose that the total was about
300.
Martha's Vineyard: The estimates of the Indian population of
Martha's Vineyard vary greatly. Mooney (1928) estimated the
number of Indians at 1,500 in 1600, perhaps taken from an
estimate of 1642, which gives the same figure, while n later
writer places their number as "not less than 3,000" (Hare, 1932,
p. 44). An estimate made in 1648 gave 1,000. In 1764, 313 were
resumed; in 1807, 360, only about 40 of whom were full-bloods. In
1861, 393 were returned, but in 1910 only 147. Nantucket: Mooney
estimates the Indian population of Nantucket to have been 1,500
in 1600 and Mayhew (Speck, 1928) gives the same number in 1642.
Hare (1932, p. 44) also estimates the Indian population to have
been 1,500. In 1763 there were 358; in 1790, 20; in 1809, 2 or 3.
An informant of Dr. Speck gives the total number of Indians in
Barnstable, Plymouth, and Bristol Counties in 1928 as 450.
Connection, in which they have become noted.- The Wampanoag made
their mark in history chiefly through the activities of their
chiefs, Massasoit and King Philip. One of the two largest bodies
of Indians in southern New England to maintain their identity
down to the present day were the Wampanoag of Martha's Vineyard.
Michigan
The Indian Tribes of North America by John R. Swanton
Chippewa. At a very early period, Chippewa lived about the Sault
St. Marie and on the northern shore of Lake Michigan. (See
Minnesota.)
Foxes. Since the Sauk are known to have lived in Michigan at an
early period, it is probable that the Foxes did also, but this is
still uncertain. (See Wisconsin.)
Hurons, see Wyandot.
Kickapoo. The same probability of an early residence in Michigan
applies to the Kickapoo as to the Foxes and for a similar reason.
(See Wisconsin.)
Menominee. This tribe ceded its claim to a portion of the upper
peninsula of Michigan in 1836. (See Wisconsin.)
Miami. The Miami, or a portion of them, at one time occupied the
valley of St. Joseph River and other parts of the southern
Michigan border. (See Indiana.)
Neutrals. Bands of the Neutral Nation extended, in the
seventeenth century, into what is now southeastern Michigan. (See
New York.)
Noquet. Meaning probably "bear foot," another name for the Bear
gens in Chippewa. The Bear gens may have been prominent in
this tribe.
Connections - The Noquet are thought to have been related to the
Menominee of the Algonquian linguistic family.
Location - About Big Bay de Noquet and Little Bay de Noquet
and extending across the northern peninsula of Michigan to Lake
Superior. (See also Wisconsin.)
History - In 1659 the Noquet was one of the tribes attached to
the mission of St. Michel. The;y were never prominent and were
probably absorbed at a very early date by the Menominee or
Chippewa.
Population - Unknown.
Connetion in which they have become noted - The name Noquet is
perpetuated in the two bays above mentioned.
Ottawa. From a native word signifying "to trade," because they
were noted as middlemen. It occurs shortened to Tawa. Also
called:
Andatahouats, Ondatawnwat, Huron name
Udawak, Penobscot name.
Ukua'-yata, Huron name, according to Gatschet (1877).
Waganha's, Iroquois name, meaning "stammerers".
Watawawininiwok, Chippewa name, meaning "men of the
bulrushes", from the many bulrushes in Ottawa River.
Wdowo, Abnaki name.
Connections - The Ottawa belonged to the Algonquian linguistic
stock and were related most closely with the Chippewa and
Potawatomi.
Location - The earliest known home of this tribe was Manitoulin
Island and neighboring parts of the north shore of Georgian Bay.
Their connection with Michigan came later. (See also Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and
Canada.)
Subdivisions and Villages
The following four main divisions are given by early writers:
The Kishkakon or Bear Gens, the Nassauaketon, or Fork People, the
Sable Gens and the Sinago or Gray Squirrel Gens, to which a
fifth, the Keinouche or Pickerel Gens, is sometimes added. The
Kishkakon, Sinago, and Keinouche were closely associated.
Villages:
Aegnkotcheising, in Michigan.
Anamiewatigong, in Emmet County, lower Michigan.
Apontigoumy, probably in Ontario.
Machonee, near the mouth Au of Au Vaseau River which flows into
Lake St. Clair, in lower Michigan.
Manistee, in Michigan, perhaps near the village of Weganakisi
on Little Traverse Bay.
Menawzbetaunaung, on an island in the Lake of the Woods.
Meshkemau, on Maumee Bay, Lucas County, Ohio.
Michilimackinac, on Mackinac Island.
Middle Village, location unknown.
Obidgewong, with Chippewa, on the western shore of Lake Wolseley,
Manitoulin Island, Ontario.
Oquanoxa, on the west bank of the Little Auglaize, at its mouth,
in Paulding County, Ohio.
Roche de Boeuf, on the northwestern bank of Maumee River, near
Waterville, Lucas County, Ohio.
Saint Simon, a mission on Manitoulin Island.
Shabawywyagun, apparently on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.
Tushquegan, on the south bank of Maumee River opposite Toledo,
Ohio.
Waganakisi, on the site of Harbor Springs, Emmet County, Mich.
Walpole Island, on the island of that name, Ontario.
Waugau, near the mouth of Maumee River, in Lucas County, Ohio.
Wolf Rapids, on Maumee River, Ohio, about the boundary of Wood
and Henry Counties.
Additional bands:
Maskasinik, position uncertain, mentioned in Jesuit Relation
of 1657-58 with
Nikikouek and Missisauga.
Nikikouek, position uncertain, associated with Missisauga
and dwelling east of them on the north shore of Lake Huron.
Outaouakamigouk, on the northeast coast of Lake Huron in
1648 probably Ottawa.
Sagnitaouigama, in 1640 southeast of Ottawa River, perhaps
same as Sinago.
History - It is uncertain whether the Ottawa River in Ontario
received its name because the Ottawa once lived upon it or
because the Ottawa had obtained a monopoly of the trade passing
up and down it. When the French actually came among them they
were in the region above indicated. After the destruction of
their allies, the Hurons, in 1648-49, the Iroquois attacked the
Ottawa in turn, who fled to the islands at the entrance of Green
Bay, part of them later passing to Keweenaw Bay, while the rest
accompanied the Hurons to an island near the entrance of Lake
Pepin on the Mississippi. Harassed by the Dakota, the Ottawa
settled on Chequamegon Bay but in 1670-71 were induced by the
French to return to Manitoulin Island. By 1680 most of them had
left Manitoulin Island and joined the Hurons about the mission
station at Mackinaw. About 1700 the Hurons removed to Detroit,
and a portion of the Ottawa seem to have obtained a foothold on
the west shore of Lake Huron between Saginaw Bay and Detroit,
but they returned to Mackinaw about 1706. Soon afterward the
chief seat of a portion of the tribe was fixed at L'Arbre Croche
in Emmett County, whence they spread down the east side of Lake
Michigan to St. Joseph River, a few finding their way into
Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois. At the same time some of
them were living in their old country on Manitoulin Island and
about Georgian Bay, and others were scattered along the southern
shore of Lake Erie from Detroit to the vicinity of Beaver Creek,
Pa. They took part successively against the English and the
American colonists in all wars during the latter half of the
eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth until the
end of the War of 1812. The famous chief Pontiac was an Ottawa.
The Canadian Ottawa are on Manitoulin and Cockburn Islands and
the adjacent shores of Lake Huron. In 1831 two bands of Ottawa
known as the Ottawa of Blanchard's Fork of Great Auglaize River
and the Ottawa of Roche de Boeuf on Maumee River were
granted lands on Marais des Cygnes River, Kans., but they
re-ceded the greater part of these lands in 1846, and in 1862
they agreed to allotment in severalty and to the relinquishment
of their remaining territory. Further treaties regarding the
disposal of their lands were made in 1867 and 1872. In 1867 they
received a plot of lands in Oklahoma which had been ceded by the
Shawnee. A few Ottawa went west with the Prairie Potauatomi but
were soon fused with them or scattered to other places. A few
others have continued to occupy parts of Kansas down to the
present day but after 1888 most of them removed to Oklahoma. A
still larger body of Ottawa remained in Michigan, scattered among
a number of small villages.
Population - Mooney (1928) estimated that in 1600 there were of
the combined Algonkin and Ottawa about 6,000. The scattered
condition of the tribe during their earlier history prevented
their contemporary chroniclers from obtaining satisfactory
figures. In 1906 the Chippewa and Ottawa on Manitoulin and
Cockburn Islands numbered 1,497, of whom about half were Ottawa;
there were 197 under the Seneca School, Okla.; and in Michigan
there were 5,587 in 1900 of whom about two-thirds were Ottawa.
According to the census of 1910, there were 2,717 Ottawa in the
United States, 2,454 being in Michigan, 170 in Oklahoma, and the
rest in Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas, and Pennsylvania. In 1923
there were 274 in Oklahoma and a much larger number in Michigan
and Canada. The United States Census of 1930 gives 1,745, of whom
1,469 were in Michigan, 167 in Oklahoma, and 84 in Wisconsin. In
1937 there were 422 in Oklahoma.
Connection in which they have become noted - Although a prominent
tribe in early times, the Ottawa will now be especially
remembered from the fact that they have given their name to the
most important branch of the St. Lawrence River and the city on
its banks which became the capital of the Dominion of Canada.
Their name is also borne by counties in Kansas, Michigan, and
Ohio, and the province of Quebec; by important cities in La Salle
County, Ill., and Franklin County, Kans.; and by smaller places
and streams in Rockcastle County, Ky.; Waukesha County, Wis.; Le
Sueur County, Minn.; Putnam County, Ohio; Boone County, Wis.;
Boone County, Va.; and Ottawa Beach in Ottawa County, Mich., and
Ottawa Lake in Monroe County in the same State. The tribe will be
noted furthermore as that to which belonged the famous Indian
patriot, Pontiac.
Potawatomi. Meaning "people of the place of the fire," and hence
sometimes known as the Fire Nation. Also called:
Atsistarhonon, Huron name.
Kunu-hayanu, Caddo name, meaning "watermelon people."
NdatonSatendi, Undatomatendi, Huron name
Peki'neni, Fox name, meaning "grouse people."
Tcashtalalgi, Creek name, meaning "watermelon people."
Wah-ho'-na-hah, Miami name, meaning "fire makers."
Wahiucaxa, Omaha name.
Wahiuyaha, Kansa name.
Woraxa, Iowa, Oto, and Missouri name.
Woraxe, Winnebago name.
Connections.- The Potawatorni belonged to the Algonquian
linguistic family, being most closely affiliated with the
Chippewa and Ottawa.
Location.- The ancient home of this tribe was evidently in the
lower peninsula of Michigan. (See also Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.)
Subdivisions and Villages
In the course of their later history, the Potawatomi became
separated into several distinct bands but these do not seem to
have corresponded to any old, well-determined classification.
Villages:
Abercronk, not certainly Potawatomi, in northeastern Porter
County, Ind.
Ashkum's Village, on the north side of Eel River, about Denver,
Miami County, Ind.
Assiminehkon, probably Potawatomi, in Lee County, Ill.
Aubbeenaubbee's Village, in Aubbeenaubbee Township in Fulton
County, Ind.
Checkawkose's Village, on the south side of Tippecanoe River,
about Harrison Township, Kosciusko County, Ind.
Chekase's Village, on the west side of Tippecanoe River between
Warsaw and Monoquet, Kosciusko, Ind.
Chichipe Outipe, near South Bend, St. Joseph County, Ind.
Chippoy, on Big Shawnee Creek, in Fountain County, Ind.
Comoza's Village, on Tippecanoe River in Fulton County, Ind.
Kinkash's Village, on Tippecanoe River, Kosciusko County, Ind.
Little Rock Village, on the north bank of Kankakee River about
the boundary of Kankakee and Will Counties, Ill.
Macon, location unknown.
Macousin, on the west bank of St. Joseph River, Berrien County,
Mich.
Mangachqua, on Peble River in southern Michigan.
Maquanago, probably Potawatomi, near Waukesha, in southeastern
Wisconsin.
Masac's Village, on the west bank of Tippecanoe River in the
northeastern part of Fulton County, Ind.
Matchebenashshewish's Village, on Kalamazoo River probably in
Jackson County, Mich.
Maukekose's Village, near the head of Wolf Creek in Marshall
County, Ind.
Menominee's Village, on the north side of l:win Lakes near the
site of Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.
Menoquet's Village, on Cass River, lower Michigan.
Mesheketeno's Village, on Kankakee River, a short distance above
the present Kankakee in northeastern Illinois.
Mesquawbuck's Village, near Oswego, Kosciusko County, Ind.
Mickkesawbee, at the site of the present Coldwater, Mich.
Milwaukee, with Foxes and Mascouten, at or near the present
Milwaukee, Wis.
Minemaung's Village, near Grantpark, Kankakee County, Ill.
Mota's Village, just north of Tippecanoe River near Atwood,
Kosciusko County, Ind.
Muskwawasepeotan, near Cedarville, Allen Gounty, Ind.
Natowasepe, on St. Joseph River about the present Mendon, St.
Joseph County, Mich.
Nayonsay's Village, probably Potawatomi, in the northeastern part
of Kendall County, Ill.
Pierrish's Village, on the north bank of Eel River, just above
Laketon, Wabash County, Ind.
Pokagon, in Berrien County, near the west bank Of St. Joseph
River just north of the Indiana line.
Prairie Ronde, about the boundary of Cass and Van Buren Counties,
Mich.
Rock Village in northeastern Illinois.
Rum's Village, about 4 miles south of South Bend, St. Joseph
County, Ind.
Saint Joseph, a mission on St. Joseph River near the south end of
Lake Michigan.
Saint Michael, a mission in southern Wisconsin.
Sawmehnaug, on Fox River, Ill.
Seginsavin's Village, on Rouge River near Detroit, Mich.
Shaytee's Village, probably Potawatomi on Fox River, Ill.
Shobonier's Village, near the present Shabbona, De Kalb
County, Ill.
Soldier's Village, in northern Illinois.
Tassinong, probably Potawatomi, in Porter County, Ind.
Toisa's Village, on the west bank of Tippecanoe River, nearly
opposite Bloomingsburg, Fulton County, Ind.
Tonguish's Village, near Rouge River in the southern part of
Oakland County, or the northern part of Wayne County, Mich.
Topenebee's Village, on St. Joseph River opposite Niles, Berrien
County, Mich.
Waisuskuck's Village, in northeastern, Illinois.
Wanatah, in La Porte County, Ind., n short distance east of the
present Wanatah.
Wimego's Village, on the north bank of Indian Creek, in the
northern part of Cass County, Ind.
Winamac's Village, near the present Winamac, Pulaski County, Ind.
Wonongoseak, probably Potawatomi, between the northern and
southern branches of Elkhart River, apparently in Noble County,
Ind.
History.- Shortly before the Potawatomi were encountered by the
French they seem to have been living in the lower peninsula of
Michigan. According to native traditions, the Ottawa, Chippewa,
and Potawatomi reached the upper end of Lake Huron in company
from some region farther east, and the Potawatomi crossed from
that point into the peninsula. By 1670 they had been driven to
the neighborhood of Green Bay west of Lake Michigan, whence they
slowly moved south until by the end of the century they had
established themselves on Milwaukee River, at Chicago, and on St.
Joseph River. After the conquest of the Illinois Indians about
1765, they took possession of still more of what is now the
northern part of the State of Illinois and extended their
settlements eastward over southern Michigan as far as Lake Erie.
After 1795, against the protests of the Miami, they moved down
the Wabask and advanced their occupancy as far as Pine Creek.
They sided actively first with the French against the English
and then with the English against the Americans until a general
peace was brought about in 1815. As White settlers increased in
numbers in their neighborhood, the Potawatomi gradually parted
with their lands, the greatest cessions being made between 1836
and 1841, and most of them retired beyond tke Mississippi. Part
of the Prairie band of Potawatomi returned to Wisconsin, while
another band, the Potawatomi of Huron, are in lower Michigan. A
few escaped into Canada and are now on Walpole Island in St.
Clair County. Part of the Potawatomi living in Wisconsin sold
their lands and received in exchange a reservation in
southwestern Iowa. These received the name of Prairie Potauatomi.
In 1846 they also disposed of their Iowa territory and in 1847-48
passed over into Kansas and established themselves just east of
the Potawatomi of the Woods, who had come from Indiana in 1840 to
occupy a reserve on Osage River, in Kansas. In 1846, however, the
latter re-ceded this and settled the following year between the
Shawnee and Delaware Indians in the present Shawnee County, Kans.
The Potawatomi of the Prairie remained in Kansas and received
allotments there, but the Potawatomi of the Woods went to a
new reservation in Oklahoma in 1869-71 near the Kickapoo. A few
have accompanied the Kickapoo to Mexico.
Population.- Mooney's (1928) estimate for the Potawatomi, as of
the year 1650, is 4,000. Estimates made between 1765 and 1843
vary from 1,200 to 3,400, but it would seem that they must have
averaged 2,000 to 2,500. In 1908, 2,522 Potawatomi were reported
in the United States, distributed as follows: Citizen Potawatomi
in Oklahoma, 1,768; Prairie band in Kansas, 676; and Potawatomi
of Huron, in Calhoun County, Mich., 78. A few besides these were
scattered through their ancient territory and at various other
points. Those in Canada are all in the Province of Ontario and
number about 220, of whom 176 are living with Chippewa and Ottawa
on Walpole Island and the remainder, no longer officially
reported, are divided between Caradoc and Riviere aux Sables,
where they reside by permission of the Chippewa and Munsee. The
United States Census of 1910 returned 2,440, of whom 866 were
living in Oklahoma, 619 in Kansas, 461 in Michigan, and 245 in
Wisconsin, while the remainder were scattered in 11 other States.
The United States and Canadian Indian Office Reports of 1923-24
give 2,227 in Oklahoma, 803 in Kansas, and 170 on Walpole Island,
Ontario, but those in Michigan are not separately entered. The
United States Census of 1930 returned 1,854, of whom 654 were in
Kansas, 636 in Oklahoma, 425 in Wisconsin, and 89 in Michigan. In
1937 there were 142 in Michigan, 311 in Wisconsin, 1,013 in
Kansas, and 2,667 in Oklahoma: total 4,133.
Connection in which they have become noted.- In the form
Pottawatomie the name of this tribe is used as a designation of
counties in Kansas and Oklahoma and a post township of Coffey
County, Kans., and in the form Pottawattamie as the designation
of a county in Iowa.
Sauk. At some time shortly before European contact the Sauk lived
about Saginaw Bay and the present name of the bay is derived from
them. They were probably driven beyond Lake Michigan by the
Ottawa allied with the Neutral Nation. (See Wisconsin.)
Wyandot. After the disruption of their nation by the Iroquois
these people lived for limited periods at several different
points in the territory now included in the State of Michigan.
They were temporarily at Michilimackinac, Detroit, and other
places. (See Ohio.)
Minnesota
The Indian Tribes of North America by John R. Swanton
Arapaho. There are traditions that they once lived along Red
River, in the present North Dakota and Minnesota, (See Wyoming.)
Cheyenne. The earliest known home of this tribe was in that part
of Minnesota bounded roughly by the Mississippi, Minnesota, and
upper Red Rivers. From here they moved to the Sheyenne branch
of Red River, North Dakota. (See South Dakota.)
Chippewa or Ojibwa. Traditional significance of name in their
own language, "to roast until puckered up," referring to the
puckered seam in their moccasins. Also called:
An-ish-in-aub-ag, another native term meaning "spontaneous
men."
Axshissaye-runu, Wyandot name.
Bawichtigouek, name in Jesuit Relations.
Bedzaqetcha, Tsattine name, meaning "long hairs."
Bedzietcho, Kawchodinne name.
Bungees, so called by Hudson Bay traders.
Cabellos realzados, the Spanish translation of French
Cheveux-releves.
De-wa-ka-nha, Mohawk name.
Dshipowe-haga, Caughnawaga name.
Dwa-ka-nen, Onondaga name.
Eskiaeronnon, Huron name, meaning "people of the falls."
Hahatonwan, Dakota name.
Hahatonway, Hidatsa name, meaning "leapers."
Jumpers, incorrect rendering of Saulteurs.
Kutaki, Fox name.
Leapers, same as Jumpers.
Ne-a-ya-og, Cree name, meaning "those speaking the same
language."
Ne-ga-tce, Winnebago name.
Nwa'-ka, Tuscarora name.
Ostiagahoroones, Iroquois name.
Paouichtigouin, name in Jesuit Relations.
Saulteurs, or Saulteaux, given to part of the tribe from the
falls at Sault Ste. Marie.
Sotoes, Anglicization of above.
Wah-kah-towah, Assiniboin name, according to Tanner.
Connections.- The Chippewa are the type tribe of one of the two
largest divisions of the Algonquian linguistic stock.
Location.- The earliest accounts of the Chippewa associate them
particularly with the region of Sault Ste. Marie, but they came
in time to extend over the entire northern shore of Lake Huron
and both shores of Lake Superior, besides well into the northern
interior and as far west as the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota.
(See also Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Montana,
North Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Canada.)
Subdivisions
There were a number of major and numerous minor divisions of this
tribe.
According to Warren, there were 10 major divisions, as follows:
Betonukeengainubejig, in northern Wisconsin.
Kechegummewininewug, on the south shore of Lake Superior.
Kechesebewininewug, on the upper Mississippi in Minnesota.
Kojejewininewug, on Rainy Lake and River, about the northern
boundary of Minnesota.
Mukmeduawininewug, or Pillagers, on Leech Lake, Minn.
Munominikasheenhug, at the headwaters of St. Croix River in
Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Ottawa Lake Men, on Lac Courte Oreilles, Wis.
Sugwaundugahwininewug, north of Lake Superior.
Wahsuahgunewininewug, at the head of Wisconsin River.
Wazhush, on the northwest side of Lake Superior at the
Canadian border.
Villages and Small Bands
Amikwa, on the north shore of Lake Huron, opposite
Manitoulin Island.
Angwassag, near St. Charles, Saginaw County, Mich.
Anibiminanisibiwininiwak, a band, on Pembina River in the
extreme northern part of Minnesota and the adjacent part of
Manitoba.
Bagoache, a band, about the northern shore of Lake Superior.
Bay du Noc, perhaps Chippewa, probably on Noquet Bay in
upper Michigan.
Beaver Island Indians, on the Beaver Islands of Lake
Michigan, at the outlet.
Big Rock, the location of a reservation in lower Michigan.
Blackbird, on Tittibawassee River, Saginaw County, Mich.
Burnt Woods, Chippewa, on Bois Brule River near the west end
of Lake Superior, northern Wisconsin.
Chetac Lake, on the lake of the same name in Sawyer County,
Wis.
Crow Wing River, at the mouth of Crow Wing River in north
central Minnesota.
Doki's Band, at the head of French River where it leaves
Lake Nipissing, Ont.
Epinette, on the north shore of Lake Superior, east of
Michipicoton River, Ont.
Flying Post, about the post of that name in Ontario.
Fond du Lac, on St. Louis River near Fond du Lac, Minn.
Gamiskwakokawininiwak, about Cass Lake, near the head of the
Mississippi, in Minn.
Gasakaskuatchimmekak, location uncertain.
Gatagetegauning, on Lac (Vieux) Desert or Gatagetegauning on
the Michigan-Wisconsin State line.
Gawababiganikak, about White Earth Lake, Minn.
Grand Portage, at Grand Portage on the northern shore of
Lake Superior in Minn.
Gull Lake Band, on Gull Lake on the upper Mississippi, in
Cass County, Minn.
Kahmetahwungaguma, on Sandy Lake, Cass County, Minn.
Kawkawling, location uncertain.
Kechepukwaiwah, on the lake of the same name near Chippewa
River, Wis.
Ketchenaundaugenink, on Shiawassee River on the trail
between Detroit and Saginaw Bay, Mich.
Kishkawbawee, on Flint River in lower Michigan.
Knife Lake, location uncertaim
Lac Courte Oreilles, on the lake of the same name at the
headwaters of Chippewa River, in Sawyer County, Wis.
Little Forks, a reservation on Tittibawassee River, in lower
Michigan.
Long Lake, on Long Lake north of Lake Superior, between
Nipigon and Pic River, Ont.
Matawachkirini, Matachewan, about Fort Matachewan, Ont.
Mattagami, about Mattagami Lake.
Mekadewagamitigweyawininiwak, on Black River, Mich.
Menitegow, on the east bank of Saginaw River in lower
Michigan.
Menoquet's Village, on Cass River, lower Michigan.
Michilimackinac, on Mackinac Island, Mich.
Michipicoten, a band on Michipicoten River, Ont.
Midinakwadshiwininiwak, a band in the Turtle Mountain
region, N. Dak.
Misisagaikaoiwininiwak, a band on Mille Lacs, Minn.
Miskwagamiwisagaigan, a band about Red Lake River, Minn.
Nabobish, at the mouth of Saginaw River, Mich.
Nagonabe, in lower Michigan.
Nameuilni, a band northwest of Lake Superior, between Rainy
Lake and Lake Nipigon in Algoma, Ont.
Nibowisibiwininiwak, in Saakatchewan north of Lake Winnipeg.
Nipissing, about Lake Nipissing.
Obidgewong, with Ottawa, on the west shore of Lake Wolseley,
Manitoulin Island, Ont.
Ommunise, or Ottawa, on Carp River, Mich.
Onepowesepewenenewak, in Minnesota.
Ontonagon, a band on Ontonagon River in upper Michigan.
Oschekkamegawenenewak, 2 bands: (1) near Rainy Lake (1753);
(2) east of Mille Lacs.
Ouasouarini, on Georgian Bay, Ont.
Oueschekgagamiouilimy, the Caribou gens of Rainy River,
Minn.
Outchougai, on the east side of Georgian Bay and probably
south of French River, connected with the Amikwa.
Otusson, on upper Huron River in Sanilac County, Mich.
Pawating, at Sault Ste. Marie, on the south bank of St.
Mary's River, Chippewa County, Mich.
Pic River, at the mouth of Pic River on the north shore of
Lake Superior, Ont.
Pokegama, on Pokegama Lake, Pine County, Minn.
Portage du Prairie, in Manitoba.
Rabbit Lake Chippewa, a band on Rabbit Lake, Minn.
Reaum's Village, in Flint River, Mich., about the boundary
of Genesee and Saginaw Counties.
Red Cedar Lake, on Red Cedar Lake, Barron County, Wis.
Red Cliff, near the west end of Lake Superior, in Wisconsin
or Minnesota.
Rice Lake Band, on Rice Lake, Barron County, Wis.
Saginaw, with Ottawa, near Saginaw, Mich.
Saint Francis Xavier, a mission, on Mille Lacs, Aitkin
County, Minn.
Shabwasing, a band, probably in lower Michigan.
Shsugawaumikong, on Long Island, on the west coast of Lake
Superior, in Ashland County, Wis.
Sukaauguning, on Pelican Lake, Oneida County, Wis.
Thunder Bay, Chippewa or Ottawa, a band on Thunder Bay,
Alpena County, Mich.
Timagimi, about Lake Timagimi.
Trout Lake, location uncertain.
Turtle Portage, in Wisconsin.
Wabasemowenenewak, near a white rock perhaps in Minnesota.
Walpole Island, with other tribes, Ontario.
Wanamakewajejenik, near the Lake of the Woods.
Wapisiwisibiwininiwak, a band, on Swan Greek, near Lake St.
Clair, Mich.
Wauswagiming, on Lac du Flambeau, Lac du Flambeau
Reservation, Wisconsin.
Wequadong, near L'Anse at the head of Keweenaw Bay, Baraga
County, Mich.
Whitefish, on Sturgeon River.
Wiaquahhechegumeeng, at the head of Lake Superior in
Douglass County, Wis.
Winnebegoshishiwininewak, a band on Lake Winnibigashish,
Minn.
Yellow Lake, on Yellow Lake, Burnett County, Wis.
History - According to tradition, the Chippewa were part of a
large body of Indians which came from the east -- how much east of
their later homes is uncertain- and after reaching Mackinaw
separated into the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi. The Chippewa
afterward pushed their way west along both shores of Lake
Superior, and in the eighteenth century, assisted by the adoption
of firearms, drove the Dakota from Mille Lacs, and spread over
the northern part of Minnesota and southern Manitoba as far as
the Turtle Mountains. They also flowed back around Lake Huron.
During the nineteenth century they were gradually gathered into
reservations on both sides of the International Boundary, but
none were ever removed from their original country except two
small bands and some scattered families which went to Kansas
early in 1839, and in 1866 agreed to settle among the Cherokee in
Oklahoma.
Population - Mooney (1928) considered that there were 35,000
Chippewa in 1650. The tribe was so large and has so many
ramifications that few early estimates are very close to the
truth. The principal are: In 1764, about 25,000; in 1783 and
1794, about 15,000; in 1843, about 30,000; in 1851, about 28,000.
In 1884 there were in Dakota 914; in Minnesota, 5,885; in
Wisconsin, 3,666; in Michigan, 3,500 returned separately and
6,000 combined Chippewa and Ottawa, of whom perhaps one-third
were Chippewa; in Kansas, 76 Chippewa and Munsee. In Canada the
Chippewa of Ontario, including the Nipissing, numbered at the
same time about 9,000, while in Manitoba and the Northwest
Territories there were 17,129 Chippewa and Cree on reservations
under the same agencies. The census of 1910 gave 20,214 in the
United States, of whom 8,234 were in Minnesota, 4,299 in
Wisconsin, 3,725 in Michigan, 2,966 in North Dakota, and the
balance scattered among 18 States. The United States Indian
Office Report for 1923 gave 22,599. In Canada there were probably
somewhat less than 25,000, giving a total for the tribe of about
45,000. It must, however, be remembered that the present
population of Chippewa includes thousands of mixed-bloods, partly
representing mixtures with other tribes and partly mixtures with
Whites. The United States Census of 1930 gives 21,549, including
9,495 in Minnesota, 4,437 in Wisconsin, 3,827 in North Dakota,
1,865 in Michigan, and 1,549 in Montana. In 1937, 16,160 were
returned from Minnesota, 4,303 from Wisconsin, 6,613 from North
Dakota, and 481 from Montana; a total in the United States of
26,457.
Connection in which they have become noted - From early times the
Chippewa were one of those tribes most prominent in the minds of
writers on American Indians. This fact they owed in the first
place to their numbers and the extent of country covered by their
bands; secondly, to their central position and the many White men
who became acquainted with them; and, thirdly, to the
popularization given them by Henry M. Schoolcraft (1851-57), and
the still wider popularity which they and their myths attained
through the use of Schoolcraft's material by Longfellow in his
famous poem of Hiawatha, for while the name Hiawatha is drawn
from Iroquois sources, the stories are nearly all Chippewa. The
name is preserved by streams in Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan,
Minnesota, and Ontario; by counties in Michigan, Wisconsin, and
Minnesota; by various places in Pennsylvania, New York,
Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario; and by Chippewa Bay, St.
Lawrence County, N. Y.; Chippewa Falls, Chippewa County, Wis.;
Chippewa Lake, Mecosta County, Mich.; Chippewa Lake, Medina
County, Ohio; and Ojibwa in Sawyer County, Wis.
Dakota. When first known to Europeans the Dakota were mainly
in southern Minnesota. They gradually moved westward but
did not cede all of their lands in Minnesota until 1863, and
even then retained rights to the famous Red Pipestone Quarry.
(See South Dakota.)
Foxes. In 1830 representatives of this tribe were a party to a
treaty ceding Minnesota lands to the Whites. (See Wisconsin.)
Iowa. According to tradition, this tribe lived for a time near
the famous Red Pipestone Quarry in southwestern Minnesota, and
were at the mouth of Minnesota River when the Dakota reached that
country. They appear to have been near the mouth of Blue Earth
River just before Le Sueur arrived there in 1701. Dakota informed
him that Blue Earth River belonged to the Dakota of the West, the
Iowa, and the Oto. (See Iowa.)
Missouri. Representatives of this tribe were a party to the treaty
of 1830, ceding Minnesota lands to the Whites. (See Missouri.)
Omaha. At one time the Omaha lived about the Red Pipestone
Quarry in Minnesota. (See Nebraska.)
Oto. As noted above (under Iowa), the Oto are reported to have
shared at one time the ownership of Blue Earth River with the
Iowa and the Western Dakota. (See Nebraska.)
Ottawa. A band of Ottawa, in company with some Wyandot, once
wintered on Lake Pepin. (See Michigan.)
Ponca. This tribe was probably in southwestern Minnesota at the
same time as the Omaha. (See Nebraska.)
Sauk. In 1830 Sauk representatives were a party to a treaty
ceding Minnesota lands to the Whites. (See Wisconsin.)
Winnebago. A part of the Winnebago lived in Minnesota from 1848
to 1862 after surrendering their reservation in Iowa Territory.
(See Wisconsin.)
Wyandot. This tribe visited the borders of Minnesota for a short
period in company with the Ottawa (see Ottawa, above, and
Ohio).
Mississippi
The Indian Tribes of North America by John R. Swanton
Acolapissa. When first known to Europeans, this tribe lived on
Pearl River, partly in what is now Mississippi, partly in
Louisiana, but they were more closely associated with Louisiana
in later times and will be treated among the tribes of that
State. (See Louisiana.)
Biloxi. Apparently a corruption of their own name Taneks anya,
"first people," filtered over the tongues of other Indians. Also
called:
Ananis, Anaxis, Annocchy, early French spellings intended for
Taneks. Polu'ksalgi, Creek name.
Connections.- They belonged to the Siouan linguistic family.
Location.- Their earliest historical location was on the lower
course of Pascagoula River. (See also Louisiana, Oklahoma, and
Texas.)
Villages
None are known except those bearing the name of the tribe, unless
we assume the "Moctobi" or "Capinans" to be a part of them.
These, however, may have been merely synonyms of the tribal name.
History.- It is possible that the Biloxi are the Capitanesses who
appear west of Susquehanna River on early Dutch charts. On the De
Crenay map of 1733, a Biloxi town site appears on the right bank
of the Alabama River, a little above the present Clifton in
Wilcox County, Ala. This was probably occupied by the Biloxi
during their immigration from the north. Individuals belonging to
the tribe were met by Iberville on his first expedition to
Louisiana in 1699, and in June of the same year his brother
Bienville visited them. In 1700 Iberville found their town
abandoned and does not mention encountering the people them-
selves, though they may have been sharing the Pascagoula village
at which he made a short stop. A few years later, Penicaut says
(1702-23), St. Denis persuaded the Biloxi to abandon their
village and settle on a small bayou near New Orleans but by 1722
they had returned a considerable distance toward their old home
and were established on the former terrain of the Acolapissa
Indians on Pearl River. They continued in this neighborhood and
close to the Pascagoula until 1763, when French government east
of the Mississippi came to an end. Soon afterward, although we do
not know the exact date, they moved to Louisiana and settled not
far from Marksville. They soon moved farther up Red River and
still later to Bayou Boeuf. Early in the nineteenth century they
sold their lands, and, while part of them remained on the river,
a large body migrated to Texas and settled on Biloxi Bayou, in
Angelina County. All of these afterward left, either to return to
Louisiana or to settle in Oklahoma. A few Biloxi are still living
in Rapides Parish, La., and there are said to be some in the
Choctaw Nation, but the tribe is now practically extinct. In 1886
the Siouan relationship of their language was established by Dr.
Gatschot of the Bureau of American Ethnology, and a considerable
record of it was obtained by Mr. James D. Dorsey of the same
institution in 1892-93. (See Dorsey and Swanton, 1912.)
Population.- On the basis of the imperfect records available, I
have made the following estimates of Biloxi population at
different periods: 420 in 1698, 175 in 1720, 105 in 1805, 65 in
1829, 6-8 in 1908. Mooney (1928) estimated that this tribe, the
Pascagoula, and the "Moctobi" might number 1,000 in 1650.
Connection in which they have become noted.- The Biloxi are
remarkable (1) as having spoken a Siouan dialect unlike all of
their neighbors with one possible exception; (2) as the tribe
first met by Iberville when he reached the coast of Louisiana and
established the French colony of that name; (3) as having
furnished the names of the first two capitals of Louisiana, Old
and New Biloxi; that of the present Biloxi, Miss.; and the name
of Biloxi Bay.
Capinans. The name of a body of Indians connected in French
references with the Biloxi and Pascagoula and probably a branch
of one of them.
Chakchiuma. Proper spelling Shatci homma, meaning "Red Crawfish
[People]."
Connections.- They spoke a dialect closely related to Choctaw and
Chickasaw. Their nearest relatives were the Houma (q. v.), who
evidently separated from them in very recent times.
Location.- In the eighteenth century on Yalobusha River where it
empties into the Yazoo but at an early period extending to the
head of the Yalobusha and eastward between the territories of the
Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes as far as West Point.
Subdivisions
A French map dated about 1697 seems to call that section of the
tribe on Yazoo River, Sabougla, though these may have been a
Branch of the Sawokli. (See Georgia.)
History.- According to tradition, this tribe came from the west
at the same time as thc Chickasaw and Choctaw and settled between
them. When De Soto was among the Chickasaw, an expedition was
directed against the Chakchiuma "who the [Chickasaw] Cacique said
had rebelled," but their town was abandoned and on fire. It was
claimed that they had planned treachery against the Spaniards.
The chief of the tribe at this time was Miko Lusa (Black Chief).
After the French settlement of Louisiana a missionary was killed
by these people and in revenge the French stirred up the
neighboring tribes to attack them. They are said to have been
reduced very considerably in consequence. Afterward, they
remained closely allied with the French, assisted them after the
Natchez outbreak, and their chief was appointed leader of the
Indian auxiliaries in the contemplated attack upon the Chickasaw
in 1739. The animosity thus excited probably resulted in their
destruction by the Chickasaw and absorption into the Chickasaw
and Choctaw tribes. From De Crenay's map it appears that a part
had gone to live with the Chickasaw by 1733. The rest may have
gone to the Choctaw, for a band bearing their name constituted an
important division of that nation. Tradition states that they
were destroyed by the united efforts of the Chickasaw and
Choctaw, but the latter were uniformly allied with the French and
hostile to the Chickasaw when this alliance is supposed to have
been in existence.
Population.- Mooney (1928) estimates 1,200 souls among the
Chakchiuma, Ibitoupa, Taposa, and Tiou in 1650; exclusive of the
Tiou, my own would be 750. In 1699 they are said to have occupied
70 cabins. In 1702 it is claimed that there were 400 families,
which in 1704 had been reduced to 80, but probably the first
figure is an exaggeration. About 1718-30 where were 50 Chakchiuma
cabins and in 1722 the total population is placed at 150.
Chickasaw. Meaning unknown, though the ending suggests that it
might have been a place name. Also called:
Ani'-Tsi'ksu, Cherokee name.
Kasaha unun, Yuchi name.
Tchaktchan, Arapaho name.
Tchikasa, Creek name.
Tci'-ka-sa', Kansa name.
Ti-ka'-ja, Quapaw name.
Tsi'-ka-ce, Osage name.
Connections.- Linguistically the Chickasaw were closely connected
with the Choctaw and one of the principal tribes of the
Muskhogean group.
Location.- In northern Mississippi, principally in Pontotoc and
Union Counties. (See South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas,
Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.)
Subdivisions
Aside from some incorporated tribes such as the Napochi and
Chakchiuma, no major subdivisions other than towns are mentioned
until late in Chickasaw history when we hear of three such
subdivisions: those of Tishomingo, Sealy, and McGilvery, named
after their chiefs. These, however, were probnbly superficial and
temporary.
Villages
Ackia.
Alaoute, mentioned only by Iberville.
Amalahta.
Apeonne.
Apile faplimengo (Iberville).
Ashukhuma.
Ayebisto (Iberville).
Chatelaw.
Chinica (Iberville).
Chucalissa.
Chukafalaa.
Coui loussa, (French Memoir of 1755).
Eatcha Hoa, on Latcha Hoa Run, an affluent of Ahoola Ihalchubba,
a western tributary of Tombigbee River, northeastern Mississippi.
Etoukouma (De Batz).
Falatchao.
Gouytola (Iberville).
Ogoula-Tchetoka (Do Batz).
Onthaba atchosa (Iberville).
Ooe-asa, in Creek Nation near Sylacauga.
Oucahata (Iberville).
Oucthambolo (Iberville).
Outanquatle (French Memoir of 1756).
Tanyachilca (Iberville).
Thanbolo (Iberville).
Tuckahaw.
Tuskawillao.
Yaneka.
All of the above, with one or two exceptions noted, were close to
one another in the general location given above.
History.- Like most of the other Muskhogean peoples, the
Chickasaw believed they had come from the west. They thought that
they had settled for a time at a spot in northern Alabama on the
north side of the Tennessee River long known as Chickasaw Old
Fields. There is little doubt that Chickasaw had once lived at
that place whether or not the whole tribe was so located. The
first Europeans to become acquainted with the tribe were the
Spaniards under De Soto, who spent the months of January,
February, and March 1541, in the Chickasaw country, nnd in the
latter month were attacked by the tribe with such fury that they
were nearly destroyed. Little is heard of the Chickasaw from this
time until French explorers and colonists arrived, at the end of
the seventeenth century They found the tribe in approximately the
position in which De Soto had encountered them, and they found
them as warlike as before. Although the French tried to make
peace with them, English traders had effected establishments in
their country even before the settlement of Louisiana, and they
remained consistent allies of England while England and France
were fighting for the possession of North America. In the south
their alliance meant much the same to the English as Iroquois
friendship meant to them in the north. As practically all of the
surrounding peoples were devoted to the French, and the Chickasaw
were not numerous, they were obliged to maintain a very unequal
struggle until the final victory of England in 1763, and they
suffered severely in consequence. They supported the Natchez when
they revolted in (1729) and when French expeditions from the
north and south were hurled upon them simultaneously in 1736,
they beat both off with heavy losses. In 1740 a gigantic attempt
was made to conquer them, but the greater part of the force
assembled dissolved without accomplishing anything. A small
French expedition under Celoron succeeded in obtaining a treaty
of peace advantageous to the French but this soon became a dead
letter, and French communications up and down the Mississippi
River were constantly threatened and French voyageurs constantly
attacked in the period following. In 1752 and 1753 the French
commanders Benoist and Reggio were defeated by the Chickasaw. At
an earlier period, shortly before 1715, they and the Cherokee
together drove the Shawnee from their settlements on the
Cumberland, and in 1745 they expelled another Shawnee band from
the same region. In 1769 they utterly routed the Cherokee on the
site of the Chickasaw Old Fields. In 1793-95 war broke out with
the Creeks, who invaded their territories with 1,000 men, but
while they were attacking a small stockade, a band of about 200
Chickasaw fell upon them, whereupon an unaccountable terror took
possession of the invaders, and they fled precipitately. There
was at one time a detached body of Chickasaw on the lower
Tennessee not far from its mouth. They also had a town among the
Upper Creeks for a brief period (Ooe-asa), and a settlement near
Augusta, Ga., from about 1723 to the opening of thc American
Revolution. Thc Chickasaw maintained friendship with the American
Government after its establishment, but, being pressed upon by
white settlers, parted with their lands by treaties made in 1805,
1816, 1818, and 1832. The actual migration to new homes in what
is now Oklahoma began in 1837 and extended to 1847. The Chickasaw
and Choctaw mingled rather indiscriminately at first but their
lands were separated in 1855 and the Chickasaw set up an
independent government modeled on that of the United States which
lasted until merged in the new State of Oklahoma.
Population.- Mooney (1928) estimates that there were about 8,000
in 1600. In 1702 Iberville estimated that there were 2,000
families of Chickasaw, but in 1715 a rather careful enumeration
made by the colony of South Carolina, gave 6 villages, 700 men,
and a population of 1,900. In 1761, a North Carolina estimate
gives about 400 men; in 1766, about 350. Most of the subsequent
estimates of the number of warriors made during the eighteenth
century vary between 250 and 800. In 1817 Morse (1822) places the
total population at 3,625; in 1829 General Peter B. Porter
estimates 3,600 (in Schoolcraft, 1851-57, vol. 3); and a more
accurate report in Schoolcraft gives 4,715 in 18,33. The figures
of the United States Indian Office between 1836 and the present
time vary from 4,500 for 1865 to 1870 to nearly 11,000 in 1923,
but this latter figure includes more than 5,000 freedmen and
persons intermarried in the tribe, and, when we allow for mixed
bloods, we shall find that the Chickasaw population proper has
usually stood at between 4,500 and 5,500 during the entire
period. There has probably been a slow decline in the absolute
amount of Chickasaw blood owing to constant intermixture with
other peoples. The 1910 census returned 4,204 Chickasaw and that
of 1930, 4,745.
Connection in which they have become noted.- The Chickasaw were
noted (1) as one of the most warlike tribes of the Gulf area, (2)
as the tribe of all those encountered by the Spaniards who came
nearest putting an end to De Soto's army, (3) as the constant
allies of the English without whom the control of the Gulf region
by the latter would many times have been jeopardized. There are
post villages of the name in Mobile County, Ala., and Mercer
County, Ohio, and Chickasha, a variant form, is the name of the
county seat of Grady County, Okla.
Choctaw. Meaning unknown, though Halbert (1901) has suggested
that they received their name from Pearl River, "Hachha". Also
called:
Ani'-Tsa'ta, Cherokee name.
Flat Heads, from their custom of flattening the heads of
infants.
Henne'sh, Arapaho name.
Nabuggindehaig, probably the Chippewa name for this tribes
signifying "flat heads."
Pans falaya, "Long Hairs," given by Adair.
Sanaklwa, Cheyenne name, meaning "feathers sticking up above
the ears."
Ta-qta, Quapaw name.
Tca-qta an-ya-di, or Tca-qta han-ya, Biloxi name.
Tca-ta, Kansa name.
Tetes Plates, French equivalent of "Flat Heads."
Tsah-tu, Creek name.
Connections.- This was the largest tribe belonging to the
southern Muskhogean branch. Linguistically, but not physically,
it was most closely allied with the Chickasaw and after them with
thc Alabama.
Location.- Nearly all of the Choctaw towns were in the
southeastern part of Mississippi though they controlled the
adjoining territory in the present State of Alabama. The small
tribes of Mobile were sometimes called Choctaw. (See also
Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Arkansas.)
Subdivisions and Villages
From the earliest times of which we have any knowledge the
Choctaw villages were distributed into three divisions: a
southern, a northeastern, and a western, though a central group
may also be distinguished. The southern division is fairly well
defined by our several informants, but there is considerable
disagreement with reference to the others. One authority gives
but two divisions, an eastern and a western, and even cuts up the
southern group between them. The following locations were
established largely by Mr. H. S. Halbert (1901):
Southern or Sixtown Division:
Bishkun, in the northern part of Jasper County.
Bissasha, on the west side of Little Roek Creek, in Newton
County, sect. 23, tp. 8, range 12, east.
Boktoloksi, on Boguetuluksi Creek, a southwest affluent of
Chickasawhay River.
Chickasawhay, on Chickasawhay River about 3 miles south of
Enterprise, Clarke County.
Chinakbf, on the site of Garlandville, in Jasper County.
Chiskilikbacha, probably in Jasper County.
Coatraw, 4 miles southwest of the town of Newton in sect.
17, tp. 5, range 11, east, Newton County.
Inkillis tamaha, in the northeastern part of Jasper County.
Nashobawenya, in the southwestern part of Jasper County.
Okatalaia, in the eastern part of Smith County or the
western part of Jasper County.
Oktak chito tamaha, location unknown.
Oskelagna, probably in Jasper County.
Puskustakali, in the southwest corner of Kemper County or
the proximate part of Neshoba County.
Siniasha, location uncertain.
Tala, in the southern part of Newton County, between Tarlow
and Bogue Felamma Creeks.
Talahoka, in Jasper County.
Yowani, on the east side of Chickasawhay River, in the
southern part of Clarke County.
Western Division:
Abissa, location uncertain.
Atlantchitou, location unknown.
Ayoutakale, location unknown.
Bok chito, probably on Bogue Chitto, in Neshoba and Kemper
Counties.
Bokfalaia, location uncertain.
Bokfoka, location unknown.
Boktokolo, location unknown.
Cabea Hoola, location unknown.
Chunky, on the site of Union, Newton County.
Chunky chito, on the west bank of Chunky Creek, about half a
mile below the confluence of that creek with Talasha Creek- later
this belonged to the southern district.
East Kunshak chito, near Moscow, in Kemper County.
Filitamon, location unknown.
Halunlawi asha, on the site of Philadelphia, in Neshoba
County.
Hashuk chuka, location unknown.
Hashuk homa, location unknown.
Imokasha, on the headwaters of Talasha Creek, in Neshoba
County, in sections 4, 9, and 16, tp. 9, range 13, east.
Iyanabi, on Yannubbee Creek, about 8 miles southwest of De
Ealb, in Kemper County.
Itichipota, between the headwaters of Chickasawhay and
Tombigbee Rivers.
Kafitalaia, on Owl Creek, in section 21, tp. 11, range 13,
east, in Neshoba County.
Kashtasha, on the south side of Custusha Creek, about 3
miles a little south of West Yazoo Town.
Konshak osapa, somewhere west of West Imoklasha.
Koweh chito, northwest of De Kalb, in Kemper County.
Kushak, on Lost Horse Creek, 4 miles southeast of Lazelia,
Lauderdale County.
Kunshak bolukta, in the southwestern part of Kemper County
some 2 miles from Nieshoba County line and 1 1/2 miles from the
Lauderdale County line.
Kunshak chito, on or near the upper course of Oktibbeha
River.
Lushapa, perhaps on Lussalaka Creek, a tributary of
Kentarcky Creek, in Neshoba County.
Oka Chippo, location unknown.
Oka Coopoly, on Ocobly Creek, in Neshoba County.
Oka hullo, probably on or near the mouth of Sanoote Creek,
which empties into Petickfa Creek in Kemper County.
Oka Kapassa, about Pinckney Mill, in sect. 23, tp. 8, range
11, east, in Newton County- possibly in the southern section.
Okalusa, in Romans' time on White's Branch, Kemper County.
Okapoola, location unknown.
Okehanea tamaha, location unknown.
Oklabalbaha, location unknown.
Oklatanap, location unknown.
Oony, south of Piuckney Mill, in Newton County- possibly in
the southern division.
Osak talaia, near the line between Neshoba and Kemper
Counties.
Osapa chito, on the site of Dixon Post Office, in Neshoba
County.
Otuk falaia, location unknown.
Pante, at the head of Ponta Creek, in Lauderdale County.
Shinuk Kaha, about 7 miles a little north or east of
Philadelphia, in Neshoba County.
Shumotakali, in Kemper County, between the two head prongs
of Black Water Creek.
Tiwaele, location unknown.
Tonicahaw, location unknown.
Utapacha, location unknown.
Watonlula, location uncertain.
West Abeka, location unknown.
West Kunshak chito, in Neshoba County, near the headwaters
of Oktibbeha Creek.
Wiatakali, about 1 mile south of the De Kalb and Jackson
road, in Neshoba County.
Yazoo, or West Yazoo, in Neshoba County, near the headwaters
of Oktibbeha Creek, in sections 13 and 24, tp. 10, range 13,
east.
Northeastern Division:
Alamucha, 10 miles from Sukenatcha Creek, in Kemper County.
Athlepele, location unknown.
Bolitokolo chito, at the confluence of Running Tiger and
Sukenatcha Creeks, about 4 miles northwest of De Kalb.
Chichatalys, location unknown.
Chuka hullo, on the north side of Sukenatcha Creek,
somewhere between the mouths of Running Tiger and Straight
Creeks, in Kemper County.
Chuka lusa, location unknown.
Cutha Aimethaw, location unknown.
Cuthi Uckehaca, probably on or near the rnouth of Parker's
Creek, which empties into Petickfa, in sect. 30, tp. 10, range
17, east.
East Abeka, at the junction of Straight Creek with the
Sukenatcha, in Kemper County.
Escooba, perhaps on or near Petickfa Creek, in Kemper
County.
Hankha Ula, on a flat-topped ridge between the Petickfa and
Blaok Wate Creeks, in Kemper County.
Holihta asha, on the site of De Kalb, in Kemper County.
Ibetap okla chito, perhaps on Straight Creek, in Kemper
County.
Ibetap okla iskitini, at the head of the main prong of Yazoo
Creek, in Kemper County.
Imoklasha iskitini, on Flat Creek, the eastern prong of
Yazoo Creek, in Kemper County.
Itokchako, near East Abeka, in Kemper County.
Kunshaktikpi, on Coonshark Creek, a tributary of Kentarky
Creek, in Neshoba County.
Lukfata, on the headwaters of one of the prongs of
Sukenatcha River.
Oka Altakala, probably at the confluence of Petickfa and
Yannubbee Creek, in Kemper County.
Osapa issa, on the north side of Blackwater Creek, in Hemper
County.
Pachanucha, location unknown.
Skanapa, probably on Running Tiger Creek, in Kemper County.
Yagna Shoogawa, perhaps on Indian branch of Running Tiger
Creek.
Yanatoe, probably in southwest Kemper County.
Yazoo iskitini, on both sides of Yazoo Creek.
The following were outside the original town cluster:
Bayou Chicot, south of Cheneyville, St. Landry Parish, La.
Boutte Station, in St. Charles Parish, La.
Cahawba Old Towns, in Perry County, Ala., and probably on
Cahawba River.
Cheponta's Village, on the west bank of the Tombigbee River
in the extreme southeastern part of Choctaw County, Ala.
Chisha Foka, on the site of Jackson.
Coila, in Carroll County, probably occupied by Choctaw.
Heitotowa, at the site of the later Sculleyville, Choctaw
Nation, Okla.
Shukhata, on the site of Columbus, Ala.
Teeakhaily Ekutapa, on the lower Tombigbee River.
Tombigbee, on or near Tombigbee River.
A few other names of towns placed in the old Choctaw country
appear on various maps, but most of these are probably intended
for some of the villages given above.
History.- After leaving the ruins of Mabila, De Soto and his
followers, according to the Gentleman of Elvas (see Robertson,
1933), reached a province called Pafallaya, but, according to
Ranjel, to a chief river called Apafalaya. Halbert is undoubtedly
right in believing that in these words we have the old name of
the Choctaw, Pansfalaya, "Long Hairs," and this is the first
appearance of the Choctaw tribe in history. We hear of them
again, in Spanish Florida documents of the latter part of the
seventeenth century, and from this time on they occupied the
geographical position always associated with them until their
removal beyond the Mississippi. The French of necessity had
intimate dealings with them from the time when Louisiana was
first colonized, and the relations between the two peoples were
almost invariably friendly. At one time an English party was
formed among the Choctaw, partly because the prices charged by
the Carolina traders were lower than those placed upon French
goods. This was led by a noted chief named Red Shoes and lasted
for a considerable time, one of the principal Choctaw towns being
burned before it came to an end with the defeat of the British
party in 1750. In 1763,, after French Government had given way to
that of the English east of the Mississippi, relations between
the latter and the Choctaw were peaceful though many small bands
of Indians of this tribe crossed the Mississippi into Louisiana.
The American Revolution did not alter conditions essentially,
and, though Tecumseh and his emissaries endeavored to enlist the
Choctaw in his favor, only about 30 individuals joined the
hostile Creeks. The abstinence of the tribe as a whole was due
very largely to the personal influence of the native statesman,
Pushmataha, whose remains lie in the Congressional Cemetery in
Washington, surmounted by an impressive monument. Meanwhile bands
of Choctaw continued moving across the Mississippi, but the great
migration occurred after the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit, September
30, 1830, by which tke tribe ceded their old lands. However, a
considerable body of Choctaw did not leave at this time. Many
followed, it is true, at the time of the allotment in Oklahoma,
but upward of a thousand still remain, principally in the
neighborhood of Philadelphia, Miss. The western Choctaw
established a government on the model of those of the other
civilized tribes and that of the United States, and it was not
given up until merged in the State of Oklahoma early in the
present century.
Population.- Estimates of the number of Choctaw warriors between
1702 and 1814 vary between 700 and 16,000. A North Carolina
estimate made in 1761 says they numbered at least 5,000 men.
Common estimates are between 4,000 and 5,000, but even these
figures may be a trifle low since the first reliable census, that
of Armstrong, in 1831, gave 19,554. However, there may have been
a slight increase in population after the beginning of the
nineteenth century, when an end was put to intertribal wars.
Figures returned by the Indian Office since that time show a
rather unusual constancy. They go as low as 12,600, and at the
other extreme reach 22,707, but the average 13 from 18,000 to
20,000. The census of 1910 gave 15,917, including 1,162 in
Mississippi, 14,551 in Oklahoma, 115 in Louisiana, 57 in Alabama,
and 32 in other States, but the United States Indian Office
Report for 1923 has 17,488 Choctaw by blood in Oklahoma, 1,600
"Mississippi Choctaw" in Oklahoma, and 1,439 in the State of
Mississippi, not counting about 200 in Louisiana, Alabama, and
elsewhere. A few small tribes were gathered into this nation, but
only a few. The census of 1930 returned 17,757, of whom 16,641
were in Oklahoma, 624 in Mississippi, 190 in Louisiana, and the
rest in more than 14 other States. In 1937 the Mississippi
Choctaw numbered 1,908, from which it seems that many of the
Mississippi Choctaw were missed in 1930 unless the "Mississippi
Choctaw" already in Oklahoma are included.
Connection in which they have become noted.- The Choctaw were
noted (1) as the most numerous tribe in the Southeast next to the
Cherokee, (2) as depending more than most other tribes in the
region on agriculture, (3) for certain peculiar customs such as
head deformation, extensive use of ossuaries for the dead, and
the male custom of wearing the hair long, (4) as faithful allies
of the French against the English but always at peace with the
United States Government, (5) as having furnished the names to
counties in Alabama, Mississippi, and Oklahoma, and settlements
in the same States, and in Van Buren County, Ark.
Choula. Bernard de La lIarpe gives this as the name of a small
tribe of 40 individuals on the Yazoo River. There is some reason
to think it was applied to a part of the Ibitoupa tribe (q. v.).
The name means "fox" in Chicliasaw and Choctaw.
Grigra. Said to have been given them from the frequent occurrence
of these two syllables in their speech. They sometimes appear as
the "Gray Village" of the Natchez.
Connections.- The fact that the language of this tribe contained
an r suggests a probable relationship with the tribes of the
Tunican group.
Location.- When first known to us, is formed one of the Natchez
villages on St. Catherines Creek, Miss.
Villages
Only one village is mentioned called by A shorter form of the
name given to the tribe, Gris or Gras.
History.- The Grigra had been adopted by the Natchez at an
earlier period than the Tiou (q. v.) and, like them, may once
have resided on Yazoo River, but there is no absolute proof of
this. They are mentioned as one of three Natchez tribes belonging
to the anti-French faction. Other vise their history is identical
with that of the Natchez.
Population.- One estimate made about 1720-25 gives about 60
warriors.
Houma. Literally "red," but evidently an abbreviation of saktci
homma, "red crawfish."
Connections.- They spoke a Muskhogean language very close to
Choctaw, and it is practically certain from the fact that their
emblem was the red crawfish that they had separated from the
Chakchiumn (q. v.).
Location.- The earliest known location of the Houma was on the
east side of the Mississippi River some miles inland and close to
the Mississippi-Louisiana boundary line, perhaps near the present
Pinckney, Miss. (See also Louisiana.)
Villages
At one time the people of this tribe were distributed between a
Little Houma village 2 leagues below the head of Bayou La Fourche
and a Great Houma village half a league inland from it. This was
after they had moved from their earlier home.
History.- La Salle heard of the Houma in 1682, but he did not
visit them. Tonti made an alliance with them 4 years later, and
in 1699 their village was the highest on the Mississippi reached
by Iberville before returning to his ships. In 1700 Iberville
visited them again and left a missionary among them to build a
church, which was an accomplished fact when Gravier reached the
tribe in November of the same year. A few years later the Tunica,
who had been impelled to leave their old town, were hospitably
received hy this tribe, but in 1708 they rose upon their hosts,
destroyed part of them, and drove the rest down the Mississippi.
These reestablished themselves on Bayou St. John near New
Orleans, but not long afterward they re-ascended the river to the
present Ascension Parish and remained there for a considerable
period. In 1776 they sold a part at least of their lands to two
French Creoles but seem to have remained in the neighborhood
until some years after the purchase of Louisiana by the United
States. By 1805 some had gone to live with thc Atakapa near Lake
Charles. Most of the remainder appear to have drifted slowly
across to the coast districts of Terrebonne and La Fourche
Parishes, where their descendants, with Creole and some Negro
admixture, still live.
Population.- Mooney (1928) estimates a Houma population in 1650
of 1,000. In 1699 Iberville gives 140 cabins and about 350
warriors, while the Journal of the second vessel in this
expedition gives a population of 600-700. In 1718, after the
tribe had suffered from both pestilence and massacre, La Harpe
estimates 60 cabins and 200 warriors. In 1739 a French officer
who passed their town rates the number of their warriors at 90 -
100 and the whole population at 270-300. In 1758 there is an
estimate of 60 warriors and in 1784 one of 25 while, in 1803, the
total Houma population is placed at 60. In 1907 the native
estimate of mixed-blood population calling itself Houma was 800 -
900, but the census of 1910 returned only 120 Indians from
Terrebonne. To these there should probably be added some from La
Fourche but not a number sufficient to account for the
discrepancy. In 1920, 639 were returned and in 1930, 936 from
Terrebonne besides 11 from La Fourche. Speck estimates double the
number.
Connection in which they have become noted.- Houma, the capital
of Terrebonne Parish, preserves the name.
Ibitoupa. Meaning probably, people "at the source of" a stream or
river.
Connections.- No words of this language are known unless the
tribal name itself is native, but from this and Le Page du
Pratz's (1758) statement that their language, unlike that of the
Tunica group, was without an r, there is every reason to class it
as Muskhogean and closely related to Chackchiuma, Chickasaw, and
Choctaw.
Location.- On Yazoo River in the present Holmes County, perhaps
between Abyatche and Chicopa Creeks.
Villages
Only one village is known, and that called by the tribal name,
though it is possible that the Choula, (q. v.) mentioned by La
Harpe were an offshoot.
History. - The Ibitoupa are mentioned in 1899 by Iberville, and
in Coxe's Carolana (1705). Before 1722 they had moved higher up
and were 3 leagues above the Chalkchiuma (q.v.), who were then
probably at the mouth of the Yalobusha. They probably united with
the Chickasaw soon after the Natchez War, though they may first
have combined with the Chakchiuma and Taposa. They were perhaps
related to the people of the Choctaw towns called Ibetap okla.
Population. - All that we know of the population of the Ibitoupa
is that in 1722 it occupied 6 cabins; in the same year there are
said to have been 40 Choula, a possible offshoot.
Connection in which their name has become noted.- It seems to
have been the original of the name of Tippo Bayou, Miss.
Koasati. A band of Koasati moved from Alabama to Tombigbee River
in 1763 but returned to their old country a few years later
impelled by the hostilities of their new neighbors. (See
Alabama.)
Koroa. Meaning unknown. Also called:
Kulua, Choctau name, the Muskhogcan people being unable to
pronounce r readily.
Connections.- The name and associations, together with Le Page du
Pratz's (1758) statement that their language possessed an r
sound, are practically conclusive proof that this tribe belonged
to the Tunican linguistic group.
Location.- The Eoroa appear often in association with the
Yazoo on the lower course of Yazoo River, but at the very
earliest period they were on the banks of the Mississippi or in
the interior of what is now Louisiana on the other side of that
river. (See also Louisiana.)
Villages
None are known under any other name.
History.- In the De Soto narratives a people is mentioned called
Coligua and Colima which may be the one under discussion. If not,
the first appearance of the Koroa in history is on Marquette's
map applying to 1673, though they are there misplaced. The La
Salle narratives introduce us, apparently, to two tribes of the
name, one on Yazoo River, the other below Natchez, but there arc
reasons for thinking that the latter was the tribe elsewhere
called Tiou. In Tonti's account of his expedition overland to the
Red River in 1690 we learn of a Koroa town west of the
Mississippi, and also of a Koroa River. In 1700 Bienville also
learned of a trans-Mississippi Koroa settlement. From the time of
Tonti's expedition to the mouth of the Mississippi in 1686 there
seems to have been a Koroa town on or near the lower Yazoo, as
mentioned above. When the Natchez out-break occurred, this tribe
and the Yazoo joined them and destroyed the French post on Yazoo
River, but they suffered severely from Indians allied with the
French and probably retired soon afterward to the Chickasaw,
though part, and perhaps all of them, ultimately settled among
the Choctaw. The Choctaw chief Allen Wright claimed to be of
Koroa descent.
Population.- Mooney (1928) estimates that there were 2,000 Koroa,
Yazoo, Tunica, and Ofo in 1650. Le Page du Pratz places the
number of Koroa cabins in his time at 40. In 1722 the total
population of the Koroa. Yazoo nnd Ofo is given as 250, and in
1730 the last estimate of the Koroa and Yazoo together gives 40
warriors, or perhaps 100 souls.
Moctobi. This name appears in the narratives of the first
settlement of Louisiana, in 1699, applied to a tribe living with
or near the Biloxi and Pascagoula. It is perhaps the name of the
latter in the Biloxi language, or a subdivision of the Biloxi
themselves, and is best treated in connection with the latter.
Natchez. Meaning unknown (the z should not be pronounced).
Also called:
Ani'-Na'tsi, Cherokee name.
Sunset Indians, given by Swan (in Schoolcraft (1851-57)).
Theloel or Thecoel, name used by the Natchez but seemingly
derived from that of a town.
Connections.- The Natchez were the largest of three tribes
speaking closely related dialects, the other two being Taensa and
Avoyel, and this group was remotely related to thc great
Muskhogcan family.
Location.- The historic scat of the Natchez Indians was along St.
Catherines Creek, and a little east of the present city of
Natchez. (See also Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma,
South Carolina, and Tennessee.)
Villages
Iberville gives the following list of Natchez villages- "Natches,
Pochougoula, Ousagoucoulas, Cogoucoulas, Yatanocas, Ymacachas,
Thoucoue, Tougoulas, and Achougoulas." This list was obtained
through the medium of the Mobilian trade language and part of the
names are undoubtedly translated into it. Thus we find the
Mobilian and Choetaw word for people, okla, "ougoula," or
"oucoula," in five of these. The term Tougoulas probably
designates the town of the Tiou (q. v.), an adopted tribe, and
one of the others is perhaps a designation for the adopted tribe
of Grigrn (q. v.). Later writers usually speak of but five
settlements, including that of the Grigra. One of these, the town
of the "walnuts," is evidently the Ousagoucoulas of Iberville's
informants, meaning, in reality, the town of the Hickories. The
Great Village was probably the town called Naches or Natchez, and
Poehougoula, the Flour Village, but the others mentioned,
Jenzenaque or Jensenac and the White Apple or Apple Village
cannot be identified. A White-earth village is mentioned by one
writer, probably intended for the White Apple village. The
Natchez among the Cherokee lived for a time at a town called
Guhlaniyi.
History.- Undoubtedly tribes of the Natchez group were
encountered by De Soto and his companions in 1541-43, and it is
highly probable that the chief Quigaltanqui, who figures 60
prominently in the pursuit of the Spaniards when they took to the
Mississippi, was leader of the tribe in question or of one of its
divisions. The name Natchez appears first, however, in the
narratives of La Salle's descent of the Mississippi in 1682.
Relations between the French and Natchez were at first hostile,
but peace was soon made and in 1699 a missionary visited the
latter with a view to permanent residence. The next year
Iberville, who had stopped short of the Natchez in his earlier
ascent of the Mississippi, opened negotiations with the Natchez
chief. A missionary was left among them at this time and the
mission was maintained until 1706. In 1713 a trading post was
established. The next year four Canadians, on their way north,
were killed by some Natchez Indians and this resulted in a war
which Bienville promptly ended. Immediately afterward a stockaded
fort was built on a lofty bluff by the Mississippi and named Fort
Rosalie. Several concessions were granted in the neighborhood and
settlers flowed in until this was one of the most flourishing
parts of the new colony. Between 1722 and 1724 there were slight
disturbances in the good relations which had prevailed between
the settlers and Indians, but they were soon smoothed over and
harmony prevailed until a new commandant named Chepart, who seems
to have been utterly unfit for his position, was sent to take
command of Fort Rosalie. In consequence of his mismanagement a
conspiracy was formed against the French and on November 28,
1729, the Indians rose and destroyed both post and settlement,
about 200 Whites being slain. Next year the French and their
Choctaw allies attacked the forts into which the Natchez had
retired and liberated most of their captives but accomplished
little else, and one night their enemies escaped across the
Mississippi, where they established themselves in other forts in
the marshy regions of northeastern Louisiana. There they were
again attacked and about 400 were induced to surrender, but the
greater part escaped during a stormy night and withdrew to the
Chickasaw, who had been secretly aiding them. Later they divided
into two bands, one of which settled among the Upper Creeks while
the other went to live with the Cherokee. Afterward each followed
the fate of their hosts and moved west of the Mississippi with
them. Those who had lived with the Creeks established themselves
not far from Eufaula, Okla., where the last who was able to speak
the old tongue died about 1890. The Cherokee Natchez preserved
their language longer, and a few are able to converse in it at
the present day (1925).
Population.- Mooney's (1928) estimate of Natchcz population in
1650 is 4,500; my own, as of 1698, 3,500. In 1731, after the
losses suffered by them during their war with the French, Perrier
estimated that they had 300 warriors. In 1735, 180 warriors were
reported among the Chickasaw alone. During the latter half of the
eighteenth century estimates of the warriors in the Creek band of
Natchez vary from 20 to 150, and in 1836 Gallatin conjectures
that its numbers over all were 300, which is probably above the
fact. There are no figures whatever for the Cherokee band of
Natchez.
Connection in which they have become noted.- The Natchez have
become famous in a number of ways: (1) because they were the
largest and strongest tribe on the lower Mississippi when
Louisiana was settled by the French, (2) on account of their
monarchical government and the peculiar institution of the Sun
caste, (3) on account of the custom of destroying relatives and
companions of a dead member of the Sun caste to accompany hum or
her into the world of spirits, (4) for the massacre of the French
post at Natchez and the bitter war which succeeded it, (5) from
the name of the city of Natchez, Miss., adopted from them. The
name is also borne by post villages in Monroe County, Ala.; and
Natchitoches Parish, La.; and a post hamlet in Martin County,
Ind.
Ofo, or Ofogoula, see Mosopelea under Ohio.
Okelousa. A tribe living at one time in northem Mississippi. (See
Louisiana.)
Pascagoula. "Bread people." Also called:
Miskigula, Biloxi name.
Connections.- They were probably Muskhogeans although closely
associated with the Siouan Biloxi.
Location.- Their earliest known location was on the river which
still bears their name, about 16 French leagues from its mouth.
(See also Louisiana and Texas.)
Villages
Unknown, but see Biloxi.
History.- Iberville heard of the Pascagoula in 1699 when he made
the first permanent settlement in Louisiana. That summer his
brother Bienville visited them, and the following winter another
brother, Sauvolle, who had been left in charge of the post,
received several Pascagoula visitors. Some Frenchmen visited the
Pascagoula town the next spring and Penicaut (in Margry) 1875-85,
vol. 5) has left an interesting account of them. In Le Page du
Pratz's time (early eighteenth century) they were on the coast,
but they did not move far from this region as long as France
retained possession of the country. When French rule ended the
Pascagoula passed over to Louisiana and settled first on the
Mississippi River and later on Red River at its junction with the
Rigolet du Bon Dieu. In 1795 they moved to Bayou Boeuf and
established themselves between a band of Choctaw and the Biloxi.
Early in the nineteenth century all three tribes sold these
lands. A part of the Pasengoula remained in Louisiana for a
considerable period, Morse mentioning two distinct bands, but a
third group accompanied some Biloxi to Texas and lived for a time
on what came to be called Biloxi Bayou, 15 miles above its
junction with the Neches. I have been able to find no Indians in
Louisiana claiming Pascagoula descent, but in 1914 there were two
among the Alabama who stated that their mother was of this tribe,
their father having been a Biloxi.
Population.- Mooney (1928) estimates that in 1650 there were
1,000 all told of the Biloxi, Pascagoula, and Moctobi. My own
estimate for about the year 1698 is 875 of whom I should allow
455 to the Pascagoula. In 1700 Iberville states that there were
20 families, which would mean that they occupied the same number
of cabins, but Le Page du Pratz raises this to 30. In 1758 the
Pascagoula, Biloxi, and Chatot are estimated to have had about
100 warriors. In 1805 Sibley (1832) gives 25 among the Pascagoula
alone. Morse (1822) estimates a total Pascagoula population of
240, and Schoolcraft (1851-57) cites authority for 111 Pascagoula
in 1829. This is the last statement we have bearing upon the
point.
Connection in which they have become noted.- The Pasengoula tribe
is of some note as a constant companion of the Siouan Biloxi, and
from the fact that it has bequeathed its name to Pascagoula
River, Pascagoula Bay, and Pascagoula Port, Miss.
Pensacola. This tribe moved inland from Pensacola Bay near the
end of the seventeenth century and in 1725-26 had established
themselves near the Biloxi on Pearl River. (See Florida.)
Quapaw. When the French discovered this tribe in 1673 one town
was on the east side of the Mississippi, but before 1700 it moved
to the western bank. (See Arkansas.)
Taposa. Meaning unknown.
Connections.- As this tribe is said to have been allied with the
Chickasaw and, unlike the Tunica and Tiou, did not have an r
sound in their language, there is every reason to suppose that
they belonged to the Muskhogean stock. Probably they were most
closely affiliated with their neighbors, the Chakchiuma and
Chickasaw.
Location.- Their earliest known location was on Yazoo River a few
miles above the Chakchiuma.
History.- The Taposa are first mentioned by Iberville and the
missionary De Montigny, in 1699. On the De Crenay map of 1733
(1910) their village is placed very close to that of the
Chakchiuma, whose fortunes they probably followed.
Population.- The only hint as to the size of this tribe is given
by Le Page du Pratz who says that the Taposa had about 25 cabins,
half the number he assigns to the Chakchiuma. Other writers
usually include them with the Chakchiuma (q. v.).
Tiou. Meaning unknown. The name has occasionally been misprinted
"Sioux," thus causing confusion with the famous Sioux or Dakota
of Minnesota and the Dakotas.
Connections.- The Tiou are proved by a statement of Diron
d'Artaguiette (1916) to have belonged to the Tunica linguistic
group of the Tunican family.
Location.- Their earliest location was near the upper course of
Yazoo River; later they lived a little south of the Natchez and
then among them.
History.- Shortly before 1697 the Tiou appear to have been in the
locality first mentioned, and a map of that date seems to give
two towns of Tiou, one above the Tunica and one below them. By
1699 part had settled among the Natchez, having been driven from
their former homes, according to Le Page du Pratz (1758), by the
Chickasaw. Before establishing themselves finally with the
Natchez, they seem to have lived for a time a short distance
below them on the Mississippi River, where La Salle and his
companions speak of them as Koroa. Part of the tribe appears to
have remained on the Yazoo for some years after the rest had
left. At a later period the Bayogoula called in Tiou and
Acolapissa to take the places of the Mugulasha with whom they had
formerly lived and whom they had destroyed. Soon after Fort
Rosalie had been built, the Tiou sold the lands upon which they
had settled to the Sieur Roussin and moved elsewhere. After the
Natchez massacre the hostile Indians sent them to the Tunica in a
vain endeavor to induce thc latter to declare against the French.
In 1731, if we may trust a statement by Charlevoix, they were
utterly cut off by the Quapaw, and while the completeness of this
destruction may well be doubted, we hear nothing of them
afterward.
Population.- No estimate of Tiou population separate from that of
the Natchez is known.
Tunica. Meaning "the people," or "those who are the people."
Also called:
Yoron, their own name.
Connections.- They were the leading tribe of the Tunica group of
the Tunican stock, the latter including also the Chitimacha and
Atakapa.
Location.- On the lower course of Yazoo River, on the south side
about 4 French leagues from its mouth. (See also Arkansas.)
History.- There is evidence that tribes belonging to the Tunica
group were encountered by De Soto west of the Mississippi and
very probably the name of the tribe is preserved in that of the
town of Tanico mentioned by Elvas (in Robertson, 1933), where
people made salt, for in later years we find the Tunica engaged
in the making and selling of this commodity. An early location
for them on the eastern side of the Mississippi is indicated by
the "Tunica Oldfields" near Friar Point, not many miles below
Helena, Ark. Thc name appears on Marquette's map (1673) but there
they are wrongly placed. In 1682 La Salle and his companions
learned of this tribe, than located as given above, but neither
he nor his lieutenant Tonti visited them on this or any
subsequent expedition, though they learned of Tunica villages in
the salt-making region of northeastern Louisiana. The Yazoo town
of the tribe was first seen, apparently, by three missionary
priests from Canada, one of whom, Father Davion, established
himself among them in 1699. In 1702 he fled from his charges, but
two or three years later was induced by them to return, and he
remained among them for about 15 years more. In 1706 this tribe
left the Yazoo and were received into the Houma town nearly
opposite the mouth of Red River, but later, according to La Harpe
(1831), they rose upon their hosts and killed more than half of
them, and for a long period they continued to live in the region
they had thus appropriated. They were firm friends of the French
and rendered them invaluable service in all difficulties with thc
tribes higher up, and particularly against the Natchez, but in
1719 or 1720 Davion was so much discouraged at the meager results
of his efforts that he left them. The anger excited against them
by their support of the French resulted in an attack by a largo
party of Natchez and their allies in 1731 in which both sides
suffered severely and the head chief of the Tunica was killed.
The Tunica remained in the same region until some time between
1784 and 1803, when they moved up Red River and settled close to
the present Marksville, La., on the land of the Avoyel Indian
village which they claimed to have bought from the Avoyel tribe.
Before this event took place, in company with the Ofo, Avoyel,
and some Choctaw, they attacked the pirogues of a British
expedition ascending the Mississippi, killed six men, wounded
seven, and compelled the rest to turn back. A few families
descended from the Tunica are still settled on the site just
mentioned, which forms a small reservation. Sibley (1832) says
that in his time Tunica had settled among the Atakapa, and it was
perhaps some of their descendants of whom Dr. Gatsehet heard as
living near Beaumont, Tex., about 1886. Mooney (1928) learned of
some Tunica families in the southern part of the Choctaw Nation,
Okla., but they had lost their old language.
Population.- Mooney (1928) estimated that in 1650 the total
population of the Tunica, Yazoo, Koroa, and Ofo was 2,000, and
this very figure, except that it does not include the Koroa, is
given by the missionary De Montigny in 1699. My own figure for
the same date is somewhat higher, 2,450, out of which I estimate
about 1,575 were Tunica. In 1719 the number of Tunica was
conjectured to be 460 and in 1803, 50 to 60, though a second
statement of about the same period gives 25 warriors. Morse
(1822) reports 30 Tunica in Louisiana. The census of 1910 gives
43 Tunica in all, but among these are included some Indians of
other tribes and there were many mixed-bloods. The census of 1930
gives only 1, he being the only one who could speak the old
language.
Connection in which they have become noted.- The Tunica were
prominent in history (1) from the fact that their language was
the principal dialect of a stock on the lower Mississippi which
received its name from them, (2) for their sedentary character,
(3) for their devotion to the French interest and their part in
the Natchez wars, (4) from the perpetuation of their name in
Tunica County, and Tunica Oldfields, Miss., and & post village of
the name in West Feliciana Parish, La.
Yazoo. Meaning unknown.
Connections.- The associations of this tribe with the Koroa and
the fact that their language contained an r sound make it
reasonably certain that they belonged to the Tunican group and
stock.
Location.- On the south side of Yazoo River about 4 French
leagues above its mouth. (See also Arkansas.)
History.- The Yazoo appear to have been the first of the tribes
living on the lower part of the Yazoo River to have established
themselves there, and hence it was from them that the stream
received its name. They are mentioned by La Salle and his
companions in connection with their voyage to the mouth of the
Mississippi in 1682. A French post was established near them in
1718, and in 1727 a Jesuit missionary, Father Seuel, settled
nearby. In 1729, however, the Yazoo joined the Natchez in their
uprising, murdered the missionary, and massacred the French
garrison. Their subsequent fortunes were identical with those of
the Koroa, and they were probably absorbed into the Chickasaw or
Choctaw. It is not improbable that there is some connection
between the name of this tribe and that of two of the Yazoo towns
among the Choctaw, but if so it goes back beyond recorded
history.
Population.- I have estimated that in 1698 there were somewhat
more than 600 Yazoo and Koroa together. In 1700 Gravier reported
30 Yazoo cabins, but a quarter of a century later Le Page du
Pratz (1758) estimated 100. In 1722 the Yazoo, Koroa, and Ofo
together are said to have numbered 260. In 1730, however, the
number of Yazoo and Koroa warriors is placed at 40.
Connection in which they have become noted.- The Yazoo are noted
principally from the fact that they have transmitted their name
to Yazoo River, Miss., and secondarily to Yazoo County and its
capital city, in the same State.
Montana
The Indian Tribes of North America by John R. Swanton
Arapaho. The Arapaho proper occupied, or camped in, parts of
southeastern Montana at various periods of their history. (See
Wyoming.)
Arikara. Some Arikara hunted in eastern Montana. In 1869 and
1880, together with the Hidatsa and Mandan, they relinquished
rights to land in the southeastern part of the State. (See North
Dakota.)
Assiniboin. From a Chippewa term signifying "one who cooks by
the use of stones."
E-tans-ke-pa-se-qua, Hidatsa name, from a word signifying
"long arrows" (Long, 1823).
Guerriers de pierre, French nnme.
Hohe, Dakota name, signifying "rebels."
Sioux of the Rocks, English name.
Stonies, or Stone Indians, English name translated from the
Indian.
Tlu'tlama'eka, Kutenai name, signifying "cutthroats," the
usual term for Dakota derived from the sign language.
Weepers, given by Henry (1809).
Connections - The Assiniboin belonged to the Siouan linguistic
family, and were a branch of the Dakota (see South Dakota),
having sprung traditionally from the Yanktonai whose dialect they
spoke.
Location - The Assiniboin were most prominently associated
historically with the valleys of the Saskatchewan and Assiniboin
Rivers, Canada. In the United States they occupied the territory
north of the Milk and Missouri Rivers as far east as the White
Earth. (See also North Dakota.)
Subdivisions
The latest list is that given by Professor Lowie (1939). He
states that, anciently, there were three principal tribal
divisions, viz: Ho'ke (Like-Big-Fish),Tu-wan'hudan
(Looking-like-Ghosts), and Sitcon'-ski (Trieksters, lit. "
Wrinkled-Ankles"). Lowie obtained the names of the following
smaller bands: Tcanxta'dan, Unska'ha (Roamers),
Wazl'a wintca'cta, (Northern People), Wato'paxna-on wan or
Wato'paxnatun, Tcan'xe wintca'cta (People of the Woods), Tanin'ta
bin (Buffalo-Hip), Hu'deca'bine (Red-Butt), Waci'azi hyabin
(Fat-Smokers), Witci'-abin, In'yanton'wanbin (Rock People),
Wato'pabin (Paddlers), Cuntce'bi (Canum Mentulae), Cahi'a
iye'skabin (Speakers of Cree (Half-Crees)), Xe'natonwan (Mountain
People), Xe'bina (Mountain People), Icna'umbisa,
(Those-who-stay-alone), and Ini'na u'mbi. Hayden (1862) mentions
a band called Min'-i-shi-nak'-a-to, or Lake People, which does
not seem to be identifiable with any of the above. This last may
be the band called by Henry (1809) Those-who-have-water-for-
themselves-only. The following bands cited by Henry are wholly
unidentifiable: Red River, Rabbit, Eagle Hills, Saskatchewan,
Foot, and Swampy Ground Assiniboin.
History - According to tradition, this tribe separated from the
Wazikute band of Yanktonai. The separation evidently took place
before contact with the Whites, but there is evidence that when
Europeans first heard of the tribe they were south of their later
habitat, probably in the vicinity of the Lake of the Woods and
Lake Nipigon. Thence they moved northwest toward Lake Winnipeg
and later to the banks of the Assiniboin and Saskatchewan Rivers.
In the mean time they had allied themselves with the Cree and had
become enemies of their own southern relatives with whom they
were afterward almost constantly at war. This northward movement
and alliance with the Cree was due in large measure to the
establishment of British posts on Hudson Bay and the desire of
the Assiniboin Indians to have access to them and thus supply
themselves with firearms and other European articles. The
Assiniboin in the United States were gathered under the Fort
Belknap and Fort Peck agencies; those in Canada under the
Battleford, Edmonton, and Assiniboin agencies, at Moose Mountain,
and on Stoney Reservation.
Population - Mooney (1928) estimated that there were 10,000
Assiniboin in 1780. In 1829 Porter gave 8,000, and Drake (in
Church, 1826) thought that there were 10,000 before the smallpox
epidemic of 1836, when 4,000 died. The United States Indian
Office Report of 1843 gave 7,000; in 1890 they numbered 3,008;
and in 1904, 1,234 in the United States, and 1,371 in Canada, a
total of 2,605. The census of 1910 gave 1,235 in the United
States, and the United States Indian Office Report for 1923 gave
1,400, while there was an approximately equal number in Canada.
The United States Census of 1930 gave 1,581. In 1937, 2,232 were
returned in the United States.
Connections in which they have become noted - The Assiniboin
attained prominence during the dealings of explorers and traders
with the Indians along the upper Missouri. The Assiniboin or
Assiniboine, the name has been adopted for an important affluent
of the Red River of the North in Manitoba and Saskatchewan
Provinces. Mount Assiniboin is in the Rocky Mountains near the
boundary between British Columbia and Alberta, about 20 miles
south of Banff.
Atsina. Probably from Blackfoot at-se'-na, supposed to mean "gut
people." Also called:
Acapatos, by Duflot de Mofras (1844).
A-re-tear-o-pan-ga, Hidatsa name.
Bahwetego-weninnewug, Chippewa name, signifying "fall
people."
Bot-k'in'ago, signifying "belly men."
Fall Indians, common early name.
Gros Ventres des Plaines, derived from an incorrect
interpretation of the tribal sign and the qualifying phrase "des
Plaines" to distinguish them from the Hidatsa, the Gros Ventres
de la Riviere.
Haaninin or Aa'ninena, own name, said to signify "white-clay
people," "lime-men," or "chalk-men."
His-tu-i'-ta-ni-o, Chevenne name.
Hitunena, Arapaho name, signifying "beggars" or "spongers."
Minnetarees of the Plains, Minnetarees of the Prairies, so
called to avoid confusion with the Hidatsa (q. v. under North
Dakota).
Rapid Indians, from Harmon (1820).
Sa'paui, Shoshoni name, signifying "bellies."
Sku'tani, Dakota name.
Connections - The Atsina were a part of the Arapaho, of which
tribe they are sometimes reckoned a division, and both belong to
the Algonquian linguistic family.
Location - On Milk River and adjacent parts of the Missouri,
in what is now Montana, ranging northward to the Saskatchewan.
(See also Canada.)
Subdivisions
Kroeber (1908 b) has recorded the following names of bands or
clans, some of which may, however, be duplications:
Names of clans whose position in the camp circle is known,
beginning at the south side of the opening at the east: Frozen or
Plumes, "Those-who-water-their-horses-once-a-day"; Tendons,
"Those-who-do-not-give-away," or "Buffalo-humps"; Opposite (or
Middle) Assiniboin, "Ugly-ones or Tent-poles worn smooth
[from travel]"; Bloods, "Fighting-alone."
Other clan names: Berry-eaters, Breech-cloths, Coffee,
Dusty-ones, Gray-ones or Ash-colored, Kanhutyi (the name of a
chief), Night-hawks, Poor-ones, Torn-trousers, Weasel-skin
headdress.
History - If the Arapaho once lived in the Red River country, the
Atsina were probably with them. At least, the languages of both
point to the region of the Algonquian tribes northeast of the
Plains for their origin. At the same time Kroeber (1900 b) thinks
that they must have been separated for at least 200 years.
According to Hayden (1860), they were south of the Saskatchewan
about 1800. In 1818 they joined the Arapaho and remained with
them until 1823 when they returned to the location given above in
the neighborhood of Milk River. For a long time they maintained
an alliance with the Blackfeet but later joined the Crow against
them and in the course of the ensuing war, in 1867, suffered a
severe defeat. Later they were placed on Fort Belknap
Reservation, Mont., with the Assiniboin.
Population - Mooney (1928) estimates that the Atsina numbered
3,000 in 1780. In 1904 there were 535. The census of 1910
reported 510, and the United States Office of Indian Affairs in
1923 reported 586; 631 were reported by the census of 1930, and
809 in 1937.
Bannock. The Bannock ranged into the western part of the State.
(See Idaho.)
Cheyenne. The Cheyenne frequently entered the eastern part of
Montana and the Northern Cheyenne were ultimately assigned a
reservation within the State. (See South Dakota.)
Chippewa. The Chippewa had little contact with the region now
included in Montana until very recent times when a considerable
number came to live there, 486 according to the census of 1910.
(See Minnesota.)
Cree. The original homes of the Cree were north of the present
United States, though their war parties frequently came into the
territory now occupied by this country to fight the Dakota,
Blackfoot, and other tribes. In comparatively late times a
number, given by the census of 1910 as 309, settled in Montana,
and others were reported from Washington (91), Michigan, Oregon,
North Dakota, Idaho, Kansas, and Minnesota. (See also Canada.)
Crow. A translation, through the French gens des corbeaux, of
their own name Absaroke, "crow-, sparrowhawk-, or bird-people."
Also called:
Hahderuka, Mandan name.
Haideroka, Hidatsa name.
Hounena, Arapaho name, signifying "crow men."
Issappo', Siksika name.
Kangitoka, Yankton Dakota name.
Ka'-xi, Winnebago name.
Kihnatsa, Eidatsa name, signifying "they who refused the
paunch," and referring to the tradition regarding the separation
of these two tribes.
Kokokiwak, Fox name.
Long-haired Indianis, by Sanford (1819).
O-e'-tun'-i-o, Cheyenne name, signifying "crow people."
Par-is-ca-oh-pan-ga, Hidntsa name, signifying "crow people"
(Long, 1823).
Stemchi, Kalispel name.
Stemtchi, Salish name.
Stimk, Okinagan name.
Yaxka'-a, Wyandot name, signifying "crow."
Connections.- The Crow belonged to the Siouan linguistic stock
and were most closely related to the Hidatsa, from whom they
claim to have separated.
Location.- On the Yellowstone River and its branches, extending
as far north as the Musselshell and as far south as Laramie Fork
on the Platte, but centering particularly on three southern
tributaries of Yellowstone River, the Powder, Wind, and Big Horn
Rivers. (See also Wyoming and Canada.)
Subdivisions
There were formerly three local divisions, known to the people
themselves as Mine'sepere, Dung-on-the-river-banks?, or Black
Lodges; the A'-c'araho', Many-Lodges; and the Erarapi'o,
Kicked-in-their-bellies. The first of there is called River Crow
by some writers and the last two collectively Mountain Crow. They
were also divided into 12 clans arranged in pairs.
History.- As stated above, the Crow tribe claims to have
separated from the Hidatsa, a tradition shared by the Hidatsa. It
is at least certain that the two are more closely related
linguistically than is either to any other Siouan group. Their
separation into bands must have occurred in the first quarter of
the nineteenth century at latest. In 1804 they were found in
their historic seats and have been in approximately the same
region ever since, the reservation to which they were finally
assigned being on the Big Horn River.
Population.- Mooney's (1928) estimate for the year 1780 is 4,000
Crow. In 1804 Lewis and Clark estimated 350 lodges and 3,500
souls. In 1833 there were said to be 1,200 warriors and a
population of from 3,250 to 3,560. In 1890 a total population of
2,287 was reported, and in 1904, 1,826. The census of 1910 gave
1,799, and the United States Indian Office Report for 1923,
1,777. The census of 1930, reported 1,674, and the Indian Office
Report for 1937, 2,173.
Connections in which they have become noted.- The Crow tribe was
prominent in the early history of the Northwest, though not to
the extent of the Dakota and Blackfeet. The Indian form of the
name, Absarokee, is borne by a post village of Stillwater County,
Mont.; in the form Absaraka it appears as the name of a place in
Cass County, N. Dak.; and as Absaroka, more prominently, as the
name of a range of mountains and a National Forest in the
Yellowstone National Park.
Dakota. The Dakota entered Montana at times to hunt and fight
the Crow but were not permanent residents of the State. (See
South Dakota.)
Hidatsa. Together with the Arikara and Mandan, in 1869 and 1830
the Hidatsa took part in treaties ceding territory in
southeastern Montana to the United States Government. (See North
Dakota.)
Kalispel. This tribe probably visited the westernmost parts of
Montana at times and most of them finally settled upon the
Flathead Reservation in that State. Some of them, together with
the Salish and Kutenai, ceded Montana lands in 1855. (See Idaho.)
Kiowa. According to tradition, the Kiowa at one time lived in the
southeastern part of this State. (See Oklahoma.)
Kutensi. Said to be from a term applied to this tribe by the
Blackfoot Indians and believed by Turney-High (1937) to have come
originally from the name of a Kutenai tribe or division called
Tunaha. Also called:
Flatbows, the name given often lo the Lower Kutenai, the
origin of which is unknown.
Kuspelu, their Nez Perce name, signifying "water people.'
San'ka or asan'ka, own name, significance unknown.
Shalsa'ulko, by the Sinkiuse and said to be from a place
name, but see below.
Skelsa-ulk, Salish name, signifying "Water People."
Slender Bows, name sometimes given as an interpretation of
their own name, but erroneously.
Connections.- The Kutenai were placed by Powell in a distinct
stock called Kitunahan, but some linguists regard them as remote
relatives of the Algonquians and Salishans.
Location.- On Kootenay River, Kootenay Lake, Arrow Lake, and
the upper course of the Columbia River, except for the bend
between Donald and Revelstoke; in southeastern British Columbia;
northwestern Montana; northeastern Washington; and the northern
tip of Idaho. In modern times they have settled as far southeast
as Flathead Lake. (See also Canada.)
Subdivisions
The Kutenai were separated into two general divisions, the line
between extending roughly from north to south through Libby,
Mont. The Upper Kutenai lay to the east on upper Kootenay River
and depended more upon hunting, especially of the bison, while
the Lower Kutenai were largely fishermen. Turney-High (1937)
gives the following bands: (1) Tunaxa, whose original home was on
the Plains and who have now been destroyed and their descendants
incorporated with the other bands; (2) Tobacco Plains or People-
of-the-Place-of-the-Flying-Head, esteemed to be the mother band
of the tribe (on Kootenay River at the International Boundary
Line- the Fernie Band was a subdivision); (3) Jennings
Band (about Jennings, Mont.); (4) Libby Band (at Libby, Mont.);
(5) Bonner's Ferry Band (at Bonner's Ferry, Idaho); (6) Fort
Steele Band (at Steele, B. C.); (7) Creston Band (at Creston, B.
C.); (8) Windermere Band (a very modern band at Windermere, B.
C.). To these may be added the very modern Dayton-Elmo Band on
Flathead Lake drawn from the Jennings and Libby bands.
History.- From information collected by Turney-High (1937).
it would seem that the Kutenai formerly lived east of the Rocky
Mountains, extending at least as far as MacLeod, Alberta. Their
oldest settlement in their present territories would seem to have
been at Tobacco Plains whence they gradually spread to the north,
west and south, and in recent times to the southeast. Their
country was traversed early in the nineteenth century by David
Thompson (1916) in the interest of the Northwest Company, and
Kootenai House was established in 1807. With the running of the
International Boundary, their country was divided between the
Dominion of Canada and the United States to the considerable
inconvenience of the tribe. Missionary work among them,
particularly work among the Upper Kutenai, has been very
successful.
Population.- Mooney (1928) estimated the Kutenai population to
be 1,200 in 1780. In 1780 those in the United States were
estimated at 400 to 500. In 1890 they numbered 554, and those in
British territory the year preceding were enumerated at 553. The
census of 1910 gave 538 in the United States. The Report of the
Canadian Department of Indian Affairs for 1924 returned about
450, and that of the United States Indian Office only 129 under
that name. The latter figure is evidently defective, as the
Census of 1930 returned 287 of whom 185 were in Montana and 101
in Idaho. In 1937 there were 118 in Idaho.
Connections in which they have become noted.- The Eutenai are
noted for their peculiar language, which differs from the speech
of all their neighbors and has been given an independent position
as the Kitunahan stock. They have given their name to Kootenay or
Kootenai River, also called the Flat Bow or MacGillivray, which
flows through British Columbia, Montana, and Idaho; to Kootenay
Lake in British Columbia; to Kootenai Mountains, and Kootenai
Falls, Mont.; Kootenai County, Idaho; and to a post village,
Kootenai, in Bonner County, Idaho.
Mandan. The Mandan were parties to treaties made in 1869 and 1880
ceding their claims to land in southeastern Montana. (See North
Dakota.)
Nez Perce. Individuals belonging to this tribe sometimes entered
the southwestern part of Montana. (See Idaho.)
Piegan. The Piegan were the southernmost subtribe of the Siksika
(q. v.).
Salish, Probably a place name, the last syllable, -ish, "people."
Also called:
A-shu'-e-ka-pe, Grow name, signifying, "flatheads."
A-too-ha-pe, Hidatsa name.
Flatheads, widely so called because, in contradistinction to
the tribes west of them, they left their heads in the natural
condition, flat on top, instead of sloping backward to the crown.
Ka-ka-i-thi, Arapaho name, signifying, "flathead people."
Ka-ko'-is-tsi'-a-ta'-ni-o, Cheyenne name, signifying,
"people who flatten their heads."
Ko-toh'-spi-tup'-i-o, Siksika name.
Nebagindibe, Chippewa name, signifying, "flat head."
Pa O-bde'-ca, Yankton Dakota name, signifying, "heads
cornered or edged."
Tetes-Plates, common French term.
Connections.- The Salish belonged to the interior division of the
Salishan linguistic family, to which they have given their name.
Location.- In western Montana originally, extending from the
Rocky Mountains on the west; south to the Gallatin; east to Crazy
Mountain and Little Belt Ranges, north to some hilly country
north of Helena. Later they were centered farther west around
Flathead Lake. (See also Idaho.)
Subdivisions
It is said that there was a distinct band of Salish Indians on a
river near Helena, another band near Butte, another somewhere
east of Butte, and another somewhere in the Big Hole Valley; and
there are traditions of still others.
History.- According to Teit (1930) the Salish once extended
farther to the east, and there were related tribes in that region
which he calls Sematuse and Tunahe. As Turney-High (1937) has
pointed out, however, the Tunahe were evidently a Eutenai
division; and the Sematuse, if not mythical, seem to have been an
alien people in possession of this country before the Salish
entered it. Teit states that these Salish were driven westward
out of the Plains by the Blackfoot, particularly after that tribe
obtained guns. Turney-High, on the other hand, regards the Salish
as rather late intruders into the Plains from the west. However,
the pressure of tribes westward by their neighbors to the east as
soon as the latter obtained guns is such a common story that it
hardly seems probable that the Salish could have escaped its
effects. Just how far the Salish retired westward may be a matter
of argument, nor does it affect the theory of an earlier eastward
migration if such a movement can be substantiated on other
grounds. Salish relations with the Whites were always friendly
and they were successfully missionized by Roman Catholics under
the lead of the famous Father De Smet. By the treaty of July 16,
1855, they ceded all of their lands in Montana and Idaho except a
reserve south of Flathead Lake and a second tract in Bitter Root
Valley which was to be made into a reserve for them if it were
considered advisable. It was, however, not 80 considered, and
acting upon an Act of Congress of June 5, 1872, the Salish were
removed to the former reservation, where they still live.
Population.- Mooney (1928) estimated that there were 600 Salish
in 1780, evidently accepting the figure given by Lewis and Clark
for 1806. Teit (1930) considers this much too low, the data
collected by him indicating a Salish population of perhaps 3,000,
but this would seem to err in the opposite direction. The Indian
Office figure for 1905 is 557 and that for 1909, 598. The census
of 1910 reported 486, of whom 400 were in Montana, 46 in
Washington, 27 in Oregon, 6 in Idaho, 6 in Nebraska, and 1 in
Kansas. The census of 1830 reported 2,036 Interior Salish from
Montana, but did not give separate figures for the tribe under
discussion. The United States Office of Indian Affairs reported
3,085 in 1937.
Connections in which they have become noted.- It was among the
Salish Indians that the noted Father De Smet worked as a
missionary. The large group of languages to which this tribe
belongs is known to ethnologists as the Salishan linguistic
family. Flathead or Selish Lake, Flathend Pass, and Flathead
County, all in Montana, also derive their names from the Salish
or "Flathead" Indians.
Sematuse (phonetically Semte'use). Signifying "foolish" according
to some, derived from an old place name according to others. Teit
(1930) identified the Semntuse as a former tribe of the Salishan
stock, closely related to the Salish tribe. According to his
informants, one band of these people was on Big Blackfoot River,
another at a place later known as "Big Camas," or "Camas
Prairie," and some thought that a smaller band had headquarters
near Deer Lodge, and there may have been one at Phillipsburg.
Others were said to have been on the Little Blackfoot and Salmon-
Trout Rivers but may not have constituted a band. Tumey-High
(1937), however, thinks that this tribe was mythical or else that
it was the name of a non-Salishan people who preceded the Salish
in western Montana.
Shoshoni. Before European weapons reached the eastem tribes,
bands of Shoshoni ranged over a considerable part of eastern
Montana as far north as Milk River. (See Idaho.)
Siksika. A native word signifying "black feet," by which term the
tribe is best known. By some they are said to be called Blackfeet
from the discoloration of their moccasins by the ashes of prairie
fires, but more probably their moccasins were dyed black. Also
called:
Ah-hi'-tn-pe, former name for themselves, signifying "blood
people."
Ayatchinini, Chippewa name.
Ayatchiyiniw, Cree name, signifying "stranger," or "enemy."
Beaux Hommes, so given by Dobbs (1744).
Carmeneh, Crow name.
Choch-Katit, Arikara name.
Ish-te-pit'-e, Crow name.
I-tsi-si-pi-sa, Hidatsa name, signifying "black feet."
Katce, Sarsi name.
Ka-wi-'na-han, Arapaho name, signifying "black people."
Makadewana-ssidok, Chippewa name.
Mamakata'wana-si'ta'-ak, Fox name.
Mkatewetiteta, Shawnee name.
Mukkudda Ozitunnug, Ottawa name (Tanner, 1830).
Netsepoye, sometimes used by the Confederacy and signifying
"people who speak our language."
Pah-kee, Shoshoni name.
Po'-o-mas, Cheyenne name, signifying "blankets whitened with
earth."
Saha'ntla, Kutenai name, signifying "bad people."
Sawketakix, name sometimes used by themselves, signifying
"men of the plains."
S'chkoe, or S'chkoeishin, Kalispel name, from koai, "black."
Siea'be, Kansa name.
Si-ha'-sa-pa, Yankton Dakota name, signifying "black feet."
Skuaisheni, Salish name, signifying "black feet."
Stxuaixn, Okinagan name, signifying "black."
Tonkonko, Kiowa name, signifying "black legs."
Tuhu'vti-omokat, Comanche name.
Wateni'hte, Arapaho name.
Connections.- The Siksika belong to the Algonquian linguistic
stock, forming the most aberrant of all the well-recognized
tongues of that family except Arapaho and Atsina.
Location.- In the territory stretching from North Saskatchewan
River, Canada, to the southern headstreams of the Missouri in
Montana, and from about longitude 105 W. to the base of the
Rocky Mountains.
Subdivisions
The Siksika are divided into the following subtribes: The Siksika
or Blackfeet proper, occupying the northern part of the above
territory; the Kainah or Bloods south of the preceding, and the
Piegan, south of the Kainah, the one best represented in the
United States.
Each of the above divisions was subdivided into bands as follows:
Siksika bands: Istsikainah.
Aisikstukiks. Mameoya.
Apikaiyiks. Nitikskiks.
Emitahpahksaiyiks. Saksinahmahyiks.
Motahtosiks. Siksshpuniks.
Puhksinahmahyiks. Siksinokaks.
Saiyiks. Piegan bands:
Siksinokaks. Ahahpitape.
Tsiniktsistsoyiks. Ahkaiyikokakiniks.
Kainah or Blood bands: Apikaiyiks.
Ahkaiksumiks. Esksinaitupiks.
Ahkaipokaks. Inuksikahkopwaiks.
Ahkotashiks. Inuksiks.
Ahkwonistsists. Ipoksimaiks.
Anepo. Kahmitniks.
Apikaiyiks. Kiyis.
Aputosikainah. Kutaiimiks.
Inuhksoyistamiks. Kutaisotsiman.
Isisokasimiks. Miahwahpitsiks.
Miawkinaiyiks. Nitotsiksisstanis.
Mokumiks. Sikokitsimiks.
Motahtosiks. Sikopoksimaiks.
Motwainaiks. Sikutsipumaiks.
Nitakoskitsipupiks. Susksoyiks (Hayden, 1862).
Nitawyiks. Tsiniksistsoyiks.
Nitikskiks.
History.- According to certain traditions, the Siksika moved
into their present territory from the northeast, and it is at
least evident that they had gravitated westward, their movement
probably accelerated by the acquisition of horses. They were at
war with nearly all of their neighbors except the Athapascan
Sarsi and the Atsina; both of these tribes usually acted with
them. They were on relatively friendly terms with the English of
the Hudson's Bay posts in Canada, upon whom they depended for
guns and ammunition, but were hostile to the Whites on the
American side, in large measure because through them their
enemies received the same kind of supplies. They were several
times decimated by smallpox but suffered less than many tribes
not so far removed from White influences, and have never been
forced to undergo removal from their home country. They are now
gathered under agencies on both sides of the International
Boundary and are slowly adapting themselves to White
modes of life.
Population.- Mooney (1928) estimates that in 1780 there were
15,000 Blackfeet. Mackenzie (1801) gave 2,250 to 2,500 warriors
for 1790, which would reduce Mooney's (1928) figures by about
one-half, but in the meantime the smallpox epidemic of 1780-81
had occurred. The official Indian Report for 1858 gave 7,300 and
another estimate of about the same period, said by Hayden (1862)
to have been made "under the most favorable circumstances,"
reported 6,720. In 1909 the official enumeration of those in the
United States was 2,195, and of those in Canada 2,440, a total of
4,630. The census of 1910 gave 2,367 in the United States, all
but 99 of whom were Piegan. The United States Indian Office
Report for 1923 gives 3,124 Blackfeet and the Report of the
Canadian Department of Indian Affairs for 1924, 2,236; total,
5,360. The United States census of 1930 reported 3,145. In 1937
the Office of Indian Affairs reported 4,242.
Connections in which they have become noted.- The Siksika were
peculiar (1) as one of the largest and most warlike tribes of
the northern Plains, next to the Dakota alone in prominence; (2)
as speaking one of three highly specialized languages of the
Algonquian stock; (3) as among the bitterest opponents of
explorers and traders on the American side of the International
Boundary; and (4) as having given the name Blackfoot to a
considerable town in Idaho, capital of Bingham County, to a creek
in the same county, to mountains in Idaho and Alberta, to a river
in Montana, and to a village in Glacier County, in the same
State.
Spokan. Some Spokan probably entered western Montana at times
and, in 1910, 134 were reported as residents of the State.
(See Washington.)
Tunahe (Tuna'se). Given by Teit (1930) as the name of an extinct
Salishan tribe living in west central Montana, but identified by
Turney-High (1937) as a former eastern or plains band of the
Eutenai Indians, that band, in fact, from which the name Kutenai
is derived.
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