Kansas

The Sac and Fox of the Mississippi

Sauk and Fox habitation covered with Elm bark

The history of the Sacs and Foxes of the Mississippi is the same as that of the Missouri portion of the tribes, except that they had never wandered so far from the ancestral home. They lived nearer the Mississippi River, and the other band lived on the Missouri River—or the Osage, a branch of the Missouri, and from these circumstances came the names of the two bands. One band was the Sacs and Foxes of the Mississippi, and the other the Sacs and Foxes of the Missouri. The Sacs and Foxes of the Mississippi owned and held about three-fourths of … Read more

The Pottawatomie of Kansas

abramburnett1

The history of the Pottawatomie, even after they were in communication with the Europeans, is difficult and often obscure. Their name signifies People of the place of the fire. They came to be generally known as the “Fire Nation.” There is reason to believe that the Pottawatomie, the Chippewa, and the Ottawa originally formed one tribe. As one people they lived in that country about the upper shores of Lake Huron. The separation into three parts probably occurred there, and the Jesuits found them at Sault St. Marie in 1640. In 1670 the tribe or some portion of it, was … Read more

The Delaware in Kansas

Black Beaver, Delaware

In 1682, the seat of the Delaware government was at Shackamaxon, now Germantown, Pennsylvania. There Penn found them and made his famous treaty with them. Although extremely warlike, they had surrendered their sovereignty to the Iroquois about 1720. They were pledged to make no war, and they were forbidden to sell land. All the causes of this step were not known. Because of it the Iroquois claimed to have made women of the Delaware. They freed themselves of this opprobrium in the French and Indian War. The steady increase of the whites drove the Delaware from their ancient seat. They were crowded … Read more

The Siouan Indians in Kansas

A brief review of the foregoing will show that there were five native linguistic families in Kansas. The emigrant linguistic families were four in number. Two of these, however, were also native to the soil. One of them—the Siouan—occupied or claimed to own by far the greater part of Kansas at the period when treaty-making began in the West. Of native tribes in Kansas there were eight, belonging to the Algonquian, Caddoan, Kiowan, Shoshonean, and Siouan families. There were twenty-eight emigrant tribes in Kansas. They belonged to the Algonquian, Iroquoian, Tanoan, and Siouan families. In the matter of importance the Kansa, … Read more

The Shawnee of Kansas

tjohnson1

The Shawnee Indians, originally from areas including South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Ohio, were among the most prominent and widespread tribes of the Algonquian family before their migration to Kansas. Their name, derived from “Shawun,” meaning south, reflects their early association with southern regions. Over time, due to conflicts with European settlers and other tribes, they gradually moved westward, eventually settling along the Kansas River in the early 19th century. Their Kansas reservation became home to various Shawnee divisions, with the majority residing in present-day Wyandotte and Johnson counties. The Shawnees were actively involved in regional conflicts and experienced significant cultural and territorial shifts, particularly during and after the Civil War, leading to their eventual relocation to Indian Territory in Oklahoma.

Arapaho and Cheyenne in Kansas

Powder Face And Squaw. Northern Arapaho

The Arapaho and Cheyenne will be considered together. They both belong to the great Algonquian family, and, for a long period, were closely associated. Both were important Plains tribes and bore prominent parts in the early history of that plain along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Cheyenne ranged far down the plains streams, coming into close contact with pioneer settlers of Northwestern Kansas. The Arapahos did not trouble the white people making homes in Western Kansas. Both tribes lay in wait along the great trails to fall upon the stragglers and the unprotected. They were fierce and daring … Read more

Confederated Pawnee of Kansas

The compact manner in which the Pawnees were always found, and which remained until recently, would seem to justify the conclusion that these gentes or clans extended through all four of the tribal divisions, as with the Iroquois. The chiefs of the band were the governing power, the individuals having little influence in tribal matters. The principal expeditions to the country of the Pawnees in early times have been noted. In 1833 John T. Irving, Junior, went with Commissioner Ellsworth on a tour of the Indian country tributary to Fort Leavenworth, visiting the Pawnees. Later, he was present when the various … Read more