Alabama

Kan-hatki Tribe

The history of the Kan-hatki or Ikan-hatki (“White ground”) is parallel with that of the Fus-hatchee. They appear on the De Crenay map, in the lists of 1738, 1750, 1760, and 1761, and in those of Bartram, Swan, and Hawkins. In 1761 their officially recognized traders were Crook & Co. Swan gives Kan-hatki as one of two towns occupied by Shawnee refugees, but this statement was probably due to the presence of some Shawnee from the neighboring settlement of Sawanogi. In September, 1797, Hawkins states that the trader here was a man named Copinger. He gives the following account of the … Read more

Hilibi Tribe

The Hilibi Tribe, once a prominent town among the Upper Creeks, has a complex history tied to various migrations, conflicts, and cultural connections. Originally founded by a member of the Aktayatci clan after a split from the Tukpafka Indians, the town rapidly grew and came to be known as Hilibi, meaning “quick” in the local language. Over time, Hilibi developed close ties with neighboring towns like Eufaula and Wakokai, suggesting a possible shared origin. The tribe’s historical presence is recorded as early as the 18th century, with mentions in Spanish and later American sources. The Hilibi community later relocated to Oklahoma, where some traditions and settlements, such as the busk grounds, were preserved into the early 20th century.

Eufaula Tribe

The Eufaula tribe was an independent body as far back as history takes us. According to one of my informants they branched off from Kealedji, while another seemed to think that they originated from Hilibi. Practically no confidence can be placed in these opinions. Not even a plausible guess can be furnished by the living Indians regarding the origin of the name.

Fus-hatchee Tribe

The descriptive name of the Fus-hatchee and their intimate relations with Kolomi, Kan-hatki, and Atasi lead me to believe that they were a comparatively late branch of one of these. They appear first on the De Crenay map of 1733, in which they are placed on the south side of the Tallapoosa. They are also in the lists of 1738, 1750, 1760, and 1761. James Germany was their trader in the last mentioned year. In 1797 the trader was Nicholas White. The name is in the lists of Bartram and Hawkins, and is evidently the ”Coosahatchies” of Swan. In his … Read more

Coweta Tribe

The Coweta were the second great Muskogee tribe among the Lower Creeks, and they headed the war side as Kasihta headed the peace side. Their honorary title in the confederacy was Kawita ma’ma’yi, “tall Coweta.” Although as a definitely identified tribe they appear later in history and in the migration legends which have been preserved to us the Kasihta are given precedence, the Coweta were and still are commonly accounted the leaders of the Lower Creeks and often of the entire nation. By many early writers all of the Lower Creeks are called Coweta, and the Spaniards and French both speak … Read more

Chiaha Tribe

Holmanns Map of 1759

The Chiaha were a more prominent tribe and evidently much larger than the Osochi. While the significance of their name is unknown it recalls the Choctaw chaha, “high,” “height,” and this would be in harmony with the situation in which part of the tribe was first encountered northward near the mountains of Tennessee. There is also a Cherokee place name which superficially resembles this, but should not be confounded with it. It is written by Mooney Tsiyahi and signifies “Otter place.” One settlement so named formerly existed on a branch of the Keowee River, near the present Cheohee, Oconee County, … Read more

Chickasaw Indian Tribe

This historical account explores the Chickasaw tribe’s encounters with European explorers, their territorial conflicts with other tribes such as the Shawnee, and their alliances, particularly with the British. The article notably discusses the tribe’s interactions with Hernando de Soto and his army in 1540-41, wherein the Chickasaw nearly wiped out the entire expedition. Later historical events include the tribe’s involvement in the Natchez uprising of 1729 and subsequent French expeditions against them. The text concludes by describing the tribe’s significant reduction in size due to continuous warfare and forced resettlement.

Choctaw Indian Tribe

The present work has been undertaken primarily with the object of furnishing an adequate setting for an understanding of the evolution of the Creek Confederacy and the various elements entering into it. What has been said regarding the South Carolina and Florida tribes and the Chickasaw have marginal importance in the carrying out of this purpose, though they are of less absolute concern. When we come to the Choctaw, however, we are met with a different problem. The Choctaw were always one of the largest southern tribes, and they were more numerous than the Creeks even in the palmiest days … Read more

Atasi Tribe

Atasi, in its later years, was on close terms of intimacy with Tukabahchee, of which it was said to be a branch. While this may have been the case, its independent history extends back to very early times. Spanish documents of the last decade of the sixteenth century mention a town called Otaxe (Otashe), in the northernmost parts of the province of Guale. On a few maps, representing conditions before the Yamasee war, Atasi appears among the towns on Ocmulgee River. It is perhaps the “Awhissie” of Lamhatty, laid down midway between the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers. Oh later maps … Read more

Emeline Jane Smith, Application

Emeline Jane Smith Application

No. 9576                                                                                                         Action: Reject Name: Emeline J. Smith and X children                     Residence: Mt. Vernon, Ala Reason: Applicant claims through her fathers brother who was ½ Cherokee and as applicant was born in 1833 and her father in 1790 her father’s mother must have been born about 1770. It does not appear that any ancestor was ever enrolled or that any ancestor was party to the treaties of 1835-6 and 1846. Shows no connection with the Eastern Cherokees. Covers #1Mobile, Ala (hand written) No. 9576 Name: Mrs Emeline J. Smith With No.__________ also: 139366, 39835 Remarks: To be adjudicated by letter– … Read more

Cravat Choctaw Family – List of Mixed Bloods

Cravat Genealogy Chart

Horatio Cushman, the source of so many mixed-blood family histories and the only known source for facts about the Cravat family, states: “The Cravat family of Choctaws are the descendents of John Cravat, a Frenchman who came into the Choctaws at an early day, and was adopted among them by marriage. He had two daughters by his Choctaw wife, Nancy and Rebecca, both of whom became the wives of Louis LeFlore. His Choctaw wife dying he married a Chickasaw woman, by whom he had four sons, Thomas, Jefferson, William and Charles, and one daughter, Elsie, who married a white man … Read more

Anderson Choctaw Family – List of Mixed Bloods

The first Choctaw family examined, the Anderson family, has little or no documentation in Choctaw country prior to the removal era (see Chart 3) other than family tradition and representation on the Armstrong roll. There is, however, a Robert C. Anderson listed as a Mississippi Territory volunteer during the Creek War. On August 12, 1813 he had a commission Second Lieutenant.  But beyond this and a few Andersons on the 1808 and 1810 Washington County Mississippi territorial census there is little documentation on this family. One might surmise from the relatively small number (seven heads of households) of Andersons on … Read more

Condition of the Alabama Indians in 1890

Total Indian Population As Of June 1, 1890 Reservation Indians, not taxed (not counted in the general census): Males…….149 Females….235 Total………384 Indians self-supporting, taxed (counted in the general census): Males…….338 Females….421 Total………759 Grand Total 1,148 The civilized (self-supporting) Indians of Alabama, counted in the general census, number 759, 338 males and 421 females, and are distributed as follows: Autauga County, 116 Escambia County, 173 Mobile County, 4023 other counties with 8 or less in each, 68. The mode of life of these Indians is akin to that of their neighbors of small property. Among them are the descendants of Creek, … Read more

Mikasuki Tribe

Mikasuki Indians, Mikasuki Tribe. A former Seminole town in Leon County, Florida, on the west shore of Miccosukee lake, on or near the site of the present Miccosukee. The name has been applied also to the inhabitants as a division of the Seminole. They spoke the Hitchiti dialect, and, as appears from the title of B. Smith’s vocabulary of their language, were partly or wholly emigrants from the Sawokli towns on lower Chattahoochee River, Alabama. The former town appears to have been one of the ‘red’ or ‘bloody’ towns, for at the beginning of the Seminole troubles of 1817 its … Read more

Shawnee Indians

The Shawnee Tribe, meaning “southerners,” is recognized for its significant role in the history of numerous regions across the United States, with its name reflected in places from Pennsylvania to Georgia. The Shawnee were part of the Algonquian linguistic group, closely related to tribes such as the Fox, Sauk, and Kickapoo. Known for their frequent migrations, the Shawnee had historic settlements in locations like the Cumberland River Valley and Ohio, forming five primary divisions, including Chillicothe and Piqua. Their complex history of relocation, resistance against European settlers, and leadership under figures like Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa has made them a central part of early American history. Shawnee populations were dispersed over time, eventually settling primarily in Oklahoma by the 20th century.

Contact Between the Southern Indians and Mexico

The relations existing in prehistoric times between the Indians formerly inhabiting the territory of the present United States and those south of them have been a subject of discussion from the earliest period of ethnological speculation in America. Dissemination of culture and of blood takes place, of course, where any tribe is in contact with any other tribe, but something more than this has frequently been alleged of the relations between the two areas under consideration. In parts of Mexico and Central America, not to mention regions farther south, there existed historically, as is well known, relatively high native cultures, … Read more