Indian Tribes of North America

Swanton, John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 145. Washington DC: US Government Printing Office. 1953.

Linguistic Families of American Indians North of Mexico

Linguisitic Families of American Indians - Powell

The Powell map of “Linguistic Families of American Indians North of Mexico,” first published in 1891, has been a valuable resource for understanding the diverse linguistic groups of Native American tribes. Despite its utility, there has been a need for a detailed map showing the specific locations of tribes within these families. This article addresses that gap by exploring the complexities of defining and mapping tribes, particularly given the non-uniform application of the term “tribe” and the varying levels of coherence among different groups. The article emphasizes the challenges in creating such a map, especially when considering the historical movements and interactions of these tribes.

Kwalhioqua Indians

Kwalhioqua Indians were located on the upper course of Willopah River, and the southern and western headwaters of the Chehalis. Gibbs (1877) extends their territory eastward of the Cascades, but Boas (1892) doubts the correctness of this.

Kwaiailk Indians

Kwaiailk Indians were located on the upper course of Chehalis River in Washington State.

Kutenai Indians

Kutenai Indians. 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 to the Lower Kutenai, the origin of which is unknown. Kúspe(lu, their Nez Perce name, signifying “water people.” Sán’ka or asán’ka, own name, significance unknown. Shalsa-‘ulk°, by the Sinkiuse and said to be from a place name, but see below. Skelsá-ulk, Salish name, signifying “Water People.” Slender Bows, name sometimes given as an interpretation of their own … Read more

Kuitsh Indians

Kuitsh Indians were located on Lower Umpqua River in Oregon.

Koroa Indians

Koroa Tribe: Meaning unknown. Also called: Kúlua, Choctaw name, the Muskhogean people being unable to pronounce r readily. Koroa 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. Koroa Location. The Koroa appear oftenest 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. … Read more

Koasati Indians

Koasati Tribe: Meaning unknown; often given as Coosawda and Coushatta, and sometimes abbreviated to Shati. Koasati Connections. They belonged to the southern section of the Muskhogean linguistic group, and were particularly close to the Alabama. Koasati Location. The historic location of the Koasati was just below the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers to form the Alabama and on the east side of the latter, where Coosada Creek and Station still bear the name. (See also Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma.) Koasati Villages. Two Koasati towns are mentioned as having existed in very early times, one of which … Read more

Klickitat Indians

Klickitat Indians. The original home of the Klickitat was somewhere south of the Columbia, and they invaded their later territory after the Yakima crossed the river. They joined in the Yakima treaty at Camp Stevens, June 9, 1855, by which they ceded their lands to the United States, and most of them settled upon the Yakima Reservation.

Klamath Indians

Klamath Indians were located on Upper Klamath Lake, Klamath Marsh, and Williamson and Sprague Rivers in Oregon.

Kiowa Indians

The best-known historic location of the Kiowa Indians was a plot of territory including contiguous parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.

Kiowa Apache Indians

Kiowa Apache Indians. The name is derived from that of the Kiowa and from the circumstance that they spoke a dialect related to those of the better-known Apache tribes, though they had no other connection with them. Also called: Bad-hearts, by Long (1823). (See Kaskaias.) Cancey or Kantsi, meaning “liars,” applied by the Caddo to all Apache of the Plains, but oftenest to the Lipan. Essequeta, a name given by the Kiowa and Comanche to the Mescalero Apache, sometimes, but improperly, applied to this tribe. Gáta’ka, Pawnee name. Gǐnä’s, Wichita name. Gû’ta’k, Omaha and Ponca name. K’á-pätop, Kiowa name, meaning … Read more

Kickapoo Indians

Kickapoo Indians. From Kiwegapaw`, “he stands about,” “he moves about, standing now here, now there.” Also called: A’-uyax, Tonkawa name, meaning “deer eaters.” Higabu, Omaha and Ponca name. I’-ka-dŭ’, Osage name. Shake-kah-quah, Wichita name. Shígapo, Shikapu, Apache name. Sik’-a-pu, Comanche name. Tékapu, Huron name. Yuatara’ye-ru’nu, a second Huron name, meaning “tribe living around the lakes.” Kickapoo Connections. The Kickapoo belonged to the Algonquian linguistic stock, and in a special group with the Foxes and Sauk. Kickapoo Villages. The villages were: Etnataek (shared with the Foxes), rather a fortification than a village, near the Kickapoo village on Sangamon River, Illinois. Kickspougowi, … Read more

Keyauwee Indians

Keyauwee Tribe: Meaning unknown. Keyauwee Connections. From the historical affiliations of Keyauwee, they are presumed to have been of the Siouan linguistic family. Keyauwee Location. About the points of meeting of the present Guilford, Davidson, and Randolph Counties. (See also South Carolina.) Keyauwee Villages. No separately named villages are known. Keyauwee History. The Keyauwee do not appear to have been noted by white men before 1701 when Lawson (1860) found them in a palisaded village about 30 miles northeast of Yadkin River near the present Highpoint, Guilford County. At that time they were preparing to join the Saponi and Tutelo … Read more

Keresan Pueblo Indians

Keresan Pueblo Indians. Located on the Rio Grande, in north central New Mexico, between the Rio de los Frijoles and the Rio Jemez, and on the latter stream from the pueblo of Sia to its mouth.These Indians constituted an independent stock having no affiliations with any other.

Kaskinampo Indians

Kaskinampo Tribe: Meaning unknown, though -nampo may be the Koasati word for “many.” Kaskinampo Connections. The Kaskinampo were probably closely related to the Koasati, and through them to the Alabama, Choctaw, and other Muskhogean people. Kaskinampo Location. Their best-known historic location was on the lower end of an island in the Tennessee River, probably the one now called Pine Island. (See also Arkansas.) Kaskinampo History. There is every reason to believe that this tribe constituted the Casqui, Icasqui, or Casquin “province” which De Soto entered immediately after crossing the Mississippi River, and it was probably in what is now Phillips … Read more