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.

Utina Indians

Utina Indians or Timucua Indians. The first name, which probably refers to the chief and means “powerful,” is perhaps originally from uti, “earth,” while the second name, Timucua, is that from which the linguistic stock, or rather this Muskhogean subdivision of it, has received its name. Utina Connections. As given above. Utina Location. The territory of the Utina seems to have extended from the Suwannee to the St. Johns and even eastward of the latter, though some of the subdivisions given should be rated as independent tribes. (See Timucua under Georgia.) Utina Towns Laudonniere (1586) states that there were more … Read more

Ute Indians

Ute Indians. In central and western Colorado and all of eastern Utah, including the eastern part of Salt Lake Valley and Utah Valley and extending into the upper drainage area of the San Juan River in New Mexico.

Utah Indian Tribes

The following tribes at one time are recorded in history as having resided within the present state of Utah. If the tribe name is in bold, then Utah is the primary location known for this tribe, otherwise we provide the tribes specifics as it pertains to Utah and then provide a link to the main tribal page. Bannock Indians. This tribe and the Shoshoni roamed over the northern part of Utah as far as the Uintah Mountains, and beyond Great Salt Lake. Gosiute Indians. The Gosiute were a small body of Indians inhabiting the region about Great Salt Lake in … Read more

Twana Indians

Twana Indians were located on both sides of Hoods Canal. Later they were placed on Skokomish Reservation in Washington state.

Tutelo Indians

Tutelo Tribe: Significance unknown but used by the Iroquois, who seem to have taken it from some southern tongue. Also called: Kattera, another form of Tutelo. Shateras, a third form of the name. Tutelo Connections. The Tutelo belonged to the Siouan linguistic family, their nearest connections being the Saponi and probably the Monacan. Tutelo Location. The oldest known town site of the Tutelo was near Salem, Va., though the Big Sandy River at one time bore their name and may have been an earlier seat. (See also North Carolina, New York, and Pennsylvania.) Tutelo History. In 1671 Fallam and Batts … Read more

Tuskegee Indians

Tuskegee Tribe: Meaning unknown, but apparently containing the Alabama term taska, “warrior.” Tuskegee Connections. The original Tuskegee language is unknown but it was probably affiliated with the Alabama, and hence with the southern branch of Muskhogean. Tuskegee Location. The later and best known location of this tribe was on the point of land between Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers, but in 1685 part of them were on the Chattahoochee River near modern Columbus and the rest were on the upper Tennessee near Long Island. (See also Oklahoma and Tennessee) Tuskegee Villages. None are known under any except the tribal name of … Read more

Tuscarora Indians

Tuscarora Tribe, Tuscarora Confederacy: From their own name Skǎ-ru’-rěn, signifying according to Hewitt (in Hodge, 1910), “hemp gatherers,” and applied on account of the great use they made of Apocynum cannabinum. Also called: Ă-ko-t’ǎs’-kǎ-to’-rěn Mohawk name. Ani’-Skǎlǎ’lǐ, Cherokee name. Ă-t’ǎs-kǎ-lo’-lěn, Oneida name. Tewohomomy (or Keew-ahomomy), Saponi name. Tuscarora Connections. The Tuscarora belonged to the Iroquoian linguistic family. Tuscarora Location. On the Roanoke, Tar, Pamlico, and Neuse Rivers. (See also Pennsylvania and New York.) Tuscarora Subdivisions. The Tuscarora should be considered a confederacy with three tribes or a tribe with three subtribes as follows: Kǎ’tě’nu’ā’kā’, “People of the submerged pine tree”; … Read more

Tunica Indians

Tunica Tribe: Meaning “the people,” or “those who are the people.” Also called: Yoron, their own name. Tunica Connections. They were the leading tribe of the Tunica group of the Tunican stock, the latter including also the Chitimacha and Atakapa. Tunica Location. On the lower course of Yazoo River, on the south side about 4 French leagues from its mouth. (See also Arkansas.) Tunica 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 … Read more

Tohome Indians

Tohome Tribe: Said by Iberville to mean “little chief,” but this is evidently an error. Tohome Connections. They belonged to the southern branch of the Muskhogean linguistic group, their closest relatives being the Mobile. Tohome Location. About MacIntosh’s Bluff on the west bank of Tombigbee River, some miles above its junction with the Alabama. Tohome Subdivisions. Anciently there were two main branches of this tribe, sometimes called the Big Tohome and Little Tohome, but the Little Tohome are known more often as Naniaba, “people dwelling on a hill,” or “people of the Forks;” the latter would be because they were … Read more

Tocobaga Indians

Tocobaga Tribe. Meaning unknown, though toco means in Timucua “to come out,” “to proceed from.” Tocobaga Connections. (See Utina) Tocobaga Location. About Old Tampa Bay. Tocobaga Villages. The main town was at or near Safety Harbor at the head of Old Tampa Bay. Tocobaga History. Narvaez probably landed in the territory of this tribe in 1528, but his chroniclers speak of meeting very few Indians. Eleven years later De Soto’s expedition disembarked just south in Tampa Bay but came into little contact with this tribe. Two years after driving the French from St. Johns River in 1565, Menendez visited Tocobaga, … Read more

Tiou Indians

Tiou Tribe: Meaning unknown. The name has occasionally been misprinted “Sioux,” thus causing confusion with the famous Sioux or Dakota of Minnesota and the Dakotas. Tiou 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. Tiou 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. Tiou History. Shortly before 1697 the Tiou appear to have been in the locality first mentioned, and a map 1699 towns of that date seems to … Read more

The Indian Tribes of North America

Linguisitic Families of American Indians - Powell

Swanton’s The Indian Tribes of North America is a classic example of early 20th Century Native American ethnological research. Published in 1953 in Bulletin 145 of the Bureau of American Ethnology, this manuscript covers all known Indian tribes, at the time, broken down by location (state). AccessGenealogy’s online presentation provides state pages by which the user is then either provided a brief history of the tribe or is referred to a more in-depth ethnological representation of the tribe and its place in history. This ethnology usually contains the various names by which the tribe was known, general locations of the tribe, village names, brief history, population statistics for the tribe, and then connections in which the tribe is noted.

Texas Indian Tribes

The following tribes at one time are recorded in history as having resided within the present state of Texas. If the tribe name is in bold, then Texas is the primary location known for this tribe, otherwise we provide the tribes specifics as it pertains to Texas and then provide a link to the main tribal page. Akokisa Indians. The name Akokisa, spelled in various ways, was given by the Spaniards to those Atakapa living in southeastern Texas, between Trinity Bay and Trinity River and Sabine River. (See Atakapa Indians.) Alabama Indians. Alabama Indians came to Texas early in the … Read more

Tewa Pueblo Indians

Tewa Pueblo Indians. Along the valley of the Rio Grande in the northern part of New Mexico, except for one pueblo, Hano, in the Hopi country, Arizona. They constituted a major division of the Tanoan linguistic family, itself a part of the Kiowa-Tanoan stock.

Tequesta Indians

Tequesta Indians or Tekesta Indians – Meaning unknown. Tequesta Connections. The language of this tribe was probably connected with the languages of the other peoples of the southeast coast of Florida and with that of the Calusa, and may have been Muskhogean. Tequesta Location. In the neighborhood of Miami. Tequesta Villages. Besides Tekesta proper, the main town, four villages are mentioned between that and the next tribe to the north, the Jeaga, to whom some of the villages may have belonged. These were, in order from south to north: Tavuacio, Janar, Cabista, and Custegiyo. Tequesta History. The Tekesta do not … Read more

Tawehash Indians

Tawehash Indians. Meaning unknown. Lesser and Weltfish (1932) suggest that this group was identical with a Wichita band reported to them as Tiwa. They have been given some of the same synonyms as the Wichita. Tawehash Connections. The Tawehash belonged to the Caddoan linguistic stock and were related closely to the Wichita, Tawakoni, Waco, and Yscani. Tawehash Location. Their earliest known home was on Canadian River north of the headwaters of the Washita. Tawehash Villages. In 1778 Méziéres found two native villages to which he gave the names San Teodoro and San Bernardo. Tawehash History. The Tawehash were encountered in … Read more

Tawasa Indians

Tawasa Tribe. Meaning unknown. Tawasa Connections. They spoke a dialect belonging to the Timucuan division of the Muskhogean linguistic family, intermediate between Timucua proper and Choctaw, Hitchiti, Alabama, and Apalachee. Tawasa Location. In 1706-7 in west Florida about the latitude of the junction of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers; at an earlier time and again later they were on the Alabama near the present Montgomery. (See also Louisiana.) I have stated elsewhere (Swanton, 1946, p. 187) that the name of this mission was wanting in the list drawn up in 1656. I should have given the date as 1680. Tawasa … Read more

Tawakoni Indians

Tawakoni Indians. Said to refer to “a river bend among red hills,” or “neck of land in the water.” The synonyms should not be confounded with those of the Tonkawa. Also called: Three Canes, an English form resulting from a mistaken attempt to translate the French spelling of their name, Troiscannes. Tawakoni Connections. The Tawakoni belonged to the Caddoan linguistic stock and were most closely connected with the Wichita, the two languages differing but slightly. Tawakoni Location. They were on the Canadian River about north of the upper Washita. (See also Texas.) Tawakoni Villages Flechazos, on the west side of … Read more