Native American

The list of items below have been tagged as part of the Native American historical collection here at AccessGenealogy.

Paloos Tribe

Paloos (Pä-lus;) A Shahaptian tribe formerly occupying the valley of Palouse river in Washington and Idaho, and the north bank of Snake river as far as its junction with the Columbia.  They were found by Lewis and Clark in 1805 on the Clearwater in Idaho.  Their closest connection was with the kindred Nez Percé and they still hold close relations with that tribe.  They were included in the Yakima treaty of 1855, but have never recognized the treaty obligations an have declined to lead a reservation life.  They have 4 villages, all on Snake river, as follows: Almotu, Palus, Tasawiks, … Read more

Panamint Tribe

Panamint Indians. A Shoshonean division formerly occupying a considerable area in and around Panamint valley, south east California and extending south in scattered rancherias toward Mohave river.  Henshaw found a few individuals living at the mining town of Darwin (Panamint) in 1883, and learned that about 150 still survived, scattered here and there, in the desert country east of Panamint valley.  It is uncertain whether their affinities are with the Ute-Chemehuevi or Mono-Paviotso group of Shoshoneans, but are here placed tentatively with the former.  The Matarango are mentioned as a subdivision.

Okwanuchu Tribe

Okwanuchu Indians. A small Shasta tribe formerly occupying the upper part of McCloud river, California as far down as Salt Creek, the upper Sacramento as far down as Squaw Creek and the valley of the latter stream.  Their language is in part close to that of the Shasta proper, but it contains a number of totally distinct words, unlike any other surrounding language.

Ouachita Tribe

Ouachita Indians. A former tribe, apparently Caddoan, residing on Black or Ouachita river in north east Louisiana.  Bienville in 1700 encountered some of them carrying salt to the Taensa, with whom he says they were intending to live.  Later he reached the main Ouachita village, which he found to comprise about 5 houses and to contain about 70 men.  It would seem that the tribe subsequently retired before the Chickasaw and settled among the Natchitoch, their identity being soon after lost.  They are not to be confounded with the Wichita.

Yana Tribe

Yana Indians. A tribe, constituting a distinct linguistic family, formerly occupying the territory from Round mountains near Pit river, Shasta County, to Deer creek, Tehama County, California. The west boundary was about 10 miles east of Sacramento river, both banks of that stream being held by the Wintun, with whom the Yana were frequently at war. The east boundary extended along the spurs running out to the north and south from Lassen Butte. In August 1864 the neighboring miners organized a massacre of the whole tribe, then numbering about 3,000, of whom all but about 50 were slaughtered in the … Read more

Yamel Tribe

Yamel Indians. A Kalapooian tribe formerly living on Yamhill creek, a west tributary of the Willamette in Oregon. They are now under the Siletz school and numbered only 5 in 1910. The following were their bands as ascertained by Gatschet in 1877: Andshankualth, Andshimmampak, Chamifuamim, Chamiwi, Champikle, Chinchal.

Yazoo Tribe

Yazoo Indians (meaning unknown). An extinct tribe and village formerly on lower Yazoo river, Mississippi, Like all the other tribes on this stream, the Yazoo were small in number. The people were always closely associated with the Koroa, whom they resembled in employing an r in speaking, unlike most of the neighboring tribes. The French in 1718 erected a fort 4 leagues from the mouth of Yazoo river to guard that stream, which formed the waterway to the Chickasaw country, In 1729, in imitation of the Natchez, the Yazoo and Koroa rose against the French and destroyed the fort, but … Read more

Tangipahoa Tribe

Tangipahoa Indians (from tandshi,’maize’; apa, ‘stalk,’ ‘cob’; ava, ‘to gather’: ‘those who gather maize stalks or cobs.’ Wright. Pénicat explains the river name Tandgepao erroneously as ‘white wheat or corn’ ). An extinct tribe, supposed to be Muskhogean, formerly living on the lower Mississippi and on Tangipahoa river, which flows south into Lake Pontchartrain, south east Louisiana. Tonti mentions this people as residing, in 1682, on the Mississippi, 12 leagues from the. Quinipissa village; but, according to Iberville , the Bayogoula informed him that the Tangipahoa had never lived on the Mississippi; nevertheless both statements agree in making their town … Read more

Tawasa Tribe

Tawasa Indians (Alibamu: Tawáha). A Muskhogean tribe first referred to by the De Soto chroniclers in the middle of the 16th century as Toasi and located in the neighborhood of Tallapoosa river. Subsequently they moved south east and constituted one of the tribes to which the name “Apalachicola” was given by the Spaniards. About 1705 attacks by the Alibamu and Creeks compelled them to leave this region also and to seek protection near the French fort at Mobile. In 1707 the Pascagoula declared war against them, but peace was made through the intervention of Bienville. From this time the tribe … Read more

Incessant Warfare

What is seldom understood by the general public, and even some historians, is that the ethnic pattern of the Southeast changed starkly between 1700 and 1776. Even the names of rivers changed to reflect socioeconomic changes. The Tennessee River was originally known as the Calimaco River in the 1600s, which is Itza Maya for “Throne of the King.”  In the map above created in 1711 by Edward Crisp, it is labeled the Cusate or Hogeloge River.  “Cusate” means “Kusa People” in the Itsati-Creek language. Hogeloge was the name of a branch of the Yuchi’s living in eastern Tennessee.  The map … Read more

Fort Toulouse, the Chitimachas and the Natchez Wars

Another war between England and France began in 1718 – the War of the Quadruple Alliance. The French had succeeded in surrounding the British colonies in North America, except for the boundary with Florida.  France seemed poised to have most of the Southeastern Indians as allies.  These advanced Native American provinces represented the densest indigenous population north of Mexico.  However, the British Navy had destroyed French coastal forts and shipping almost at will.  France might control the coastline, but the British controlled the seas. Fort Toulouse – 1717 Anticipating more wars with Great Britain and desiring closer trade relations with … Read more

Choctaw Mixed Bloods and the Advent of Removal

P.P. Pitchlynn, Speaker of the National Council of the Choctaw Nation and Choctaw delegate to the government of the United States

Choctaw Mixed Blood and the Advent of Removal: This dissertation by Samuel James Wells lists the names and families of the known mixed bloods and examines their role in tribal history, especially regarding land treaties during the Jeffersonian years preceding Removal. This dissertation includes a database of over three thousand names of known and probable mixed bloods drawn from a wide range of sources and therefore has genealogical as well as historical value.

Native Uprisings Against the Carolinas (1711-17)

In 1957 University of Georgia archaeologists, under the leadership of Dr. Joseph Caldwell, were working on several archaeological sites on the tributaries of the Savannah River that were to be flooded by Lake Hartwell.  The best known of these town sites are Tugaloo and Chauga. Because they were last occupied by Lower Cherokees in the early 1700s, the archaeologists assumed that excavation of their mounds would prove that the Cherokees built all the mounds in the Southern Highlands. The archaeologists were shocked to find that the Cherokee occupation of both sites was very brief and much smaller than the ancestors … Read more

Ispipewhumaugh Tribe

Ispipewhumaugh Indians. One of the tribes included by the early fur traders under the term Nez Percé. They lived on Columbia River, above the mouth of Snake River, Washington. They were possibly of Shahaptian stock, but are not otherwise identifiable.

Inaspetsum Tribe

Inaspetsum Indians. One of the tribes included by the early fur traders under he term Nez Perce. They lived on Columbia River, above the mouth of the Snake, in Washington. Perhaps they were the Winatshipum or the Kalispel. (L. F.)

Humptulips Tribe

The Humptulip Tribe was based in the western part of Washington State, primarily along the Humptulips River, which flows through the dense, temperate rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula. This area is within Grays Harbor County, a region known for its lush landscapes, abundant wildlife, and proximity to the Pacific Ocean. The environment around the Humptulips River is rich in natural resources, providing a traditional homeland for the tribe. Hodge identified the name to mean “chilly region” without providing a source for that nomenclature. Modern interpretation state that it comes from the Quinault word Ho-to-la-bixh, meaning “hard to pole.” The Humptulips … Read more

Kwaiailk Tribe

Kwaiailk Indians. A body of Salish on the upper course of Chehalis river, above the Satsop and on the Cowlitz, Washington. In 1855, according to Gibbs, they numbered 216, but were becoming amalgamated with the Cowlitz.

Chelamela Tribe

Chelamela Indians. A small division of the Kalapooian family formerly living on Long Tom Creek, a western tributary of Willamette River, Oregon. They were included in the Dayton treaty of 1855. Nothing is known of their customs, and they are now extinct.

Calapooya Tribe

Calapooya Indians. The name, properly speaking, of a division of the Kalapooian family formerly occupying the watershed between Willamette and Umpqua Rivers, Oregon. The term as usually employed, however, includes all the bands speaking dialects of the Kalapooian language and is made synonymous with the family name. This double use of the term, coupled with the scanty information regarding the division, has wrought confusion in the classification of the bands which can not be rectified. The following were ascertained by Gatschet to have been bands of this division: Ampishtna, Tsanchifin, Tsanklightemifa, Tsankupi, and Tsawokot.

Atsina Tribe

Atsina Indians (Blackfoot: ăt-se´-na, said to mean ‘gut people.’). A detached branch of the Arapaho, at one time associated with the Blackfeet, but now with the Assiniboin under Ft Belknap agency, Montana