Abnaki or Abenaki (both: abnä'ke) [key], Native North Americans of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The name Abnaki was given to them by the French; properly it should be Wabanaki, a word that refers to morning and the east and may be interpreted as those “living at the sunrise.” The Abnaki lived mostly in what is now Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Abnaki legend has it that they came from the Southwest, but the exact time is unsure. The Abnaki resided in settled villages, often surrounded by palisades, and lived by growing corn, fishing, and hunting. They were early involved in the French fur trade. Their own name for their conical huts covered with bark or mats, wigwam, came to be generally used in English. After a series of bloody conflicts with British colonists in the late 17th and 18th cent. (see French and Indian Wars), the Abnaki and related tribes (the Malecite, the Micmac, the Passamaquoddy, the Pennacook, the Penobscot, and others) withdrew into Canada, where they received protection from the French. In 1990 there were some 1,500 Abnaki in the United States, mostly in N Vermont. About 1,000 live in Quebec and another group lives in Maine. There are also around 2,500 Passamaquoddy, mostly in Maine (see separate entries for other related tribes).

Pima (pe'mu) [key], Native North American tribe of S Arizona. They speak the Pima language of the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic family (see Native American languages). There are two divisions, the Lower Pima and the Upper Pima.

Before the mission period, the Pima and the Tohono O'Odham, who spoke variations of the same language, called themselves the People—River People (Akimel O'Odham, the Pima) and Desert People (Tohono O'Odham). Archaeological evidence shows their probable ancestors to have been the Hohokam, who built a network of irrigation canals for farming. Many of the ruined pueblos in the Pima territory have been attributed to an ancient Pueblo tribe. Tradition further states that increased population caused the Pima to spread over a larger territory, but invading hostile tribes (probably Apache) forced them to consolidate. Thus in 1697, when visited by Father Eusebio Kino, the Pima were living on the Gila River in S central Arizona.

Although the Pima were warlike toward the Apache, they were friendly to the Spanish and later to the pioneers from the E United States; the Pima villages were a stopping place for pioneers who took the southern route to California. The Pima were sedentary farmers of the Southwest area; they farmed corn, squash, beans, cotton, and wheat (introduced by the Spanish). They lived in dome-shaped huts built of poles and covered with mud and brush. Women performed much of the labor, including basket making; their baskets are noted for their beauty. The Pima were expert with the bow and arrow and had war clubs and rawhide shields. The Pima numbered some 2,500 in 1775, but their population was increased when the Maricopa joined them in the early 19th cent. The Pima now live, together with the Maricopa, on the Gila River and Salt River reservations and, with the Tohono O'Odham, on the Ak-Chin reservation, all in Arizona. They earn their income from agriculture, crafts, and leasing land for mineral development. In 1990 there were over 15,000 Pima in the United States.

Alabama (alubam'u) [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Muskogean branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They lived in S Alabama in the early 18th cent. and were members of the Creek confederacy. During the 19th cent. they moved to W Louisiana and E Texas. The state of Alabama takes its name from them. In Texas the Alabama share a reservation with the Coushatta, who also speak a Muskogean language. In 1990, there were over 1,000 Alabama and Coushatta in the United States.

Aleut (ulOOt', al'eOOt") [key], native inhabitant of the Aleutian Islands and W Alaska. Like the Eskimo, the Aleuts are racially similar to Siberian peoples. Their language is a member of the Eskimo-Aleut family. When they were first noted by Vitus Jonassen Bering in 1741, their estimated population was between 20,000 and 25,000. Because of their skill in hunting sea mammals, the Aleuts were exploited by Russian fur traders throughout the coastal waters of the Gulf of Alaska, sometimes as far south as California. The ruthless policies of the traders and conflict with the fierce mainland natives reduced their population by the end of the 18th cent. to one tenth its former size. However, by 1990 their numbers had increased to almost 24,000 in the United States. They continue to live in relative isolation; most are members of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Apache (upach'e) [key], Native North Americans of the Southwest composed of six culturally related groups. They speak a language that has various dialects and belongs to the Athabascan branch of the Nadene linguistic stock (see Native American languages), and their ancestors entered the area about 1100. The Navajo, who also speak an Athabascan language, were once part of the Western Apache; other groups E of the Rio Grande along the mountains were the Jicarilla, the Lipan, and the Mescalero groups. In W New Mexico and Arizona were the Western Apache, including the Chiricahua, the Coyotero, and the White Mountain Apache. The Kiowa Apache in the early southward migration attached themselves to the Kiowa, whose history they have since shared. Subsistence in historic times consisted of wild game, cactus fruits, seeds of wild shrubs and grass, livestock, grains plundered from settlements, and a small amount of horticulture. The social organization involved matrilocal residence, a rigorous mother-in-law avoidance pattern, and the husband's working for the wife's relatives.

Historically the Apache are known principally for their fierce fighting qualities. They successfully resisted the advance of Spanish colonization, but the acquisition of horses and new weapons, taken from the Spanish, led to increased intertribal warfare. The Eastern Apache were driven from their traditional plains area when (after 1720) they suffered defeat at the hands of the advancing Comanche. Relations between the Apache and the white settlers gradually worsened with the passing of Spanish rule in Mexico. By the mid-19th cent., when the United States acquired the region from Mexico, Apache lands were in the path of the American westward movement. The futile but strong resistance that lasted until the beginning of the 20th cent. brought national fame to several of the Apache leaders—Cochise, Geronimo, Mangas Coloradas, and Victorio.

Today the Apache, numbering some 50,000 in 1990, live mainly on reservations totaling over 3 million acres in Arizona and New Mexico and retain many tribal customs. Cattle, timber, tourism, and the development of mineral resources provide income. In 1982 the Apaches won a major Supreme Court test of their right to tax resources extracted from their lands. In 1995, after much debate, the Mescalero Apache agreed to build a nuclear-waste storage site on their New Mexico reservation. The project is expected to produce about $250 million in income over the 40-year life of the site.

Apalachee (ap"ulach'e) [key], tribe of Native North Americans once centered about Apalachee Bay, NW Florida, belonging to the Muskogean branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Prosperous agriculturalists, they fought off the raids of the Creek until early in the 18th cent. Combined Native American and British forces then conquered them, wiping out their villages along with Spanish missions and garrisons. More than 1,000 Apalachee were sold into slavery. Some relocated to W central Louisiana, along the banks of the Red River, where the French granted them land. Descendants of the tribe, which was deprived its land in 1826 and lost government recognition under President Andrew Jackson, still live in Louisiana.

Arapaho (urap'uho) [key], Native North Americans of the Plains whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Their own name was Inuna-ina (our people), but they were referred to as “dog eaters” (for the obvious reason) by other Native Americans. Tradition places their early home in N Minnesota in the Red River valley, but nothing is known of the date or circumstances of their separation from other Algonquian peoples. They are thought to be most closely related to the Cheyenne and to the Blackfoot. However, it is known that the Arapaho divided into two groups after they migrated to the plains. One group, the Northern Arapaho, continued to live on the North Platte River in Wyoming, while the Southern Arapaho moved south to the Arkansas River in Colorado. Traditionally the Southern Arapaho were allied with the Cheyenne against the Pawnee.

The Arapaho placed some emphasis on age grades, mainly for ceremonial purposes. Their annual sun dance was a major tribal event, and later the Arapaho adopted the Ghost Dance religion. There are three major divisions—the Atsina or Gros Ventre, who were allied with the Blackfoot and now live with the Assiniboin on the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana; the Southern Arapaho, now living with the Cheyenne in Oklahoma; and the Northern Arapaho, who retain all of the sacred tribal stone articles and are considered by tribal members to represent the parent group. Since 1876 they have lived with their former enemies, the Shoshone, on the Wind River Reservation, occupying some 2 million acres in Wyoming, near Yellowstone National Park. The Arapaho depend on tourism for much of their income. There were close to 7,000 Arapaho in the United States in 1990.

Arikara (urik'uru) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Caddoan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Archaeological evidence shows that they occupied the banks of the upper Missouri River since at least the 14th cent. A semisedentary group, they lived in earth-covered lodges. In winter they hunted buffalo, returning to their villages for spring planting; the Arikara were influential in bringing agricultural knowledge from the Southwest to the prehistoric peoples of the upper Missouri River. They traded corn with hunting tribes in return for buffalo hides and meat, and they were active in bartering with early white traders, who frequently called them the Rees. They were closely associated with the Mandan and the Hidatsa; these three tribes now share the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. There were some 1,600 Arikara in the United States in 1990.

Quapaw (kwô'pô) [key], Native North Americans, also called the Arkansas, whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Quapaw were essentially of the Plains culture, but they had other distinctive traits; they built temple and burial mounds and lived in longhouses. They once lived with the Omaha, the Kansa, the Ponca, and the Osage in the Ohio Valley, but when the groups separated the Quapaw migrated down the Mississippi River. Jacques Marquette, who arrived at their village in 1673, was the first of many French explorers to visit the Quapaw. They made a large land cession to the United States in 1818, and later moved to Oklahoma, where they lived on a reservation. In 1990 there were some 1,400 Quapaw in the United States.

Assiniboin (usin'uboin") [key], Native North Americans whose culture is that of the N Great Plains; their language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). At the time of the first contact with European settlers they had no permanent village sites; they moved about as their search for food required. They were a branch of the Yanktonai Dakota, who moved north and westward prior to the 17th cent. to the region of Lake Winnipeg; later they went to the upper Saskatchewan and the upper Missouri rivers. After the acquisition of horses and firearms in the 18th cent. they became a typical Plains tribe. They were allied with the Cree against the Blackfoot. A large tribe at the time of contact, they were decimated by smallpox in the early 19th cent. There were 5,500 Assiniboin in the United States in 1990, most living on the Fort Belknap and Fort Peck reservations in Montana. Around 1,500 Assiniboin live on reserves in Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada.

Bannock (ban'uk) [key], Native North Americans who formerly ranged over wide territory of the N Great Plains and into the foothills of the Rocky Mts. They were concentrated in S Idaho. Their language belonged to the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Their culture was typical of the Plains tribes (see under Natives, North American). In 1869, Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho was established for them and for the Northern Shoshone, with whom the Bannock were closely associated. Loss of hunting lands, disappearance of the buffalo, and lack of assistance from the U.S. government led to a Bannock uprising in 1878, which was suppressed. Most Bannock and the Northern Shoshone live at the Fort Hall Reservation. In 1990 there were about 3,500 Shoshone-Bannock in the United States.

Blackfoot, Native North Americans of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They occupied in the early 19th cent. a large range of territory around the Upper Missouri (above the Yellowstone) and North Saskatchewan rivers W to the Rockies. Their name derives from the fact that they dyed their moccasins black. There were three main tribes—the Siksika, or Blackfoot proper; the Piegan; and the Kainah, or Blood. Although they did not form a unified political entity, they were united in defending their lands and in warfare. The Atsina (related to the Arapaho) and the Athapascan-speaking Sarsi were allied with the Blackfoot group. The Blackfoot were unremittingly hostile toward neighboring tribes and usually toward white men; intrusions upon Blackfoot lands were efficiently repelled. Prior to the mid-18th cent. they had moved into the N Great Plains area, acquired horses from southern tribes, and developed a nomadic Plains culture, largely dependent on the buffalo. Their only cultivated crop was tobacco, grown for ceremonial purposes. With the early coming of the white man, the Blackfoot gained wealth from the sale of beaver pelts, but the killing off of the buffalo and the near exhaustion of fur stocks brought them to near starvation. Presently the Blackfoot are mainly ranchers and farmers living on reservations in Montana and Alberta. They continue to a small degree the rich ceremonialism that earlier marked their religion; important rituals include the sun dance and the vision quest. In 1990 there were 38,000 Blackfoot in the United States and over 11,000 in Canada.

Caddo (kad'o) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Caddoan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). These people gave their name not only to the linguistic branch but also to the Caddo confederacy, a loose federation of tribes that in prehistoric times occupied lands from the Red River valley in Louisiana to the Brazos River valley in Texas and N into Arkansas and Kansas. Members, besides the Caddo, included the Arikara, the Pawnee, the Wichita, and others. The culture of these loosely knit peoples was similar. Generally they were sedentary, living in villages of conical huts, although they did raise horses. The culture of the Caddo proper was marked by a clearly defined system of social stratification and by a religion that closely regulated daily life. Some now reside on tribal land in Oklahoma. In 1990 there were 3,000 Caddo in the United States.

Canarsee (kunär'se) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They occupied the western part of Long Island, N.Y., and sold the site of Brooklyn to the Dutch. They paid tribute to the Mohawk, and when they stopped paying and defied the Mohawk, they were almost destroyed. Eventually, the Canarsee ceased to exist as a distinct group.

Catawba (kutô'bu) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They have for centuries occupied a region in South Carolina around the Catawba River; they are noted for their ancient traditional pottery, which they still produce. Once a large and powerful group, they waged incessant but unsuccessful war against the Cherokee and tribes of the Ohio River valley. Fighting and European-introduced smallpox reduced them to a small group in the 18th cent. In 1962 the Catawbas' relationship with the federal government was terminated; in 1993, however, tribal status was restored and their reservation enlarged. Tribal headquarters are at Rock Hill, S.C. In 1990 there were close to 1,000 Catawba in the United States. The last speaker of Catawba died in 1996.

Iroquois Confederacy or Iroquois League (ir'ukwoi", –kwä") [key], North American confederation of indigenous peoples, initially comprising the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. They gave their name to the Iroquoian branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages), which included numerous other Native American groups of the E United States and E Canada. In the early 17th cent. this confederacy of Five Nations (later to become six when the Tuscarora joined) inhabited New York state from the Hudson River N to the St. Lawrence River and W to the Genesee River.

Cayuse (kiyOOs') [key], Native North Americans who formerly occupied parts of NE Oregon and SE Washington. They were closely associated with the Nez Percé and spoke a language belonging to the Sahaptin-Chinook branch of the Penutian linguistic stock (see Native American Languages). A mission was established (1836) among them by Marcus Whitman at Waiilatpu. In 1847 the Cayuse, blaming the missionaries for an outbreak of smallpox, attacked the mission and killed the Whitmans and their helpers. The settlers then declared war and defeated the Cayuse. In 1855 they were placed on the Umatilla Reservation in Oregon, which they continue to share with the Wallawalla and Umatilla peoples; by 1990 they were among the smallest groups of Native Americans, numbering 126. A small horse bred by them gave the name cayuse to all Native American horses (see mustang).

Cherokee (cher'uke) [key], largest Native American group in the United States. Formerly the largest and most important tribe in the Southeast, they occupied mountain areas of North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. The Cherokee language belongs to the Iroquoian branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages).

By the 16th cent., the Cherokee had a settled, advanced culture based on agriculture. Hernando De Soto visited them in 1540. They were frequently at war with the Iroquois tribes of New York but proved generally valuable allies for the British against the French. Soon after 1750, smallpox destroyed almost half the tribe. Formerly friendly with Carolina settlers, they were provoked into war with the colonists in 1760, and two years followed before the Cherokee sued for peace.

In 1820 they adopted a republican form of government, and in 1827 they established themselves as the Cherokee Nation, with their capital at New Echota, in N Georgia, under a constitution providing for an elective principal chief, a senate, and a house of representatives. Literacy was aided by the invention of a Cherokee syllabic alphabet by Sequoyah. Its 85 characters, representing the syllables of the Cherokee language, permitted the keeping of tribal records and, later, the publication of newspapers.

The 1830s discovery of gold in Cherokee territory resulted in pressure by whites to obtain their lands. A treaty was extracted from a small part of the tribe, binding the whole people to move beyond the Mississippi River within three years. Although the Cherokee overwhelmingly repudiated this document and the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the nation's autonomy, the state of Georgia secured an order for their removal, which was accomplished by military force. President Andrew Jackson refused to intervene, and in 1838 the tribe was deported to the Indian Territory (now in Oklahoma). Thousands died on the march, known as the “Trail of Tears,” or from subsequent hardships. Their leader at this time and until 1866 was Chief John Ross.

The Cherokee made their new capital at Tahlequah (Okla.), instituted a public school system, published newspapers, and were the most important of the Five Civilized Tribes. In the U.S. Civil War their allegiance was divided between North and South, with large contingents serving on each side. By a new treaty at the close of the war they freed their black slaves and admitted them to tribal citizenship. In 1891 they sold their western territorial extension, known as the Cherokee Strip; in 1902 they approved the division of the reservation into allotments; and in 1906 tribal sovereignty was abolished. Tribal entities still exist, however, and many Oklahoma Cherokee live on tribal landholdings. With a 1990 population of about 370,000, the Cherokee, while scattered, are by far the largest Native American group in the United States. Close to 6,000, descendants of the few who successfully resisted removal or returned after the removal, live on the Eastern Cherokee (Qualla) reservation in W North Carolina.

Cheyenne (shian', –en') [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Cheyenne abandoned their settlements in Minnesota in the 17th cent., leaving the region to the hostile Sioux and Ojibwa. Gradually migrating W along the Cheyenne River and then south, they established earth-lodge villages and raised crops. After the introduction of the horse (c.1760) they eventually became nomadic buffalo hunters. The tribe split (c.1830) when a large group decided to settle on the upper Arkansas River and take advantage of the trade facilities offered by Bent's Fort. This group became known as the Southern Cheyenne. The Northern Cheyenne continued to live about the headwaters of the Platte River. For the next few years the Southern Cheyenne, allied with the Arapaho, were engaged in constant warfare against the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache. Peace was made c.1840, and the five tribes became allies.

The Cheyenne were generally friendly toward white settlers until the discovery of gold in Colorado (1858) brought a swarm of gold seekers into their lands. By a treaty signed in 1861 the Cheyenne agreed to live on a reservation in SE Colorado, but the U.S. government did not fulfill its obligations, and they were reduced to near starvation. Cheyenne raids resulted in punitive expeditions by the U.S. army. The indiscriminate massacre (1864) of warriors, women, and children at Sand Creek, Colo., was an unprovoked assault on a friendly group. The incident aroused the Cheyenne to fury, and a bitter war followed. Gen. George Custer destroyed (1868) Black Kettle's camp on the Washita River, and fighting between the whites and the Southern Cheyenne ended, except for an outbreak in 1874–75. The Northern Cheyenne joined with the Sioux and overwhelmed Custer and his 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. They finally surrendered in 1877 and were moved south and confined with the Southern Cheyenne in what is now Oklahoma. Plagued by disease and malnutrition, they made two desperate attempts to escape and return to the north. A separate reservation was eventually established for them in Montana. There were almost 12,000 Cheyenne in the United States in 1990.

Chickasaw (chik'usô) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Muskogean branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They occupied N Mississippi and were closely related in language and culture to the Choctaw. The Chickasaw warred constantly with the Choctaw, the Creek, the Cherokee, and the Shawnee. The decline of the Chickasaw can be traced to the conflict for control of interior North America between France and Great Britain. Probably because British traders were established in their country before the settlement of Louisiana, the Chickasaw fought on the side of Great Britain, and French attempts to make peace with them were unsuccessful. After 1834 they moved, according to treaty arrangements, to Oklahoma, where they constituted one of the Five Civilized Tribes. In 1990 there were 21,500 Chickasaw in the United States.

Chinook (shinook', chi–) [key], Native American tribe of the Penutian linguistic stock. Altogether twelve main tribes spoke Chinook languages; all were in the Columbia River valley. The Chinook themselves were on the lower extremity of the river and, with the Clatsop, constituted the now extinct Lower Chinook branch of the linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The village was their main social unit, and a wealthy chief might control several villages. Slavery was common among the Chinook. Their food consisted mostly of fish, roots, and berries. They were skilled with canoes, were noted traders, and practiced the custom of potlatch. They lacked the totemic art and the secret societies of their neighbors. They were well known to the traders on the Pacific coast in the late 18th cent., and a corrupted form of their language known as Chinook jargon served as a trade language from the Columbia River to Alaska. There were some 800 Chinook in the United States in 1990, working primarily in fishing, logging, and lumbering.

Ojibwa (ojib'wa", –wu) [key]or Chippewa (chip'uwä", –wu) [key], group of Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Their name also occurs as Ojibway and Chippeway, but they are not to be confused with the Chipewyan. In the mid-17th cent., when visited by Father Claude Jean Allouez, they occupied the shores of Lake Superior. They were constantly at war with the Sioux and the Fox over possession of the rich fields of wild rice in this region. When the Ojibwa received (c.1690) firearms from the French, they drove the Fox from N Wisconsin. They then turned against the Sioux, compelling them to cross the Mississippi River. The Ojibwa continued their expansion W across Minnesota and North Dakota until they reached the Turtle Mts. in N central North Dakota. This group became the Plains Ojibwa.

In 1736 the Ojibwa obtained their first foothold E of Lake Superior, and after a series of engagements with the Iroquois, they obtained the peninsula between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Thus by the mid-18th cent. they controlled a large area from the eastern shore of Lake Huron in the east to the Turtle Mts. in the west. The Ojibwa, one of the largest tribes N of Mexico, then numbered some 25,000. They were allied with the French in the French and Indian Wars and with the British in the War of 1812. After the War of 1812 they made a treaty with the United States, and since that time they have lived on reservations in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana.

Traditionally the Ojibwa, except for the Plains Ojibwa, were a fairly sedentary people who depended for food on fishing, hunting (deer), farming (corn and squash), and the gathering of wild rice. They obtained and used maple sugar and smoked kinnikinnick, a tobacco made from dried leaves and bark. The characteristic dwelling was the wigwam. The Ojibwa had a unique form of picture writing that was intimately connected with the religious and magico-medical rites of the Midewiwin society.

Today the Ojibwa, or Chippewa, constitute the third largest Native American group in the United States, numbering over 100,000 in 1990. Their numerous bands include the Turtle Mountain, Sault Ste. Marie, Red Lake, Minnesota, Lac Courte Oreilles, White Earth, Leech Lake, Bad River, and others. More than 76,000 live in Canada, in 125 bands. While some Ojibwa are engaged in the traditional occupations of hunting, fishing, and harvesting wild rice, others run manufacturing and casino businesses. Some bands are still seeking redress for the loss of hunting and fishing rights stemming back to treaties made in the 1850s.

Choctaw (chok'tô) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Muskogean branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They formerly occupied central and S Mississippi with some outlying groups in Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana. Choctaw culture was similar to that of the Creek and Chickasaw, who were their enemies in repeated wars. The Choctaw economy was based on agriculture, and the Choctaw were perhaps the most competent farmers in the Southeast. Friendly toward the French colonists, the Choctaw were their allies in wars against other tribes. After being forced to cede their lands in Alabama and Mississippi, they moved (1832) to the Indian Territory in Oklahoma, where they became one of the Five Civilized Tribes. In 1990 there were over 85,000 Choctaw in the United States, with more than half living in Oklahoma.

Coeur d'Alene (kûrdulan') [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Salishan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They occupied N Idaho and E Washington and were also called the Skitswish. Long known as a peaceful group, the Coeur d'Alene were placed on reservations after an encounter with U.S. forces, sometimes called the Coeur d'Alene War, in 1858. Many are now on the Coeur d'Alene reservation in Idaho, and some live on the Colvile reservation in Washington. In 1990 there were 1,048 Coeur d'Alene in the United States.

Colville (kol'vil) [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Salishan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Once one of the largest Salish tribes, they were reduced to a few hundred by 1872. They were placed on a reservation in NE Washington and since that time have markedly increased, so that by 1990 there were 7,140 Colville in the United States. Many still live on the Colville reservation.

Comanche (kuman'che) [key], Native North Americans belonging to the Shoshonean group of the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They originated from a Basin-type culture and eventually adopted a Plains culture. They separated from the Shoshone and migrated southward in the late 1600s, appearing in New Mexico around 1705. In the late 18th cent. and early 19th cent. their range included SE Colorado, SW Kansas, W Oklahoma, and N Texas. The Comanche were excellent horsemen and inveterate raiders, often pushing far S into Mexico. They were extremely warlike and effectively prevented white settlers from passing safely through their territory for more than a century. They are said to have killed more whites in proportion to their own numbers than any other Native American group. They were associated with the Kiowa, the Cheyenne, and the Arapaho in a loose confederacy. The Comanche, however, considered themselves superior to their associates, and their language served as the trade language for the area. The sun dance, a common feature in the Plains culture area, was not an important part of Comanche culture; they probably introduced the peyote ritual to the Plains tribes. Never a large group despite their wide range, their numbers were greatly reduced by warfare and disease. In 1990 there were about 11,500 Comanche in the United States.

Cree, Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They formerly inhabited the area S of Hudson Bay and James Bay in what is now Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba S of the Churchill River. Members of one branch of the Cree, allying themselves with the Siouan Assiniboin, moved southwestward into buffalo territory and became the Plains Cree. It is probable that they introduced the method of hunting buffalo by driving them into enclosures, since the Woodland Cree used this method in hunting deer. The traditional culture and language of the Woodland Cree greatly resembles that of the Ojibwa.

A warlike tribe, the Cree were nevertheless friendly toward French and English fur traders, and their history is closely connected with the activities of the Hudson's Bay and the North West companies. They were powerful in the late 18th cent. until smallpox drastically reduced their population. In 1884 they were involved in the second Riel Rebellion (see Riel, Louis), in Saskatchewan.

About 200,000 Cree live in 135 bands in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. They have the largest population and are spread over the largest geographic area of any aboriginal group in Canada. In the 1990s, Cree living in N Quebec waged strong opposition to the province's planned massive James Bay hydroelectric project, but in 2002 they negotiated an agreement with Quebec that permitted partial hydroelectric development, mining, and logging in exchange for jobs and $3.5 billion in financing (over 50 years). The agreement also recognized the autonomy of the Cree as a native nation. In 1990 there were over 8,000 Cree in the United States, some of them sharing a reservation in Montana with the Ojibwa.

Creek, Native North American confederacy. The peoples forming it were mostly of the Muskogean branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Creek received their name from early white traders because so many of their villages were located at rivers and creeks. They lived primarily in Alabama and Georgia and were settled, agricultural people. There were more than 50 towns, generally called tribes, in the confederacy, which was formed chiefly for protection against the tribes to the north. Certain villages were set aside for war ceremonies, others for peace celebrations. Each had its annual green corn dance. This festival was a time for renewing social ties and was a period of amnesty for criminals, except murderers. The Creek Confederacy was not ruled by a permanent central government. The structure was a combination of democratic and communal principles. Decisions by the national council were not binding on towns or individuals who wished to dissent. Nevertheless, civil strife was almost unknown among them. Private ownership of land was unknown, but crops were privately owned to a degree. Each owner was required to contribute a certain portion for public use.

The Creek impressed the first European explorers (Hernando De Soto saw them in 1540) by their height, their proud bearing, and their love of ornament. They were hostile to the Spanish and therefore friendly to the British in colonial days, but, frightened by white encroachment and fired by the teachings of the Shawnee chief Tecumseh, they rebelled in the Creek War of 1813–14. They massacred a large number of American settlers at Fort Mims, and Andrew Jackson won part of his reputation by defeating them at the battle of Horseshoe Bend. By a treaty signed in 1814 the Creek ceded approximately two thirds of their land to the United States, and subsequent cessions further reduced their holdings. Eventually they were moved to the Indian Territory, where they became one of the Five Civilized Tribes. A treaty signed by the confederacy in 1889 permitted white settlement of their lands, and there was great bitterness among the Creek. In 1990 there were over 45,000 Creek, most of them living in Oklahoma.

Crow, indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages) and who call themselves the Absaroka, or bird people. They ranged chiefly in the area of the Yellowstone River and its tributaries and were a hunting tribe typical of the Plains cultural area. Their only crop was tobacco, which they used for pleasure and religious purposes. Until the 18th cent. the Crow lived with the Hidatsa on the upper Missouri River; after a dispute they migrated westward until they reached the Rocky Mts. The Crow developed a highly complex social system. They were enemies of the Sioux and helped the whites in the Sioux wars. Today most Crow live in Montana, near the Little Bighorn, where tourism, ranching, and mineral leases provide tribal income. In 1990 there were over 9,000 Crow in the United States.

Sioux or Dakota,confederation of Native North American tribes, the dominant group of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock, which is divided into several separate branches (see Native American languages). The Sioux, or Dakota, consisted of seven tribes in three major divisions: Wahpekute, Mdewakantonwan, Wahpetonwan, Sisitonwan (who together formed the Santee or Eastern division, sometimes referred to as the Dakota), the Ihanktonwan, or Yankton, and the Ihanktonwana, or Yanktonai (who form the Middle division, sometimes referred to as the Nakota), and the Titonwan, or Teton (who form the Western division, sometimes referred to as the Lakota). The Tetons, originally a single band, divided into seven sub-bands after the move to the plains, these seven including the Hunkpapa, Sihasapa (or Blackfoot), and Oglala.

Delaware (del'uwâr, –wur) [key], English name given several closely related Native American groups of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the 17th cent., they lived in what is now New Jersey, Delaware, E Pennsylvania, and SE New York. They called themselves the Lenni-Lenape or the Lenape and were given the name Delaware by the settlers because they lived in the vicinity of the Delaware River. The Delaware evolved into a loose confederacy of three major divisions: the Munsee (wolf), the Unalachtigo (turkey), and the Unami (turtle). They occupied the territory from which most of the Algonquian tribes had originated and were accorded the respectful title of grandfather by these tribes. They traded with the Dutch early in the 17th cent., sold much of their land, and began moving inland to the Susquehanna valley. In 1682 they made a treaty of friendship with William Penn, which he did his best to honor. In 1720 the Delaware fell victim to Iroquois attack and were forced to move into what is now Ohio.

The western Delaware sided with the French in the last of the French and Indian Wars, took part in Pontiac's Rebellion, and sided with the British in the American Revolution. Some of the Delaware in Pennsylvania had been converted to Christianity by the Moravians. In 1782 a peaceful settlement of Christian Delaware at Gnadenhutten was massacred by a force of white men. Anthony Wayne defeated and subdued the Delaware in 1794, and by the Treaty of Greenville (1795) they and their allies ceded their lands in Pennsylvania and Ohio. They crossed the Mississippi River and migrated to Kansas and then to Texas. They were later moved to the Indian Territory and settled with the Cherokee. A remarkable history of the Delaware, in the form of pictographs, was located by the French scholar Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1836. Known as the Walum Olum, it depicted Delaware migrations and changes; its claim to antiquity, however, is somewhat doubtful. In 1990 there close to 10,000 Delaware in the United States, most of them in Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Around 600 Delaware live in Ontario, Canada.

Navajo or Navaho (both: nä'vuho) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Athabascan branch of the Nadene linguistic stock (see Native American languages). A migration from the North to the Southwest area is thought to have occurred in the past because of an affiliation with N Athabascan speakers; the Navajo settled among the Pueblo and also assimilated with the Shoshone and the Yuma both physically and culturally while remaining a distinct social group.

Erie (ir'e) [key], indigenous people of North America of the Iroquoian branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the Iroquoian language the word erie means “long tail” (i.e., cat), and, therefore, the Erie were referred to as the Cat Nation. In the 17th cent. they inhabited the region E and SE of Lake Erie in the present states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. They then numbered some 14,000. Although they were sedentary farmers of the Eastern Woodlands area, they exhibited some Southeastern cultural traits, such as the use of poisoned arrows and the building of palisaded villages. They were traditional enemies of the Iroquois Confederacy, and in 1656, after one of the most relentless and destructive Indian wars, the Erie were almost exterminated by the Iroquois. The surviving captives were either adopted or enslaved by the confederacy.

Eskimo (es'kumo) [key], a general term used to refer to a number of groups inhabiting the coastline from the Bering Sea to Greenland and the Chukchi Peninsula in NE Siberia. A number of distinct groups, based on differences in patterns of resource exploitation, are commonly identified, including Siberian, St. Lawrence Island, Nunivak, Chugach, Nunamiut, North Alaskan, Mackenzie, Copper, Caribou, Netsilik, Iglulik, Baffinland, Labrador, Coastal Labrador, Polar, and East and West Greenland. Since the 1970s Eskimo groups in Canada and Greenland have adopted the name Inuit, although the term has not taken hold in Alaska or Siberia. In spite of regional differences, Eskimo groups are surprisingly uniform in language, physical type, and culture, and, as a group, are distinct in these traits from all neighbors. They speak dialects of the same language, Eskimo, which is a major branch of the Eskimo-Aleut family of languages. Their antiquity is unknown, but it is generally agreed that they were relatively recent migrants to the Americas from NE Asia, spreading from west to east over the course of the past 5,000 years.

Salish, indigenous people of North America, also known as the Flathead, who in the early 19th cent. inhabited the Bitterroot River valley of W Montana. Their language belongs to the Salishan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). These people never practiced head flattening, but the Columbia River tribes who shaped the front of the head to create a pointed appearance spoke of their neighbors, the Salish, as “flatheads” in contrast. After the introduction of the horse the Salish adopted a Plains culture, including the hunting of buffalo and the use of the tepee. They fought a series of wars with the Blackfoot over hunting land. The Jesuit missionary Pierre Jean De Smet, who in 1841 founded the mission of St. Mary in the Bitterroot valley among the Salish, persuaded the Blackfoot to make peace. By the Garfield Treaty (1872) the Salish agreed to move north to the valley of the Flathead lake and river. Many now live on the Flathead Reservation in Montana, which they share with a small group of Kootenai. In 1990 there were close to 5,000 Salish and over 2,000 people of mixed Salish and Kootenai descent in the United States.

There are several Coast Salish. groups centered around Puget Sound. They numbered some 10,000 in 1990, including the Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Nisqually, Puyallup, Suquamish, Tulalip, and other groups. The city of Seattle is named after one of their great chiefs. The Native Americans of the Puget Sound area were traditionally part of the Northwest Coast cultural area (see under Natives, North American), speaking Salishan languages, living in large wooden houses, and practicing wood carving. Their diet was based on an abundant supply of salmon, shellfish, berries, and game until they were moved onto reservations by the treaties of Medicine Creek, Point Elliott, and others in the 1850s. Since then they have waged a continual battle in federal courts over fishing and shellfish rights in the area, one of the most productive in the country.

Sac and Fox, closely related Native Americans of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Sac and Fox culture was of the Eastern Woodlands area with some Plains-area traits (see under Natives, North American). For a long period they dwelt around Saginaw Bay in E Michigan, but in the early 17th cent. they were driven from this area by the allied Ottawa and Neutral groups. The Sac (also commonly written Sauk) and the Fox fled N across the Strait of Mackinac, then S into present Wisconsin. Thus in 1667, when visited by Father Claude Jean Allouez, they were settled around Green Bay in NE Wisconsin. They then numbered some 6,500.

The Sac were enterprising farmers but spent much time hunting and raiding, although they never developed a soldier society to the degree that the Fox did. The Fox were fierce warriors and constantly waged war with the Ojibwa. Together, the Sac and Fox fought wars against the Sioux and the Illinois, as well as the French. The French, harassed by the Fox, waged a war of extermination; by 1730 they had reduced the Fox to a mere handful. The remnants of the tribe incorporated with their long-standing allies, the Sac, and from that time the two tribes have been known collectively as the Sac and Fox.

After a war with the Illinois (c.1765), the Sac and Fox moved into Illinois territory. In 1804 a fraudulent treaty was extracted from them, and they were told to move west of the Mississippi. Most of them refused to go, but by 1831 they were induced to cross the river into Iowa. By 1832, however, they were back east of the river, attacking frontier settlements. This started the Black Hawk War. After that war they moved west, eventually settling on reservations in Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma. In 1990 there were about 4,775 Sac and Fox in the United States.

Gros Ventre (gro vaN'tru) [key][Fr.,=big belly], name used by the French for two quite distinct Native North American groups. One was the Atsina, a detached band of the Arapaho, whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages); the other was the Hidatsa, whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock. The Native American sign language designated the two groups by somewhat similar gestures on the torso, one referring to the Hidatsa chest tattoos and the other, designating the Atsina, conveying the meaning of hunger. In the 18th cent. the Atsina roamed the plains between the Missouri and the Saskatchewan rivers under the protection of the powerful Blackfoot to the west. Today the Atsina live with the Assiniboin on the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana, established in 1888. There were some 2,800 Atsina in the United States in 1990.

Haida (hi'du) [key], Native North Americans living primarily on the Queen Charlotte Islands, off British Columbia, and on the southern end of the Prince of Wales Island, off Alaska. They speak the Haida language, which forms a branch of the family of Nadene languages (see Native American languages). In physical and cultural characteristics they are closely related to the Tlingit and the Tsimshian; the three tribes belong to the Northwest Coast cultural area (see under Natives, North American). Before the advent (early 19th cent.) of white fur traders, the Haida lived in large cedar-plank houses, fished for salmon, and hunted sea mammals; they were noted for their large and well-made dugout canoes. Their society was divided into the Raven and Eagle clans; marriage was always with someone of the opposite clan, and clan membership derived matrilineally. Their customs featured the conspicuous display of wealth (see potlatch). They then numbered some 8,000, but by 1880 disease, particularly smallpox and venereal infections, had reduced their population to some 2,000. Today most Haida are employed in fishing, canning, and logging; many have left their island homes for mainland life. The artwork of the Haida is widely acclaimed. In 1990 there were close to 2,000 Haida living in the United States and another 2,000 in Canada.

Hidatsa (hedät'sä) [key], Native North Americans, also known as the Minitari and the Gros Ventre. Their language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). After their separation from the Crow, with whom they were united before the historic period, they occupied several agricultural villages on the upper Missouri River in North Dakota and were in close alliance with the occupants of other villages, the Arikara and the Mandan. The Hidatsa villages, with circular earth lodges, were enclosed by an earthen wall. Among other Hidatsa traits were the cultivation of corn and an annual organized buffalo hunt. They had a complex social organization and elaborate ceremonies, including the sun dance. After the smallpox epidemic of 1837, they moved up the Missouri and established themselves close to the trading post of Fort Berthold. Together with the Arikara and Mandan, many Hidatsa reside on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. There were some 1,500 Hidatsa in the United States in 1990.

Hoopa (hOO'pu) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Athabascan branch of the Nadene linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the 19th cent. they occupied the valley of the Trinity River from Hoopa valley to the Klamath River in NW California. Their cedar-planked houses, dugout canoes, basket hats, and many elements in their mythology identify them with the Northwest Coast culture, of which they are the southernmost representatives; however, some of their customs—e.g., the use of a sweat house for ceremonies and the manufacture of acorn bread—are not characteristic of that culture area. In 1864 the U.S. government established a small reservation (Hoopa Valley), where many Hoopa now reside with their neighbors, the Yurok. In 1990 there were 2,400 Hoopa in the United States. The name is sometimes spelled Hupa.

Hopi (ho'pe) [key], group of the Pueblo, formerly called Moki, or Moqui. They speak the Hopi language, which belongs to the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock, at all their pueblos except Hano, where the language belongs to the Tanoan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They occupy several mesa villages in NE Arizona and in 1990 numbered close to 12,000.

In 1540, they were visited by some of Francisco Coronado's men under Pedro de Tovar, but because of their geographical isolation they remained more independent of European influence than other Pueblo groups. The Spanish began to establish missions in 1629 at the Hopi pueblos of Awatobi, Oraibi, and Shongopovi. These missions were destroyed in the revolt of 1680 (see Popé), and when the residents of Awatobi invited the missionaries to return, the other Hopi destroyed their village. After the revolt, pueblos in the foothills were abandoned and new villages were built on the mesas for defense against possible attack by the Spanish. The pueblo of Hano was built by the Tewa, who had fled from the area of the Rio Grande valley that the Spanish reconquered.

During the 18th and 19th cent., the Hopi were subjected to frequent raids by the neighboring Navajo. The region was pacified by the U.S. army in the late 19th cent., and a Hopi reservation was established in 1882, but the ambiguous status of much of the reservation enabled Navajo populations to encroach on traditional Hopi lands. By the 1960s and 70s, Navajo expansion on lands set aside for joint use provoked court action and led to a partition of the disputed land. Amid bitter conflict, over 10,000 Navajo and fewer than 100 Hopi were relocated from the partitioned lands. A court decision in 1992 assigned most of the land still in dispute to the Navajo. Some Navajo were permitted to remain on Hopi land under 75-year leases.

The Hopi are sedentary farmers, mainly dependent on corn, beans, and squash; they also raise wheat, cotton, and tobacco, and herd sheep. Each village is divided into clans and is governed by a chief, who is also the spiritual leader. Political and religious duties revolve around the clans. The Badger clan, for instance, still conducts the kachina (fertility) ceremony, and the Antelope and Snake clans perform the well-known snake dance at Walpi and other pueblos. A Hopi tribal council and constitution were established in 1936, but internal dissension has limited tribal unity.

Huron (hyoor'än") [key], confederation of four Native North American groups who spoke the Wyandot language, which belongs to the Iroquoian branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Their name for themselves was Wendat, Huron being the name applied to them by the French. In the early 17th cent. they occupied the region between Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay in Ontario and numbered some 20,000. Their culture was substantially that of the area of the Eastern woodlands. They lived in palisaded villages and cultivated tobacco.

In 1615, when Samuel Champlain visited the Huron, they were at war with the Iroquois. The long-standing enmity between the Huron and the Iroquois reached a climax in 1648, when the Iroquois, armed with Dutch firearms, invaded Huronia and subsequently disrupted (1649) the Huron confederacy. It was at this time that Father Jean de Brébeuf, who established (1626) a Roman Catholic mission among the Huron, and other Jesuit missionaries were killed by the Iroquois. The survivors of the Huron fled in all directions—southwest to the Tobacco Nation, south to the Neutral Nation, southeast to the Erie, and northeast to a French fort near Quebec. The implacable Iroquois hunted the Huron everywhere; in 1649 the Iroquois attacked the Tobacco Nation, causing the migration of these people in company with the Huron. In 1650 the Neutral Nation was invaded by the Iroquois and practically wiped out, and in 1656 the Erie were almost exterminated.

The Huron who had fled to Quebec ultimately received a small reservation at Lorette, where many still live, but the remnants of the Huron and Tobacco Nation went, under pressure from the Iroquois, first to Michigan, then to Wisconsin and Illinois, where the Sioux attacked them. The Tobacco Nation and Huron eventually settled (1750) in villages near Detroit and at Sandusky, Ohio. In Ohio they became known to the British as the Wyandot and as such fought with the British against the Americans in both the American Revolution and the War of 1812. After the War of 1812 possession of their lands was confirmed by the United States, but by 1842 they had sold their tracts and moved to what is now Wyandotte co., Kans. In 1867 they were settled in NE Oklahoma, where they reside as citizens, their tribe having been terminated in 1959. There were some 2,500 Wyandot in the United States in 1990. About 1,500 Huron live in Canada.

Eskimo (es'kumo) [key], a general term used to refer to a number of groups inhabiting the coastline from the Bering Sea to Greenland and the Chukchi Peninsula in NE Siberia. A number of distinct groups, based on differences in patterns of resource exploitation, are commonly identified, including Siberian, St. Lawrence Island, Nunivak, Chugach, Nunamiut, North Alaskan, Mackenzie, Copper, Caribou, Netsilik, Iglulik, Baffinland, Labrador, Coastal Labrador, Polar, and East and West Greenland. Since the 1970s Eskimo groups in Canada and Greenland have adopted the name Inuit, although the term has not taken hold in Alaska or Siberia. In spite of regional differences, Eskimo groups are surprisingly uniform in language, physical type, and culture, and, as a group, are distinct in these traits from all neighbors. They speak dialects of the same language, Eskimo, which is a major branch of the Eskimo-Aleut family of languages. Their antiquity is unknown, but it is generally agreed that they were relatively recent migrants to the Americas from NE Asia, spreading from west to east over the course of the past 5,000 years.

Illinois (il"unoi', –noiz') [key], confederation of Native North Americans, comprising the Cahokia, the Kaskaskia, the Michigamea, the Moingwena, the Peoria, and the Tamaroa tribes. They belong to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the mid-17th cent. they lived in S Wisconsin, N Illinois, and sections of Iowa and Missouri. They then numbered some 6,500. Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet are believed to have been the first Europeans to travel (1673) through Illinois territory. Father Claude Jean Allouez, a Jesuit missionary, visited them in 1676 and stayed with them for years. By 1750 wars with the Sioux, the Fox, and the Iroquois had reduced the population to some 2,000. In 1769 the assassination of the celebrated Ottawa chief Pontiac by a Kaskaskia provoked the Lake tribes (the Ojibwa, the Ottawa, the Potawatami, the Kickapoo, and the Sac and Fox) to vengeance. They began a war of extermination, which in a few years diminished the Illinois to a small number, who sought asylum at the French settlement at Kaskaskia. By 1800 there remained some 150 Illinois. In 1833 the survivors, represented by the Kaskaskia and the Peoria, sold their lands in Illinois and moved W of the Mississippi. Their descendants now occupy tribal land in NE Oklahoma, which they share with the Wea and Piankashaw. The Peoria's relationship with the federal government was terminated in 1959. In 1990 there were about 1,300 Peoria in the United States.

Iowa (i'uwu, –wa") [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages); also called the Ioway. They, with the Missouri, the Omaha, the Oto, and the Ponca, are thought to have once formed part of the Winnebago people in their primal home N of the Great Lakes. Iowa culture was that of the Eastern Woodlands area with some Plains area traits. In 1700 the Iowa, separated from the parent nation, lived in Minnesota. Their population in 1760 was some 1,100. In 1804, according to Lewis and Clark, the Iowa lived on the Platte River and there were some 800, smallpox having reduced the population. In 1824 they ceded all their lands in Missouri and in 1836 were assigned a reservation in NE Kansas. Some of them later moved to central Oklahoma, and in 1890 land was allotted to them in severalty. In 1990 there were some 1,500 Iowa in the United States.

Iroquois Confederacy or Iroquois League (ir'ukwoi", –kwä") [key], North American confederation of indigenous peoples, initially comprising the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. They gave their name to the Iroquoian branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages), which included numerous other Native American groups of the E United States and E Canada. In the early 17th cent. this confederacy of Five Nations (later to become six when the Tuscarora joined) inhabited New York state from the Hudson River N to the St. Lawrence River and W to the Genesee River.

Kalispel (kal'ispel", –pel') [key]or Pend d'Oreille (pon"dura') [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Salishan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Kalispel were given the name Pend d'Oreille [Fr., = earring] by the French because of their custom of wearing shell earrings. In the early 19th cent. the Kalispel occupied NW Montana, N Idaho, and NE Washington. They then numbered some 1,600. Their culture was similar to that of the Spokan and other tribes of the Plateau area (see under Natives, North American). Today the Kalispel live on the Kalispel and Colville reservations, both in NE Washington. Descendants of other Kalispel live as part of the confederated Salish and Kootenai tribe on the Flathead Reservation in NW Montana. In 1990 there were 175 Kalispel in the United States.

Kansa (kan'sô) [key], people whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages), also known as the Kansas or Kaw. Closely related to the Osage, from whom they separated probably not long before white settlers met them, they shared the typical Plains culture and began farming only after the buffalo had disappeared from the Plains. They were at the mouth of the Kansas River when white traders reached them, but had moved westward to the mouth of the Saline River by 1815, when the United States made its first treaty with them. By treaties of 1825 and 1846, the Kansa ceded most of their lands and accepted a reservation on the Neosho River at Council Grove, Kans., where they lived until 1873. They were then placed on a reservation in Oklahoma, next to the Osage tribe. Their lands were allotted to them on an individual basis rather than to the whole tribe. There were about 1,100 Kansa in the United States in 1990.

Kickapoo (kik'upOO) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages) and who in the late 17th cent. occupied SW Wisconsin. They were closely related to the Sac and Fox. The culture of the Kickapoo was essentially that of the Eastern Woodlands area, but they also hunted buffalo, one of the few traits that the Kickapoo adopted from their neighbors in the Plains area. After the allied Kickapoo, Ojibwa, Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Sac and Fox tribes massacred (c.1769) the Illinois, they partitioned the Illinois territory. The Kickapoo, numbering about 3,000, moved south to central Illinois. Later they split in two; the Vermilion group settled on the Vermilion River, a tributary of the Wabash, and the Prairie group on the Sangamon River. The Kickapoo, a power in the region, sided with the British in the American Revolution and in the War of 1812, when they aided the Shawnee chief Tecumseh. By the Treaty of Edwardsville (1819) the Kickapoo ceded all their lands in Illinois to the United States. They were prevented from entering Missouri, which had been set aside for them, because that region was occupied by the hostile Osage. Kanakuk, a prophet, exhorted the Kickapoo to remain where they were, promising that if they avoided liquor and infractions of the white man's law, they would inherit a land of plenty. His pleas were futile, and the Kickapoo, after aiding the Sac and Fox in the Black Hawk War, were forced to leave Illinois. The Kickapoo moved first to Missouri and then to Kansas. A large group, dissatisfied with conditions on the reservation, went (c.1852) first to Texas and then to Mexico, where they became known as the Mexican Kickapoo. After the U.S. Civil War, the Mexican Kickapoo proved so constant an annoyance to border settlements that the United States made efforts to induce them to return. The negotiations were successful, and a number returned to settle (1873–74) on reservations in Texas and Oklahoma. The remaining Mexican Kickapoo are settled on a reservation in Chihuahua, Mexico. There is also a Kickapoo reservation in Kansas. In 1990 there were 3,500 Kickapoo in the United States.

Kiowa (ki'uwu) [key], Native North Americans whose language is thought to form a branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Kiowa, a nomadic people of the Plains area, had several distinctive traits, including a pictographic calendar and the worship of a stone image, the taimay. In the 17th cent. they occupied W Montana, but by about 1700 they had moved to an area SE of the Yellowstone River. Here they came into contact with the Crow, who gave the Kiowa permission to settle in the Black Hills. While living there, they acquired (c.1710) the horse, probably from the Crow. Their trade was mainly with the Arikara, the Mandan, and the Hidatsa. After the invading Cheyenne and the Sioux drove the Kiowa from the Black Hills, they were forced to move south to Comanche territory; in 1790, after a bloody war, the Kiowa reached a permanent peace with the Comanche. According to Lewis and Clark, the Kiowa were on the North Platte River in 1805, but not much later they occupied the Arkansas River region. Later the Kiowa, who allied themselves with the Comanche, raided as far south as Durango, Mexico, attacking Mexicans, Texans, and Native Americans, principally the Navajo and the Osage.

In 1837 the Kiowa were forced to sign their first treaty, providing for the passage of Americans through Kiowa-Comanche land; the presence of settlers in increased numbers accelerated hostilities. After 1840, when the Kiowa made peace with the Cheyenne, four groups—the Kiowa, the Cheyenne, the Comanche, and the Apache—combined to fight the eastern tribes, who had migrated to Indian Territory. This caused more hostility between Native Americans and the U.S. government, and U.S. forces finally defeated the confederacy and imposed the Treaty of Medicine Lodge (1867). This confederated the Kiowa, the Comanche, and the Apache and provided that they should settle in Oklahoma. However, parts of the Kiowa remained hostile until the mid-1870s. Oncoming American settlers, unaware of treaty rights, caused friction with the Kiowa, resulting in a series of minor outbreaks. In 1874 the Kiowa were involved in a serious conflict, which was suppressed by the U.S. army. American soldiers killed the horses of the Kiowa, and the government deported the Kiowa leaders to Florida. By 1879 most of them were settled on their present lands in Oklahoma. The Kiowa Apache,. a small group of North American Native Americans traditionally associated with the Kiowa from the earliest times, now live with them. The Kiowa Apache retain their own language. There were close to 9,500 Kiowa in the United States in 1990.

Klallam (klal'um) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Salishan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They formerly occupied the southern tip of Vancouver Island, B.C., and the south shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Puget Sound. There are presently three bands of Klallam in the United States: the Jamestown, Lower Elwha, and Port Gamble, all in Washington state. They have a total population of about 1,500 and are engaged primarily in commercial fishing.

Klamath (klam'uth) [key], Native North Americans who in the 19th cent. lived in SW Oregon. They speak a language of the Sahaptin-Chinook branch of the Penutian linguistic stock (see Native American languages) and are related to the Modoc people. The material for the first description of the Klamath was collected by Peter Skene Ogden, who visited them in 1829 and opened trade relations. They subsisted by hunting, fishing, and collecting roots and wokas, or water-lily seeds. The Klamath were peaceful toward American settlers but not toward the Native Americans of N California. They raided those tribes periodically and carried off women and children, keeping their captives as slaves or selling them to other Native Americans. By the treaty of 1864 with the United States, the practice of slavery was abolished and their land NE of Upper Klamath Lake in Oregon was set aside as the Klamath Reservation. Today they are mostly farmers. In 1990 there were 3,100 Klamath in the United States.

Kootenai (kOOt'una") [key], group of Native North Americans who in the 18th cent. occupied the so-called Kootenai country (i.e., N Montana, N Idaho, and SE British Columbia). Their language is thought by some scholars to form a branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock, although others argue that it has not been definitely related to any known linguistic family (see Native American languages). The Upper Kootenai lived near the headwaters of the Columbia River, and the Lower Kootenai lived on the Lower Kootenai River. According to tradition the Kootenai once lived E of the Rocky Mts., but they were driven westward by their enemies the Blackfoot. Kootenai culture was essentially that of the Plateau area, but after the advent of the horse the Kootenai adopted many Plains area traits including a seasonal buffalo hunt. Contact with whites began early in the 19th cent., when the North West Company established Rocky Mountain House on the upper Saskatchewan River. In 1807 the same company opened the first trading post in Kootenai country. The Kootenai are related to the Salish, with whom they share the Flathead Reservation in NW Montana. Another group of Kootenai live on a reservation in Idaho. In 1990 there were 750 Kootenai and about 2,300 people of mixed Salish and Kootenai descent in the United States, as well as some 500 Kootenai in Canada. Their name is sometimes spelled Kootenay or Kutenai.

Kwakiutl (kwä'keOO"tul) [key], group of closely related Native North Americans who inhabit N Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland of British Columbia, Canada. They, together with the Nootka, their southern neighbors, make up the Wakashan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Kwakiutl culture was typical of the Northwest Coast area (including the custom of potlatch). The ethnographer Franz Boas produced a significant number of ethnographic studies on the Kwakiutl. Numbering c.15,000 before European contact, they are now reduced to around 4,000 and are mainly engaged in fishing and farming.

Lumbee, descendants of Native Americans whose language belonged to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The ancestors of the Lumbee occupied the coast of the SE United States and were part of the Eastern Woodlands culture area. Generally friendly to the Europeans, they taught the settlers their methods of fishing, hunting, and farming and introduced them to many of their foods. They were one of the few Eastern tribes to escape removal to Indian Territory in the 19th cent., but were pressed into service by the Confederacy during the Civil War. They were formerly known as the Croatan Indians and the Robeson County Indians. In 1990 there were over 50,000 Lumbee in the United States, many of mixed Native American, African, and European ancestry; they are centered in Robeson co., North Carolina. The tribe's focus on education is embodied in Pembroke State Univ., founded in 1887 as a Lumbee college and now part of the Univ. of North Carolina system.

Mahican (muhe'kun) [key], confederacy of Native North Americans of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Mahican were of the Eastern Woodlands culture area. In the early 17th cent. they occupied both banks of the upper Hudson River extending north almost to Lake Champlain. Living to the northeast were the Pennacook, and to the southwest the Wappinger; both were closely related to the Mahican. The Mohegan were a tribe of the Mahican Confederacy and are to be distinguished from the larger group. However, both groups have on occasion been referred to as Mohicans. When the Dutch arrived in what is now New York the Mohawk had been at war with the Mahican for some time and had steadily driven the Mahican east of the Hudson River. The Mahican council fire, or capital, had been moved (1664) from Schodac, near Albany, eastward to what is now Stockbridge, Mass. The complete subjection and dispersal of the Mahican were hastened by the firearms provided to their enemies by the Dutch. Some of the Mahican moved west to join the Delaware, with whom they afterward moved to the Ohio region (where the Mahican refugees lost their identity). Others placed themselves under the protection of the Iroquois Confederacy in S central New York. Those remaining in Massachusetts joined the Massachusetts Stockbridge; other Mahican descendants live in Connecticut and Wisconsin.

Maidu (mi'dOO) [key], Native North Americans belonging to the Penutian linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the early 19th cent. they were located on the eastern tributaries of the Sacramento River. Maidu culture was typical of the California area: the people lived in brush shelters, gathered acorns, and practiced the spirit-impersonating Kuksu religion. Of the three divisions of the Maidu—valley, foothill, and mountain groups—the valley group, or Nisenan, were the most prosperous and culturally developed. The Maidu numbered about 9,000 in the late 18th cent. In 1990 there were some 2,000 Maidu in the United States, most of them living on several reservations in California with other Native American groups.

Makah (mäkô') [key], Native North Americans who in the early 19th cent. inhabited Cape Flattery, NW Wash. According to Lewis and Clark they then numbered some 2,000. The Makah are the southernmost of the Wakashan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock, being the only member of the Wakashan group within the United States (see Native American languages). Makah culture was fundamentally that of the Pacific Northwest Coast area. In 1855 they ceded all their lands to the United States except a small area on Cape Flattery that was set aside as a reservation. Today most of the 1,600 Makah in the United States live on the Makah Reservation; their main tribal income is from forestry.

Malecite or Maliseet (both: mal'usit) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the early 17th cent. they occupied the valley of the St. John River in New Brunswick, Canada. The French settlers in this area intermarried with the Malecite, thereby forming a close alliance with the indigenous people. Hence, during the colonial wars the Malecite supported the French against the English. They now live in New Brunswick, Quebec, and Maine. In 1990 there were about 1,700 Malecite in Canada and about 900 in the United States.

Mandan (man'dan, –dun) [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Mandan were a sedentary tribe of the Plains area and were culturally connected with their neighbors on the Missouri River, the Arikara and the Hidatsa. The Mandan had certain distinctive cultural traits, which included a myth of origin in which their ancestors climbed from beneath the earth on the roots of a grapevine. According to tradition, at one time the Mandan lived to the east, but their movements in historic times were westward up the Missouri River. By the mid-18th cent., they lived in nine villages near the mouth of the Heart River in S central North Dakota. After having suffered severely from smallpox and the attacks of the Assiniboin and the Sioux, the Mandan moved farther up the Missouri River to a point opposite the Arikara villages. Here the Mandan survivors merged into two villages on opposite sides of the Knife River. They were visited (1804) by Lewis and Clark, who said that they numbered some 1,250. In 1837, after an epidemic of smallpox and cholera, the Mandan were reduced to some 150, all dwelling in a single village. When the Hidatsa moved (1845) from the Knife River region N to the Fort Berthold trading post, the few Mandan joined them. A large reservation was set aside (1870) for the Mandan, the Hidatsa, and the Arikara in North Dakota (Fort Berthold Reservation). There were some 1,200 Mandan in the United States in 1990.

Manhattan (manhat'un) [key], indigenous people of North America of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They were a small tribe of the Wappinger Confederacy. The Manhattan in the early 17th cent. inhabited N Manhattan Island and the east bank of the Hudson River; their principal village was on the site of present-day Yonkers, N.Y. The Dutch bought Manhattan Island from them (the sale was made final in 1626) and then practically destroyed them in the wars waged between 1640 and 1645. Thereafter they ceased to have a separate tribal existence.

Maricopa (märiko'pu, mâr–) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Yuman branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). At some time in the past the Maricopa, under pressure from the Yuma, moved up the Gila River in Arizona from the Colorado River. In 1775 they lived near the mouth of the Hassayampa River in S Arizona, numbering some 3,000. The Maricopa were previously sedentary farmers who lived in somewhat permanent villages. In alliance with the Pima, they severely defeated the Yuma in 1857. The Maricopa, numbering close to 800 in 1990, now live with the Pima on the Gila River and the Salt River reservations in Arizona. Some Maricopa also live in Phoenix and Los Angeles. They are known for their excellent pottery.

Massachuset (masuchOO'sit) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the early 17th cent. they occupied the territory around Massachusetts Bay and ranged northward. They then numbered some 3,000, but by 1631, after wars and pestilence, they were reduced to some 500. Soon thereafter they adopted Christianity and moved, with other converts, into the villages of the praying Indians. Here they ceased to have a separate tribal existence. The Massachuset owned and occupied the site of Boston.

Menominee (munom'une) [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Also called the Menomini, they were a sedentary people who chiefly subsisted on the gathering of wild rice; the Algonquian name for wild rice is manomin. In c.1634, when they were visited by the missionary Jean Nicolet, the Menominee were living at the mouth of the Menominee River in Wisconsin and Michigan. From 1671 until 1854 they inhabited settlements that extended from the Menominee River S to the Fox River and bordered the western shore of Green Bay. Although some of the Menominee supported the British in the American Revolution and the War of 1812, they were generally peaceful toward the American settlers. The Menominee were, however, bitter enemies of the neighboring Algonquian tribes, who waged constant warfare to drive the Menominee out of the rich wild-rice area. In 1854 the Menominee were settled on a reservation (Menominee Reservation) on the Wolf River, in N central Wisconsin. The tribe owns one of the largest sawmills in the Midwest and operates a casino. In 1990 there were some 8,000 Menominee in the United States.

Miami (miam'e, –u) [key], group of Native Americans of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They shared the cultural traits of the Eastern Woodlands area and the Plains area, hunting the buffalo that ranged through much of their territory. In the mid-17th cent. the Miami held land in W Wisconsin, NE Illinois, and N Indiana. In the mid-18th cent., however, the invading northern tribes drove the Miami to NW Ohio. The Miami occupied this territory until the treaty of 1763, when they retired to Indiana. They then numbered some 1,700. The Miami had aided the French in the French and Indian Wars, and they helped the British in the American Revolution. With their chief Little Turtle, the Miami were prominent in the Indian wars of the Old Northwest. By 1827 they had ceded most of their lands in Indiana and had agreed to move to Kansas. Most of them went (1840) to Kansas and then moved (1867) to Oklahoma, where they were placed on a reservation. Since then the land has been divided among them. There is also a group of Miami in Indiana. In 1990 there were some 4,500 Miami in the United States.

Micmac, Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They inhabit Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Massachusetts, and Maine. French missionaries came into contact with them in the early 17th cent., and the Micmacs were allies of the French throughout the history of New France. Contact with Europeans did not have the usual effect of tribal disintegration, and the Micmacs still thrive, though their culture has changed radically. Many are Roman Catholics. The Micmacs are expert canoeists, and, although their economy once centered on fishing and hunting, they now derive their income primarily from agriculture. In 1990 there were over 15,000 Micmac in Canada. Another 2,700 Micmac live in the United States, the only federally recognized band being the Aroostook in Maine.

Mission Indians, Native Americans of S and central California; so called because they were under the jurisdiction of some 21 Spanish missions that were established between 1769 and 1823. The major groups were the Chumash, Costanoan, Diegueño, Gabrieleno, Juaneño, and Luiseño. The first mission was established at San Diego. The native population was taught and forced to work at agriculture. The land and the herds of sheep were theoretically owned by the Native Americans themselves, but were held in trust by the Franciscan fathers. The Mission Indians now live on reservations in California. In the 1990 U.S. census there were over 2,000 Native Americans identifying themselves as Mission Indians in the United States, as well as some 3,000 Chumash, 1,000 Costanoan, 2,200 Diegueño, 500 Gabrieleno, 1,500 Juaneño, and 2,800 Luiseño.

Modoc (mo'dok) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Sahaptin-Chinook branch of the Penutian linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They formerly lived in SW Oregon and N California, particularly around Modoc Lake (also known as Lower Klamath Lake) and Tule Lake. Modoc culture was similar to the culture of the Klamath, but the Modoc did not rely as heavily on the wokas, or water-lily seeds, for food. There was considerable trouble between the Modoc and the early white settlers, with atrocities being committed on both sides. The Modoc were finally constrained to live (1864) on the Klamath Reservation in Oregon, but most of the tribe was dissatisfied. In 1870, Chief Kintpuash, or Captain Jack, led a group back to California and refused to return to the reservation. The attempt to bring them back brought on the Modoc War (1872–73). After the Modoc War, the Modoc people were divided; some were sent to Oklahoma (where a few remain) and some to the Klamath Reservation in Oregon. The Modoc in Oregon share lands with the Klamath and Snake. In 1990 there were some 500 Modoc in the United States.

Mohave (mohä've) [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Yuman branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the mid-18th cent. they lived on both banks of the Colorado River, in Arizona and California. They then numbered some 3,000. The Mohave were semisedentary farmers who generally cultivated bottomland along the river. They lived in low brush dwellings. Most of the Mohave now live on the Colorado River Reservation in Arizona, which was established in 1865. In 1990 there were close to 1,400 Mohave in the United States.

Iroquois Confederacy or Iroquois League (ir'ukwoi", –kwä") [key], North American confederation of indigenous peoples, initially comprising the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. They gave their name to the Iroquoian branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages), which included numerous other Native American groups of the E United States and E Canada. In the early 17th cent. this confederacy of Five Nations (later to become six when the Tuscarora joined) inhabited New York state from the Hudson River N to the St. Lawrence River and W to the Genesee River.

Mohegan (mohe'gun) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Also called the Mohican, they were the eastern branch of the Mahican. In the early 17th cent. the Mohegan occupied most of SE Connecticut, their chief village being on the site of the present village of Mohegan on the Thames River. When European settlers arrived in this region, the Mohegan and the Pequot were one tribe, living under the rule of Sassacus. Later Uncas, a subordinate chief, rebelled against Sassacus and assumed the leadership of a small group on the Thames River near Norwich. This group was known as the Mohegan. After the fall of Sassacus the greater part of the Pequot joined the Mohegan, who in 1643 numbered some 2,300. The Mohegan, supported by the British, became one of the most powerful tribes in S New England. As white settlements were extended, the Mohegan sold most of their land and accepted a reservation on the Thames; others joined with neighboring tribes. By the early 19th cent. the Mohegans were practically extinct, although they became known to the world with the publication in 1826 of James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Last of the Mohicans. In 1990 there were about 1,000 Mohegan in the United States; they gained federal recognition as a tribe in 1994. In 1996 the tribe opened a casino and resort on its reservation in Montville, Ct.

Montagnais (montunya') [key] and Naskapi (nas'kupe) [key], aboriginal peoples originally from Labrador, Canada. Because they both spoke almost identical Algonquian languages and had similar customs, the two groups are often linked. The Montagnais covered their conical wigwams with birch bark and hunted principally moose during the winter months, moving down the rivers in the spring to spear salmon and eels, and to harpoon seals along the shores of the St. Lawrence. The Naskapi covered their wigwams with caribou skin and hunted caribou from midsummer until early spring, when some of them moved down the coast, like the Montagnais, while others remained inland to fish in various lakes and rivers and to hunt hares, porcupines, and other small game. Contact with Europeans was disastrous to both peoples, leading to a precipitous population decline, the disappearance of cooperative hunting on communally exploited territory, and the emergence of an economy based on private property, fur trapping, and commercial exchange. Some 12,000 descendants of the Montagnais and the Naskapi now live on large reserves in Quebec.

Creek, Native North American confederacy. The peoples forming it were mostly of the Muskogean branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Creek received their name from early white traders because so many of their villages were located at rivers and creeks. They lived primarily in Alabama and Georgia and were settled, agricultural people. There were more than 50 towns, generally called tribes, in the confederacy, which was formed chiefly for protection against the tribes to the north. Certain villages were set aside for war ceremonies, others for peace celebrations. Each had its annual green corn dance. This festival was a time for renewing social ties and was a period of amnesty for criminals, except murderers. The Creek Confederacy was not ruled by a permanent central government. The structure was a combination of democratic and communal principles. Decisions by the national council were not binding on towns or individuals who wished to dissent. Nevertheless, civil strife was almost unknown among them. Private ownership of land was unknown, but crops were privately owned to a degree. Each owner was required to contribute a certain portion for public use.

The Creek impressed the first European explorers (Hernando De Soto saw them in 1540) by their height, their proud bearing, and their love of ornament. They were hostile to the Spanish and therefore friendly to the British in colonial days, but, frightened by white encroachment and fired by the teachings of the Shawnee chief Tecumseh, they rebelled in the Creek War of 1813–14. They massacred a large number of American settlers at Fort Mims, and Andrew Jackson won part of his reputation by defeating them at the battle of Horseshoe Bend. By a treaty signed in 1814 the Creek ceded approximately two thirds of their land to the United States, and subsequent cessions further reduced their holdings. Eventually they were moved to the Indian Territory, where they became one of the Five Civilized Tribes. A treaty signed by the confederacy in 1889 permitted white settlement of their lands, and there was great bitterness among the Creek. In 1990 there were over 45,000 Creek, most of them living in Oklahoma.

Narragansett (nar"ugan'sut) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Part of the Eastern Woodlands culture (see under Natives, North American), in the early 17th cent. they occupied most of Rhode Island, from Narragansett Bay on the east to the Pawcatuck River on the west. They were the largest and strongest tribe in New England. The Narragansett escaped the great pestilence of 1617 that swept through S New England, and the remnants of tribes who had suffered joined them for protection, making the Narragansett a powerful people. In 1636, Canonicus, the Narragansett chief, sold Roger Williams land on which to settle. Williams gained great influence over the Narragansett, inducing them to become the allies of the Massachusetts colonists in the Pequot War (1637). The Narragansett in 1674 numbered some 5,000. The next year witnessed the outbreak of King Philip's War, which destroyed Native American power in S New England. The Narragansett shared the common fate. Their fort near the site of Kingston, R.I., was attacked (1675) by a colonial force under Josiah Winslow, and in that engagement, known as the Great Swamp Fight, the Narragansett under Canonchet lost almost a thousand men. The survivors migrated to the north and to the west, and a few joined the Mahican and the Abnaki; but a number of them returned and settled among the Niantic near Charlestown, R.I., the combined group taking the Narragansett name. Their numbers steadily declined, and by 1832 there were 80 left. However, by 1990 there were about 2,500 Narragansett in the United States.

Natchez (nach'iz) [key], indigenous North American people who lived along St. Catherine's Creek east of the present-day city of Natchez in Mississippi. At the time of contact with the French in 1682, they numbered about 4,000 and were the most powerful chiefdom on the lower Mississippi. Typical of the Mississippian cultural area, they were sedentary, agricultural people who cultivated corn, beans, and squash and hunted deer, turkey, and buffalo. They worshiped the sun, and had an elaborate form of social ranking governed by rules of marriage and descent. A chief ruled over two classes: commoners, who could marry within their own class, and rulers, who were further divided into “suns,” “nobles,” and “honored people,” and were required to marry commoners. Since they were matrilineal, the children of a female ruler and a male commoner would keep the rank of the mother; children of a male ruler and a female commoner would have a lesser rank than that of the father. Upon the death of a chief, his wives, guards, and retainers were strangled to death, in the belief that they would accompany him to the afterlife.

The French established a mission among the Natchez in 1700 and a trading post in 1713, and there were initially friendly relations between the two groups. Peace was maintained for a number of years, but skirmishes in 1716, 1723, and 1729—when the Natchez massacred the encroaching French at Fort Rosalie—proved disastrous for the tribe. The French, aided by the Choctaw, retaliated for the Fort Rosalie massacre by attacking Natchez villages and scattering the inhabitants. Some crossed the Mississippi River into Louisiana, where they were again attacked (1731) by the French, who killed many Natchez and sold captives into slavery. About 700 others sought refuge with their Chickasaw allies; they later divided into two groups and settled among the Upper Creeks and among the Cherokee. They eventually moved west of the Mississippi with their hosts, and by the 19th cent. they had all but disappeared as a distinct group. However, some Natchez living in Oklahoma maintained their language into the 20th cent.

Navajo or Navaho (both: nä'vuho) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Athabascan branch of the Nadene linguistic stock (see Native American languages). A migration from the North to the Southwest area is thought to have occurred in the past because of an affiliation with N Athabascan speakers; the Navajo settled among the Pueblo and also assimilated with the Shoshone and the Yuma both physically and culturally while remaining a distinct social group.

Neutral Nation, group of Native North American tribes of the Iroquoian branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the early 17th cent. they occupied the territory along the northern shore of Lake Erie. They then numbered some 12,000. Their culture was substantially that of the Eastern Woodlands area (see under Natives, North American). Father Joseph Daillon visited them in 1626 and reported that their customs were very similar to those of the Huron. The French gave the Neutral Nation its name because of its neutrality in the Iroquois-Huron wars. This neutrality, however, was short-lived, for when the remnants of the Huron joined (1649) them, the Iroquois Confederacy practically destroyed the Neutral Nation. A few survivors assimilated with the Seneca.

Nez Percé (nez pûrs, na persa') [key][Fr.,=pierced nose], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Sahaptin-Chinook branch of the Penutian linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Also called the Sahaptin, or Shahaptin, they were given the name “Nez Percé” by the French because some of them wore nose pendants; however, this custom does not seem to have been widespread among them. They were typical of the Plateau area, fishing for salmon and gathering camas, cowish, and other roots. After the introduction of the horse (c.1700) they became noted horse breeders, particularly of the Appaloosa, and they adopted many Plains area traits, including buffalo hunts.

In 1805, when visited by Lewis and Clark, they were occupying a large region in W Idaho, NE Oregon, and SE Washington. In the 1830s the Nez Percé, then numbering some 6,000, attracted national attention by sending emissaries to St. Louis to ask for books and teachers. Their request attracted to the Pacific Northwest missionaries, who played an important role in opening the region to settlement. The Nez Percé ceded (1855) a large part of their territory to the United States. The gold rushes in the 1860s and 1870s, however, brought large numbers of miners and settlers onto their lands, and a treaty of cession was fraudulently extracted (1863) from part of the tribe, confining the Nez Percé to a reservation in NW Idaho. A band of the tribe living in Oregon refused to relocate, leading to the uprising under Chief Joseph in 1877. Following their defeat, many of the survivors ended up at the Colville Reservation in Washington, where some of their descendants still live. However, many more Nez Percé live on their reservation in Idaho, earning their living as farmers. In 1990 there were some 4,000 Nez Percé in the United States.

Nootka (noot'ku) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Wakashan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Nootka proper are a small group on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, but the name is also used to refer to the Aht Confederacy, which formerly included more than 20 tribes. Traditional Nootka culture was fundamentally that of the Northwest Coast area (see under Natives, North American); they fished for salmon, lived in long wooden houses, and created elaborate totem poles. In 1991 there were some 4,000 Nootka in 15 bands in Canada. The so-called Nootka hats of woven fiber were common among other tribes of this area. With the exception of the Makah and a few of their neighbors, they were the only Native Americans on the Pacific coast who hunted whales.

Ojibwa (ojib'wa", –wu) [key]or Chippewa (chip'uwä", –wu) [key], group of Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Their name also occurs as Ojibway and Chippeway, but they are not to be confused with the Chipewyan. In the mid-17th cent., when visited by Father Claude Jean Allouez, they occupied the shores of Lake Superior. They were constantly at war with the Sioux and the Fox over possession of the rich fields of wild rice in this region. When the Ojibwa received (c.1690) firearms from the French, they drove the Fox from N Wisconsin. They then turned against the Sioux, compelling them to cross the Mississippi River. The Ojibwa continued their expansion W across Minnesota and North Dakota until they reached the Turtle Mts. in N central North Dakota. This group became the Plains Ojibwa.

In 1736 the Ojibwa obtained their first foothold E of Lake Superior, and after a series of engagements with the Iroquois, they obtained the peninsula between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Thus by the mid-18th cent. they controlled a large area from the eastern shore of Lake Huron in the east to the Turtle Mts. in the west. The Ojibwa, one of the largest tribes N of Mexico, then numbered some 25,000. They were allied with the French in the French and Indian Wars and with the British in the War of 1812. After the War of 1812 they made a treaty with the United States, and since that time they have lived on reservations in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana.

Traditionally the Ojibwa, except for the Plains Ojibwa, were a fairly sedentary people who depended for food on fishing, hunting (deer), farming (corn and squash), and the gathering of wild rice. They obtained and used maple sugar and smoked kinnikinnick, a tobacco made from dried leaves and bark. The characteristic dwelling was the wigwam. The Ojibwa had a unique form of picture writing that was intimately connected with the religious and magico-medical rites of the Midewiwin society.

Today the Ojibwa, or Chippewa, constitute the third largest Native American group in the United States, numbering over 100,000 in 1990. Their numerous bands include the Turtle Mountain, Sault Ste. Marie, Red Lake, Minnesota, Lac Courte Oreilles, White Earth, Leech Lake, Bad River, and others. More than 76,000 live in Canada, in 125 bands. While some Ojibwa are engaged in the traditional occupations of hunting, fishing, and harvesting wild rice, others run manufacturing and casino businesses. Some bands are still seeking redress for the loss of hunting and fishing rights stemming back to treaties made in the 1850s.

Okanogan or Okinagan (both: okunä'gun) [key], confederation of Native North Americans of the Salishan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the late 18th cent. they numbered some 2,500. In the early 19th cent. they occupied an area extending from the west side of the Okanagan River in Washington N to British Columbia. In winter the Okanogan lived in semisubterranean earth lodges and in summer in mat or bark lodges. They fished, hunted, and gathered roots and berries. The Okanogan land claims were never adjusted. Today about 2,300 Okanogan live in British Columbia; others live with the Colville (a related tribe), on the Colville Reservation in Washington.

Omaha (o'muhä, –hô) [key], Native Americans whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They, with the Ponca, migrated from the Ohio valley to the confluence of the Missouri and the Mississippi rivers and from there to Iowa. At the mouth of the Niobrara River in Nebraska they separated from the Ponca. The Omaha moved farther up the Missouri River, but after an outbreak (1802) of smallpox, which considerably reduced their population, they moved to NE Nebraska. A typical tribe of the Plains area, they lived in earth lodges in the winter and tepees in the summer. They warred intermittently against the Sioux. In 1854 the Omaha ceded all their lands W of the Missouri River to the United States and moved to Dakota co., Nebr. In 1865 they sold part of their reservation to the United States for the use of the Winnebago. An act of 1882 granted the Omaha the right to own land individually; some continued to live on the Omaha Reservation in NE Nebraska. In 1990 there were over 4,000 Omaha in the United States.

Iroquois Confederacy or Iroquois League (ir'ukwoi", –kwä") [key], North American confederation of indigenous peoples, initially comprising the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. They gave their name to the Iroquoian branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages), which included numerous other Native American groups of the E United States and E Canada. In the early 17th cent. this confederacy of Five Nations (later to become six when the Tuscarora joined) inhabited New York state from the Hudson River N to the St. Lawrence River and W to the Genesee River.

Iroquois Confederacy or Iroquois League (ir'ukwoi", –kwä") [key], North American confederation of indigenous peoples, initially comprising the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. They gave their name to the Iroquoian branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages), which included numerous other Native American groups of the E United States and E Canada. In the early 17th cent. this confederacy of Five Nations (later to become six when the Tuscarora joined) inhabited New York state from the Hudson River N to the St. Lawrence River and W to the Genesee River.

Osage (o'saj, osaj') [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In prehistoric times they lived with the Kansa, the Ponca, the Omaha, and the Quapaw in the Ohio valley, but by 1673 they had migrated to the vicinity of the Osage River in Missouri. They often conducted war against other Native Americans, and in the early 18th cent. allied themselves with the French against surrounding tribes, such as the Illinois. The Osage had a typical Plains-area culture (see under Natives, North American). One distinctive trait, however, was the tribal division between the Wazhazhe, or meat eaters, and the Tsishu, or vegetarians.

In 1802, according to Lewis and Clark, three groups constituted the Osage—the Great Osage, on the Osage River; the Little Osage, farther up the same river; and the Arkansas band, on the Vermilion River, a tributary of the Arkansas. They then numbered some 5,500. By a series of treaties begun in 1810 the Osage ceded to the United States their extensive territory in Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, and they moved to a reservation in N central Oklahoma. They have since been given the right to own their land individually. The discovery of oil on their reservation land in the early 20th cent., plus their landholdings, contributed to the prosperity of the Osage. In 1990 there were over 10,000 Osage in the United States. The Osage Museum in Pawhuska, Okla., the oldest continuous tribal museum in the country, documents their history.

Oto (o'to) [key], Native North Americans, also called the Otoe, whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Oto had a Plains area type of culture. At one time, with the Iowa and the Missouri, they formed part of the Winnebago nation, N of the Great Lakes. The Oto with the Missouri left the nation, but after a quarrel the Oto separated from the Missouri and settled in S Minnesota. Constantly beset by overpowering enemies, they were driven south and joined the Pawnee near the mouth of the Platte River. In 1880–82 the Oto migrated to Oklahoma, where they once again live with the Missouri. In 1990 there were some 1,800 Oto-Missouri in the United States.

Ottawa (ot'uwu) [key], Native Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Traditionally of the Eastern Woodlands cultural area (see under Natives, North American), the Ottawa have a well-developed creation myth that states that they were descended from three families: the Michabou, or Great Hare, the Namepich, or Carp, and the Bear's Paw. According to tradition the Ottawa, the Ojibwa, and the Potawatami were originally one family, dwelling N of the Great Lakes; after the separation, some of the Ottawa settled on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron and along the shores of Georgian Bay.

In 1615, when noted by Samuel de Champlain, many Ottawa lived near the mouth of French River on Georgian Bay. Known as great traders, they claimed the Ottawa River region and controlled trade with the French on that river. They allied themselves with the French and the Huron. Their alliance with the Huron, however, made them the enemies of the Iroquois, who forced the Ottawa to flee to the islands off Green Bay. After a few years some moved on to Keweenaw Bay in Lake Superior, while another section joined the Huron and went to the Mississippi near Lake Pepin. From there the Sioux drove them northward to Chequamegon Bay in N Wisconsin.

Promised protection by the French, the Ottawa returned (1670) to Manitoulin Island, where the mission of St. Simon was established among them. Next they joined the Huron at Mackinac in Michigan, and soon after they dispersed over a wide area. The Ottawa were active in the Indian wars of the Old Northwest; Pontiac was an Ottawan. Eventually part of the Ottawa settled on Walpole Island in Lake St. Clair and part on Manitoulin Island, while others have settled in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Michigan. In 1990 there were close to 8,000 Ottawa in the United States.

Paiute (piOOt') [key], two distinct groups of Native North Americans speaking languages belonging to the Shoshonean group of the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Northern Paiute ranged over central and E California, W Nevada, and E Oregon. The Southern Paiute occupied NW Arizona, SE California, S Nevada, and S Utah. The Northern Paiute were more warlike than their southern relatives; they fought the miners and the settlers during the 1860s, and a considerable part of them joined the Bannock in the war of 1878. The Southern Paiute are often called the Diggers because they subsisted on root digging. In general the Paiute of the Great Basin area subsisted by hunting, fishing, and digging for roots. They lived in small round huts (wickiups) that were covered with tule rushes. It was among the Paiute that the Ghost Dance religion, which was to be of much significance on the frontier in the 1890s, first appeared (c.1870). The Native American prophet Wovoka was a Paiute. In 1990 there were over 11,000 Paiute in the United States, many of them living on tribal lands in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah. The name is also spelled Piute.

Tohono O'Odham (toho'no o-o'dum) [key]or Papago (pap'ugo", pä'–) [key], Native North Americans speaking a language that belongs to the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock (see Native American languages) and that is closely related to that of their neighbors, the Pima. The probable ancestors of both the Pima and the Tohono O'Odham were the Hohokam people. They were a semisedentary tribe who farmed corn, beans, and cotton and gathered wild vegetable products (e.g., the beans of the mesquite and the fruit of the giant cactus). Although farming remains the major economic activity of the Tohono O'Odham, many now are engaged in cattle raising. The women are known as excellent basket makers. The Tohono O'Odham formerly suffered dreadful depredations from their enemy, the Apache. They were early visited by Spanish missionaries, including Father Eusebio Kino in 1694. In the 1860s they joined with the Pima and Maricopa in helping the United States to force a peace with the Apache. By an executive act of 1874 the United States created a reservation for the Tohono O'Odham in S Arizona; another was created in 1917. Today they live on these and on Pima and Maricopa reservations as well, all in Arizona. In 1990 there were close to 17,000 Tohono O'Odham in the United States; many others live in Sonora, Mexico.

Pawnee (pône') [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Caddoan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). At one time the Pawnee lived in what is now Texas, but by 1541, when Coronado visited Quivira, they seem to have been settled in the valley of the Platte River in S Nebraska. By the early 18th cent. the Pawnee had divided into four groups: the Skidi (or Wolf), the Grand, the Republican, and the Tapage (or Noisy). They then numbered some 10,000. By the time French traders settled (c.1750) among them, the Pawnee had extended their territory to the Republican River in N Kansas and the Niobrara River in N Nebraska. In 1806, Spanish soldiers visited the Pawnee just before the arrival of the expedition of Zebulon M. Pike.

In material culture the Pawnee resembled other Native Americans of the Plains area but they had an elaborate set of myths and rituals. Their supreme god was Tirawa (the sun), who with Mother Earth conceived Morning Star. Morning Star was the rising and dying god of vegetation. The Pawnee periodically sacrificed a young woman to Morning Star. This custom, one of the few examples of human sacrifice N of Mexico, was, however, ended by the great Pawnee chief Pitalesharo (b. c.1797).

The Pawnee were hostile to the Sioux and the Cheyenne, although friendly toward the Oto. They were fierce fighters, but they never warred against the United States, even when treated unjustly by the government. In fact, the Pawnee provided scouts for the U.S. army in the Indian wars as well as protecting the Union Pacific RR from the depredations of other Native Americans. Pawnee population was reduced by wars with the Sioux and by the smallpox and cholera epidemics of the 1830s and 1840s. By a series of treaties begun early in the 19th cent. the Pawnee ceded all of their land in Nebraska and in 1876 moved to a reservation in Oklahoma, where they were granted the right to own their land individually. In 1990 there were over 3,300 Pawnee in the United States.

Pennacook (pen'ukook) [key], group of Native North Americans of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Although of the Eastern Woodlands cultural area (see under Natives, North American), they depended to a large extent on seafood. In the early 17th cent. they occupied NE Massachusetts, SE New Hampshire, and SW Maine. They then numbered some 2,000, but by 1674 smallpox and wars had reduced them to some 1,250. Most of the Pennacook remained neutral in King Philip's war (1675), but when 200 of them were treacherously seized (1676), the remainder fled to Canada and to the West; the survivors of the western group settled with the Mahican. The Pennacook in Canada first settled near Quebec, but in 1700 this group moved to St. Francis, where they joined the exiled Abnaki. The two tribes became bitter enemies of the British. There is no longer a distinct Pennacook population in the United States.

Penobscot (punob'skot) [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They were the largest group of the Abnaki Confederacy and resembled the other members culturally. In the early 17th cent. they inhabited the region around Penobscot Bay and the Penobscot River in Maine. A French mission was established among them in 1688 on the site of the present city of Bangor. The Penobscot were active in all the New England frontier wars, generally supporting the French, until 1749, when a peace treaty with the English put an end to their hostilities. The treaty created ill feeling with other Abnaki peoples, who remained firm supporters of the French. In 1750 the Penobscot numbered some 700. The assistance that the Penobscot gave the colonists in the American Revolution gained for them a reservation at Old Town, Maine. In 1990 there were some 2,400 Penobscot in the United States.

Pequot (pe'kwot) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Pequot are of the Eastern Woodlands cultural area (see under Natives, North American). Originally they were united with the Mohegan, but when Uncas revolted, the Pequot moved southward to invade and drive off the Niantic. The warlike Pequot, under their chief, Sassacus, had by 1630 extended their territory west to the Connecticut River. Numerous quarrels between settlers in the Connecticut valley and the Pequot led to the Pequot War (1637). The precipitating cause was the Pequot's murder of John Oldham, an English trader. The English under John Mason and John Underhill attacked their stronghold on the Pequot River and killed some 500 Pequot.

The remaining Pequot fled in small groups. One party went to Long Island, and a second escaped into the interior. A third, led by Sassacus, was intercepted near Fairfield, Conn., where almost the entire party was killed or captured. The captives were forced into slavery, mainly in New England and the West Indies. A few Pequot, including Sassacus, who managed to escape were put to death by the Mohawk. A remnant of the Pequot was scattered among the southern New England tribes; the colonial government later settled them in Connecticut. Today they live on two reservations in SE Connecticut. At Ledyard the Mashantucket Pequot established (1992) a casino, which has proved to be one of the largest and most profitable gambling establishments in the world; they also sponsor an elaborate tribal museum. In 1990 there were 679 Pequot in the United States.

Pima (pe'mu) [key], Native North American tribe of S Arizona. They speak the Pima language of the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic family (see Native American languages). There are two divisions, the Lower Pima and the Upper Pima. Before the mission period, the Pima and the Tohono O'Odham, who spoke variations of the same language, called themselves the People—River People (Akimel O'Odham, the Pima) and Desert People (Tohono O'Odham). Archaeological evidence shows their probable ancestors to have been the Hohokam, who built a network of irrigation canals for farming. Many of the ruined pueblos in the Pima territory have been attributed to an ancient Pueblo tribe. Tradition further states that increased population caused the Pima to spread over a larger territory, but invading hostile tribes (probably Apache) forced them to consolidate. Thus in 1697, when visited by Father Eusebio Kino, the Pima were living on the Gila River in S central Arizona.

Although the Pima were warlike toward the Apache, they were friendly to the Spanish and later to the pioneers from the E United States; the Pima villages were a stopping place for pioneers who took the southern route to California. The Pima were sedentary farmers of the Southwest area; they farmed corn, squash, beans, cotton, and wheat (introduced by the Spanish). They lived in dome-shaped huts built of poles and covered with mud and brush. Women performed much of the labor, including basket making; their baskets are noted for their beauty. The Pima were expert with the bow and arrow and had war clubs and rawhide shields. The Pima numbered some 2,500 in 1775, but their population was increased when the Maricopa joined them in the early 19th cent. The Pima now live, together with the Maricopa, on the Gila River and Salt River reservations and, with the Tohono O'Odham, on the Ak-Chin reservation, all in Arizona. They earn their income from agriculture, crafts, and leasing land for mineral development. In 1990 there were over 15,000 Pima in the United States.

Pomo, Native Americans of N California, belonging to the Hokan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Pomo were the most southerly Native Americans on the California coast not brought under the mission influence of the Franciscans in the early 18th and 19th cent. The Pomo have been especially noted for their basketry arts, and many of their works are now valued art objects in museums and private collections. Of these arts, the Pomo developed feather-covering, lattice-twining, checker-work, single-rod coiling, and several other specializations. They now occupy several reservations in N California; the reservation near Clearlake Oaks is the site of gambling casinos. In 1990 there were about 5,000 Pomo in the United States.

Ponca, Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). According to tradition the group lived in the Ohio valley but migrated to the mouth of the Osage River. There the Ponca and the Omaha separated from the main Siouan group and went to SW Minnesota. War with the Sioux forced the Ponca to flee to the Black Hills, in South Dakota. The Ponca subsequently rejoined their allies and moved to the mouth of the Niobrara River, in Nebraska. The Ponca remained there, but the other groups moved on. Lewis and Clark met them in 1804 when the Ponca, recovering from a smallpox epidemic, numbered only some 200. The Ponca's culture was of the Plains area; they farmed corn and hunted buffalo. Raids by the Sioux forced the Ponca to migrate to Oklahoma in 1877. A commission appointed (1880) by President Rutherford B. Hayes studied the land claims of the Ponca; as a result most of them remained in Oklahoma, while a group numbering some 200 returned to their former home in Nebraska. In 1990 there were about 2,800 Ponca in the United States.

Potawatomi (pot"uwot'ume) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They are closely related to the Ojibwa and Ottawa; their traditions state that all three were originally one people. The Potawatomi are of the Eastern Woodlands cultural area (see under Natives, North American).

In the early 17th cent., when first encountered by the whites, the Potawatomi lived near the mouth of Green Bay in Wisconsin. By the end of the century, however, they had been driven (probably by the Sioux) S along Lake Michigan and were settled on both sides of the southern end of the lake. After the Illinois were conquered (c.1765), they advanced into NE Illinois, S Michigan, and later NW Indiana. They were friendly to the French and aided them against the English. The Potawatomi supported Pontiac's Rebellion, fought against the United States in the battles headed by Little Turtle, took part in the battle of Fallen Timbers, and signed the Treaty of Greenville (1795). They sided with the British in the War of 1812. With the advancing frontier, the Potawatomi retreated westward to Iowa and Kansas, although a portion went to Walpole Island in Canada. From the reservation in Kansas where they had gathered, a large group moved (1868) to Oklahoma Indian Territory; this group, which held lands in severalty, became known as Citizen Potawatomi. They also have reservations in Michigan and Wisconsin. In 1990 there were close to 17,000 Potawatomi in the United States; another group has a reserve in Ontario. Their name is also spelled Potawatami, Pottawatami, and Pottawatomi.

Powhatan Confederacy, group of Native North Americans belonging to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Their area embraced most of tidewater Virginia and the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay. Wahunsonacock, or Powhatan, as the English called him, was the leader of the confederacy when Jamestown was settled in 1607. The Powhatan are said to have been driven N to Virginia by the Spanish, where their chief, Powhatan's father, subjugated five other Virginia tribes. With Powhatan's own conquests, the empire included, among some 30 peoples, the Pamunkey, Mattapony, Chickahominy, and others likewise commemorated in the names of the streams and rivers of E Virginia. They were a sedentary people, with some 200 settlements, many of them protected by palisades when the English arrived. They cultivated corn, fished, and hunted. Of his many capitals, Powhatan favored Werowocomoco, on the left bank of the York River near modern Purtan Bay, where Capt. John Smith first met him in 1608. The English soon seized the best lands, and Powhatan quickly retaliated. To appease him, he was given a crown, and a coronation ceremony was formally performed by Christopher Newport in 1609. Peace with Powhatan was secured when his daughter Pocahontas married (1614) John Rolfe.

On Powhatan's death in 1618, Opechancanough, chief of the Pamunkey, became the central power in the confederacy, and he organized the general attack (1622) in which some 350 settlers were killed. English reprisals were equally violent, but there was no further fighting on a large scale until 1644, when Opechancanough led the last uprising, in which he was captured and murdered at Jamestown. In 1646 the confederacy yielded much of its territory, and beginning in 1665 its chiefs were appointed by the governor of Virginia. After the Iroquois, traditional enemies of the confederacy, agreed to cease their attacks in the Treaty of Albany (1722), the tribes scattered, mixed with the settlers, and all semblance of the confederacy disappeared. In 1990 there were about 800 Powhatan in the United States, most of them in E Virginia.

Pueblo, name given by the Spanish to the sedentary Native Americans who lived in stone or adobe communal houses in what is now the SW United States. The term pueblo is also used for the villages occupied by the Pueblo. Their prehistoric settlements, known as the Anasazi and Mogollon cultures, extended southward from S Utah and S Colorado into Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent territory in Mexico. The transition from Archaic (see Americas, antiquity and prehistory of the) hunters and gatherers to sedentary agricultural populations occurred around the 1st cent. A.D., when corn, squash, and beans were widely adopted; the trio of foods is still used by the Pueblo. Although agriculture provided the bulk of the diet for these early populations, hunting and gathering was an important source of additional foodstuffs. Pottery manufacture began about A.D. 400 and was used for cooking and water storage. Clothing was woven from cotton, grown in warmer areas, and yucca fiber. Early houses among the Anasazi and Mogollon were pit houses, which were replaced by adobe and stone surface dwellings throughout the region by the end of the first millennium A.D.

Villages were variable in size and architectural content, but most included circular, often subterranean structures known as kivas (apparently a derivation of the pit house) and storage pits for grains. Prior to the 14th and 15th cent., densely settled villages were more the exception than the rule. Large pueblos were found at Chaco Canyon, dating to the 11th and early 12th cent., and at Mesa Verde, where multistoried cliff houses were inhabited in the 13th and 14th cent.; a great lunar observatory was built at Chimney Rock, S Colo., in the 11th cent. Changing climatic conditions forced the abandonment of much of the region by the early 14th cent., with populations migrating to their present-day locations in the Rio Grande valley and a few other isolated areas (e.g., the Hopi mesas).

Salish, indigenous people of North America, also known as the Flathead, who in the early 19th cent. inhabited the Bitterroot River valley of W Montana. Their language belongs to the Salishan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). These people never practiced head flattening, but the Columbia River tribes who shaped the front of the head to create a pointed appearance spoke of their neighbors, the Salish, as “flatheads” in contrast. After the introduction of the horse the Salish adopted a Plains culture, including the hunting of buffalo and the use of the tepee. They fought a series of wars with the Blackfoot over hunting land. The Jesuit missionary Pierre Jean De Smet, who in 1841 founded the mission of St. Mary in the Bitterroot valley among the Salish, persuaded the Blackfoot to make peace. By the Garfield Treaty (1872) the Salish agreed to move north to the valley of the Flathead lake and river. Many now live on the Flathead Reservation in Montana, which they share with a small group of Kootenai. In 1990 there were close to 5,000 Salish and over 2,000 people of mixed Salish and Kootenai descent in the United States.

There are several Coast Salish. groups centered around Puget Sound. They numbered some 10,000 in 1990, including the Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Nisqually, Puyallup, Suquamish, Tulalip, and other groups. The city of Seattle is named after one of their great chiefs. The Native Americans of the Puget Sound area were traditionally part of the Northwest Coast cultural area (see under Natives, North American), speaking Salishan languages, living in large wooden houses, and practicing wood carving. Their diet was based on an abundant supply of salmon, shellfish, berries, and game until they were moved onto reservations by the treaties of Medicine Creek, Point Elliott, and others in the 1850s. Since then they have waged a continual battle in federal courts over fishing and shellfish rights in the area, one of the most productive in the country.

Quapaw (kwô'pô) [key], Native North Americans, also called the Arkansas, whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Quapaw were essentially of the Plains culture, but they had other distinctive traits; they built temple and burial mounds and lived in longhouses. They once lived with the Omaha, the Kansa, the Ponca, and the Osage in the Ohio Valley, but when the groups separated the Quapaw migrated down the Mississippi River. Jacques Marquette, who arrived at their village in 1673, was the first of many French explorers to visit the Quapaw. They made a large land cession to the United States in 1818, and later moved to Oklahoma, where they lived on a reservation. In 1990 there were some 1,400 Quapaw in the United States.

Yuma (yOO' mu) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Yuman branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Also known as the Quechan, they formerly ranged over a large area in SW Arizona. Although a powerful group, the Yuma suffered much in warfare with the Maricopa, the Pima, and other tribes. In 1853 they numbered some 3,000. A reservation was created for them in 1883, but the next year they were removed to the California side of the Colorado River; they formally surrendered their lands to the United States in 1886. Today the remainder of the group lives on the Fort Yuma reservation in California and Arizona, numbering 1,160 in 1990.

Sac and Fox, closely related Native Americans of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Sac and Fox culture was of the Eastern Woodlands area with some Plains-area traits (see under Natives, North American). For a long period they dwelt around Saginaw Bay in E Michigan, but in the early 17th cent. they were driven from this area by the allied Ottawa and Neutral groups. The Sac (also commonly written Sauk) and the Fox fled N across the Strait of Mackinac, then S into present Wisconsin. Thus in 1667, when visited by Father Claude Jean Allouez, they were settled around Green Bay in NE Wisconsin. They then numbered some 6,500.

The Sac were enterprising farmers but spent much time hunting and raiding, although they never developed a soldier society to the degree that the Fox did. The Fox were fierce warriors and constantly waged war with the Ojibwa. Together, the Sac and Fox fought wars against the Sioux and the Illinois, as well as the French. The French, harassed by the Fox, waged a war of extermination; by 1730 they had reduced the Fox to a mere handful. The remnants of the tribe incorporated with their long-standing allies, the Sac, and from that time the two tribes have been known collectively as the Sac and Fox.

After a war with the Illinois (c.1765), the Sac and Fox moved into Illinois territory. In 1804 a fraudulent treaty was extracted from them, and they were told to move west of the Mississippi. Most of them refused to go, but by 1831 they were induced to cross the river into Iowa. By 1832, however, they were back east of the river, attacking frontier settlements. This started the Black Hawk War. After that war they moved west, eventually settling on reservations in Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma. In 1990 there were about 4,775 Sac and Fox in the United States.

Salish, indigenous people of North America, also known as the Flathead, who in the early 19th cent. inhabited the Bitterroot River valley of W Montana. Their language belongs to the Salishan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). These people never practiced head flattening, but the Columbia River tribes who shaped the front of the head to create a pointed appearance spoke of their neighbors, the Salish, as “flatheads” in contrast. After the introduction of the horse the Salish adopted a Plains culture, including the hunting of buffalo and the use of the tepee. They fought a series of wars with the Blackfoot over hunting land. The Jesuit missionary Pierre Jean De Smet, who in 1841 founded the mission of St. Mary in the Bitterroot valley among the Salish, persuaded the Blackfoot to make peace. By the Garfield Treaty (1872) the Salish agreed to move north to the valley of the Flathead lake and river. Many now live on the Flathead Reservation in Montana, which they share with a small group of Kootenai. In 1990 there were close to 5,000 Salish and over 2,000 people of mixed Salish and Kootenai descent in the United States.

There are several Coast Salish. groups centered around Puget Sound. They numbered some 10,000 in 1990, including the Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Nisqually, Puyallup, Suquamish, Tulalip, and other groups. The city of Seattle is named after one of their great chiefs. The Native Americans of the Puget Sound area were traditionally part of the Northwest Coast cultural area (see under Natives, North American), speaking Salishan languages, living in large wooden houses, and practicing wood carving. Their diet was based on an abundant supply of salmon, shellfish, berries, and game until they were moved onto reservations by the treaties of Medicine Creek, Point Elliott, and others in the 1850s. Since then they have waged a continual battle in federal courts over fishing and shellfish rights in the area, one of the most productive in the country.

Sioux or Dakota,confederation of Native North American tribes, the dominant group of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock, which is divided into several separate branches (see Native American languages). The Sioux, or Dakota, consisted of seven tribes in three major divisions: Wahpekute, Mdewakantonwan, Wahpetonwan, Sisitonwan (who together formed the Santee or Eastern division, sometimes referred to as the Dakota), the Ihanktonwan, or Yankton, and the Ihanktonwana, or Yanktonai (who form the Middle division, sometimes referred to as the Nakota), and the Titonwan, or Teton (who form the Western division, sometimes referred to as the Lakota). The Tetons, originally a single band, divided into seven sub-bands after the move to the plains, these seven including the Hunkpapa, Sihasapa (or Blackfoot), and Oglala.

Sarsi (sär'se) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Athabascan branch of the Nadene linguistic stock (see also Native American languages). They are also known as the Sarcee. At the beginning of the 19th cent., their hunting grounds were on the upper Saskatchewan River. Attacks by the Cree and other tribes caused the Sarsi to ally themselves with the Blackfoot for protection. Although their customs were greatly modified by association with this Plains tribe, their language remained unaffected. In 1877 they ceded their lands to the Canadian government and in 1880 moved to a reserve at Calgary, Alberta. There were some 800 Sarsi in Canada in 1991.

Sac and Fox, closely related Native Americans of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Sac and Fox culture was of the Eastern Woodlands area with some Plains-area traits (see under Natives, North American). For a long period they dwelt around Saginaw Bay in E Michigan, but in the early 17th cent. they were driven from this area by the allied Ottawa and Neutral groups. The Sac (also commonly written Sauk) and the Fox fled N across the Strait of Mackinac, then S into present Wisconsin. Thus in 1667, when visited by Father Claude Jean Allouez, they were settled around Green Bay in NE Wisconsin. They then numbered some 6,500.

The Sac were enterprising farmers but spent much time hunting and raiding, although they never developed a soldier society to the degree that the Fox did. The Fox were fierce warriors and constantly waged war with the Ojibwa. Together, the Sac and Fox fought wars against the Sioux and the Illinois, as well as the French. The French, harassed by the Fox, waged a war of extermination; by 1730 they had reduced the Fox to a mere handful. The remnants of the tribe incorporated with their long-standing allies, the Sac, and from that time the two tribes have been known collectively as the Sac and Fox.

After a war with the Illinois (c.1765), the Sac and Fox moved into Illinois territory. In 1804 a fraudulent treaty was extracted from them, and they were told to move west of the Mississippi. Most of them refused to go, but by 1831 they were induced to cross the river into Iowa. By 1832, however, they were back east of the river, attacking frontier settlements. This started the Black Hawk War. After that war they moved west, eventually settling on reservations in Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma. In 1990 there were about 4,775 Sac and Fox in the United States.

Seminole, Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Muskogean branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They separated (their name means “separatist”) from the Creek in the early 18th cent. and settled in the former territory of the Apalachee in Florida. They gradually grew in strength, absorbing many runaway black slaves and some members of the Apalachee tribe. While still under Spanish rule, the Seminole became involved in several major confrontations with the United States, particularly in the War of 1812 and again in 1817–18. In the retaliatory expedition of 1817–18, Gen. Andrew Jackson invaded Florida with more than 3,000 men to punish the Seminole. By the Treaty of Paynes Landing (1832), the Seminole were bound to move W of the Mississippi River within three years. Most Seminole, led by Osceola, refused to go and prepared themselves for resistance.

In 1835 began the Seminole War, which proved to be the most costly of the Indian wars in which the United States engaged. Lasting for nearly eight years, it cost the lives of thousands of Seminole and 1,500 U.S. soldiers, as well as at least $30 million. Finally defeated in 1842, the Seminole consented to move to Oklahoma, where they became one of the Five Civilized Tribes. A few Seminole remained isolated in the Everglades. In 1990 there were about 15,500 Seminole in the United States, mostly in Florida and Oklahoma.

Iroquois Confederacy or Iroquois League (ir'ukwoi", –kwä") [key], North American confederation of indigenous peoples, initially comprising the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. They gave their name to the Iroquoian branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages), which included numerous other Native American groups of the E United States and E Canada. In the early 17th cent. this confederacy of Five Nations (later to become six when the Tuscarora joined) inhabited New York state from the Hudson River N to the St. Lawrence River and W to the Genesee River.

Shawnee (shô"ne') [key]or Shawano (shô'wuno) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Their earliest known home was in the present state of Ohio. In the mid-17th cent. part of the tribe was settled in W South Carolina and part in N Tennessee. These two bodies, divided by the Cherokee, migrated constantly, from South Carolina to S New York, then to W Pennsylvania and into Ohio, where they finally united in the mid-18th cent. They then numbered some 1,500. After their reunion in Ohio the warlike Shawnee participated in almost every war of the Old Northwest (see Northwest Territory). By the Treaty of Greenville (1795) they were obliged to give up their lands in Ohio and move to Indiana. About 1800 the Shawnee Prophet (Tenskwatawa) arose. He and his followers, cooperating with Tecumseh, established themselves in a village at the mouth of the Tippecanoe River in Indiana. It was this village that William Henry Harrison destroyed in the battle of Tippecanoe. The Shawnee were thereafter moved to Missouri, to Kansas, and finally to Oklahoma. Today they live on reservations in Oklahoma and Missouri. In 1990 there were over 6,600 Shawnee in the United States.

Shoshone or Shoshoni (shusho'ne) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Shoshonean group of the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the early 19th cent. the Shoshone occupied SE California, NW Utah, SW Montana, W Wyoming, S Idaho, and NE Nevada. The Shoshone were traditionally divided into four groups: the Comanche of W Texas, a historically recent subdivision of the Wind River Shoshone of Wyoming; the Northern Shoshone of Idaho and Utah, who had horses and ranged across the Great Plains in search of buffalo; the Western Shoshone, who did not use horses and subsisted mainly on nuts and other wild vegetation; and the Wind River Shoshone of Wyoming. Today the Shoshone live on reservations in California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. In 1990 there were some 9,500 Shoshone in the United States.

Shuswap (shOO'swäp) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Salishan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the mid-19th cent. they lived in S British Columbia on the Fraser River and numbered some 7,000. The Shuswap, numbering about 5,000 in 1991, now live on reserves in British Columbia.

Sioux or Dakota,confederation of Native North American tribes, the dominant group of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock, which is divided into several separate branches (see Native American languages). The Sioux, or Dakota, consisted of seven tribes in three major divisions: Wahpekute, Mdewakantonwan, Wahpetonwan, Sisitonwan (who together formed the Santee or Eastern division, sometimes referred to as the Dakota), the Ihanktonwan, or Yankton, and the Ihanktonwana, or Yanktonai (who form the Middle division, sometimes referred to as the Nakota), and the Titonwan, or Teton (who form the Western division, sometimes referred to as the Lakota). The Tetons, originally a single band, divided into seven sub-bands after the move to the plains, these seven including the Hunkpapa, Sihasapa (or Blackfoot), and Oglala.

Spokan or Spokane (both: spokan') [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Salishan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the early 19th cent., according to Lewis and Clark (see Lewis and Clark Expedition), they lived in the vicinity of the Spokane River in NE Washington and numbered some 600. Their culture was typical of the Plateau area (see under Natives, North American). Today many Spokan live on the Spokan and the Colville reservations in Washington; others live in Idaho and Montana. In 1990 there were over 2,000 Spokan in the United States.

Stockbridge, Native North Americans of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the early 17th cent. they were known as the Housatonic and were part of the Mahican confederacy. They then occupied part of the valley of the Housatonic River in SW Massachusetts. Their principal village, Westenhuck, was for a long time the Mahican capital after the removal of the council fire from Schodac. In 1734, John Sergeant began missionary work among them, and two years later the tribe was moved to a tract reserved for them by the colonial government. After the village of Stockbridge was established, they obtained their present name. They suffered terribly in the French and Indian War, at the close of which they numbered about 200. Accepting an invitation from the Oneida, the remnants of the Stockbridge moved to New York where they established New Stockbridge. In 1833 they moved to a reservation at Green Bay, Wis., where they joined the Munsee. In the 1850s most of them moved to a reservation in Shawano co., Wis. In 1990 there were some 2,200 Stockbridge in the United States.

Sioux or Dakota,confederation of Native North American tribes, the dominant group of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock, which is divided into several separate branches (see Native American languages). The Sioux, or Dakota, consisted of seven tribes in three major divisions: Wahpekute, Mdewakantonwan, Wahpetonwan, Sisitonwan (who together formed the Santee or Eastern division, sometimes referred to as the Dakota), the Ihanktonwan, or Yankton, and the Ihanktonwana, or Yanktonai (who form the Middle division, sometimes referred to as the Nakota), and the Titonwan, or Teton (who form the Western division, sometimes referred to as the Lakota). The Tetons, originally a single band, divided into seven sub-bands after the move to the plains, these seven including the Hunkpapa, Sihasapa (or Blackfoot), and Oglala.

Tillamook, Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Salishan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the early 19th cent. they lived on Tillamook Bay and in neighboring river valleys in NW Oregon. They then numbered some 2,200 and were the most powerful tribe on the Oregon coast. By 1849, however, they had been reduced to some 200. Although descendants of the Tillamook still live in Oregon, they are no longer organized as a tribe.

Tlingit (tling'git) [key], group of related Native North American tribes, speaking a language that forms a branch of the Nadene linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The 14 divisions of the Tlingit may reflect a former era when they were entirely independent tribes. Important among the divisions are the Chilkat, the Yakutat, the Stikine, the Sitka, the Auk, and the Huna. In 1741, when visited by Aleksei Chirikov and Vitus Bering, the Tlingit lived in SE Alaska, along the coast and on the islands around Sitka, S to Prince of Wales Island and N to the Copper River. The Russians built (1799) a fort near the site of Sitka, but the indigenous inhabitants drove them out. Aleksandr Baranov, however, later captured the fort, killing many native people. He established a trading post there, which grew into Sitka. There was constant strife between the Tlingit and the Russians in the early 19th cent. In 1990 there were about 14,400 Tlingit in the United States, mostly in native villages in Alaska. Around 1,200 live on reserves in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. Tlingit culture, like that of the Haida and the Tsimshian, was typical of the Northwest Coast area (see under Natives, North American). Some of their finely carved totem poles survive, and the Tlingit still carry on many of their traditional dances. The name is also spelled Tlinget, Tlinkit, and Tlinket.

Tobacco Nation or Tionontati,Native North Americans of the Iroquoian branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In 1616, when visited by the French, they were living S of Nottawasaga Bay, in Ontario. The French called them the Tobacco Nation for their large fields of the crop. After the dispersion (1648–49) of the Huron by the Iroquois, many Huron refugees fled to the Tobacco Nation, and later in 1649 the wrathful Iroquois attacked. The remnants of the Tobacco Nation, with the Huron, were forced to flee to a region SW of Lake Superior. About 1670 the two tribes were at Mackinac; soon after they assimilated into one tribe, known to history as the Wyandot (see under Huron). In 1990 there were some 2,500 Wyandot in the United States.

Tohono O'Odham (toho'no o-o'dum) [key]or Papago (pap'ugo", pä'–) [key], Native North Americans speaking a language that belongs to the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock (see Native American languages) and that is closely related to that of their neighbors, the Pima. The probable ancestors of both the Pima and the Tohono O'Odham were the Hohokam people. They were a semisedentary tribe who farmed corn, beans, and cotton and gathered wild vegetable products (e.g., the beans of the mesquite and the fruit of the giant cactus). Although farming remains the major economic activity of the Tohono O'Odham, many now are engaged in cattle raising. The women are known as excellent basket makers. The Tohono O'Odham formerly suffered dreadful depredations from their enemy, the Apache. They were early visited by Spanish missionaries, including Father Eusebio Kino in 1694. In the 1860s they joined with the Pima and Maricopa in helping the United States to force a peace with the Apache. By an executive act of 1874 the United States created a reservation for the Tohono O'Odham in S Arizona; another was created in 1917. Today they live on these and on Pima and Maricopa reservations as well, all in Arizona. In 1990 there were close to 17,000 Tohono O'Odham in the United States; many others live in Sonora, Mexico.

Tsimshian (tsim'sheun) [key], Native North Americans speaking a language probably falling within the Penutian linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They lived around the Skeena and Nass rivers, south along the coast of British Columbia, and north into Alaska. Tsimshian culture, like that of the Haida and the Tlingit, was typical of the Northwest Coast area (see under Natives, North American). They depended for subsistence largely on the codfish and halibut of the deep sea as well as the salmon and candlefish that come upstream in spring. They also hunted seals and sea lions and, in the interior, bears, mountain goats, and deer. The Tsimshian were subdivided into four matrilineal phratries. The Episcopalian missionary William Duncan established (1857) a mission at the Tsimshian village of Metlakahtta, 15 mi (24 km) S of Port Simpson, British Columbia. Duncan moved, however, in 1887 to Port Chester, or New Metlakahtta, on Annette Island, and most of the Tsimshian followed him. Today the Tsimshian live in British Columbia and Alaska, where they live mainly by fishing and forestry. In 1990 there were close to 10,000 Tsimshian in Canada and more than 2,000 in the United States. Chimmesyan is another spelling for Tsimshian.

Iroquois Confederacy or Iroquois League (ir'ukwoi", –kwä") [key], North American confederation of indigenous peoples, initially comprising the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. They gave their name to the Iroquoian branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages), which included numerous other Native American groups of the E United States and E Canada. In the early 17th cent. this confederacy of Five Nations (later to become six when the Tuscarora joined) inhabited New York state from the Hudson River N to the St. Lawrence River and W to the Genesee River.

Ute (yOOt, yOO'te) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Shoshonean group of the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the early 19th cent. the Ute occupied W Colorado and E Utah. Ute culture was typical of the western part of the Plains culture area (see under Natives, North American); they lived in tepees, which were frequently decorated with brilliantly colored paintings, or in brush or sod shelters. The bear dance and the sun dance were important features of their culture; the Ute also became adherents of peyotism.

The Ute were fierce, nomadic warriors, who, after the introduction of the horse, ranged into New Mexico and Arizona, menacing and sometimes destroying the villages of the Pueblo. Once they discovered that the Spanish were conducting slave raids against Native Americans, they entered the market, taking their captives to sell in New Mexico. Early in 1855 the Ute began to attack Mexican settlements in the San Luis Valley of Colorado; they were put down by U.S. troops, and a treaty was extracted. Retaining their hatred for their traditional enemies, some of the Ute fought with Kit Carson during the American Civil War in campaigns against the Navajo.

In 1868 they were placed on a large reservation in Colorado. A group of Ute killed (1879) the Indian agent Nathan Meeker and several employees of his agency, but serious repercussions were avoided, mainly through the peaceful efforts of Chief Ouray. By a treaty signed in 1880 the Ute were moved from rich mineral and agricultural lands to areas less desirable to white settlers. Today, although some Ute own land individually, most live on reservations in Colorado and Utah; their income is derived largely from lucrative oil and gas leases and farming and raising livestock. In 1990 there were over 7,500 Ute in the United States.

Wampanoag (wäm"puno'ag) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the early 17th cent. they occupied the region extending E from Narragansett Bay to the Atlantic Ocean, including Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. The Wampanoag were sometimes referred to as the Pokanoket, from the name of their principal village. When the Pilgrims settled (1620) at Plymouth, the Wampanoag, although reduced by the pestilence of 1617, were powerful, living in some 30 villages. Their chief, Massasoit, was very friendly to the settlers. His son, Metacom (Philip), however, was the central figure of the deadliest war with the colonists, King Philip's War (1675). The victory of the English brought ruin to the tribe. The Wampanoag were harried almost out of existence, the remnant consolidating with the Saconnet. However, in 1990 there were over 2,000 Wampanoag living in the United States, most of them in Massachusetts. The Wampanoag were of the Eastern Woodlands culture area (see under Natives, North American).

Wappinger (wop'injur) [key], confederation of Native North Americans of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the early 17th cent. they occupied the east bank of the Hudson River from Poughkeepsie to Manhattan Island and ranged E into Connecticut. They were closely related to the Mahican to the north and the Delaware to the southwest, and there is much argument about assigning various groups to any one of the three peoples. The Wappinger, however, included many groups, the most important of which were the Wappinger proper, the Kitchawong, the Sint Sink, the Tankiteke, the Weckquaesgeek, the Manhattan, the Siwanoy, the Nochpeem, and the Mattabesec. The power of the Wappinger confederacy, which numbered about 5,000 at its peak, was broken in a war with the Dutch (1640–45), and gradually they lost their lands and retired to the protection of neighboring tribes. Some joined the Nanticoke, some the Delaware, and some the Mahican. The Wappinger were of the Eastern Woodlands cultural area (see under Natives, North American).

Washo (wä'sho) [key], Native North Americans occupying the region around Washo and Tahoe lakes in W Nevada and E California in the mid-19th cent. The Paiute were their inveterate enemies; before the coming of white settlers the Paiute defeated and drove back the Washo, and again in the period of 1860–62 they conquered the Washo. In 1990 there were close to 1,500 Washo in the United States, mainly living on reservations in California and Nevada. Their language belongs to the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages).

Wichita (wich'itô) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Caddoan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They formerly occupied central Kansas and ranged into Oklahoma and Texas. The Wichita were the people of Quivira, which Francisco Coronado visited in 1541. Juan de Padilla, left by the expedition to undertake the Christianization of the Native Americans, was the earliest missionary among the Plains Indians. Padilla, however, was killed by Native Americans three years later. In 1662 the Wichita were defeated by Diego Dionisio de Peñalosa. By 1765, forced southward by hostile northern and eastern tribes, they had a village on the north fork of the Red River in Oklahoma. Following a severe smallpox epidemic, they abandoned the village, moving to the present site of Fort Sill; later they moved again, and in the Civil War they fled for a time to Kansas; the site became Wichita, Kans. In 1872 they ceded all their lands to the United States. Later they were settled on a reservation, now dissolved, in W Oklahoma. In 1990 there were over 1,200 Wichita in the United States. Culturally the Wichita were similar to their Plains relatives the Pawnee. The French called the Wichita Panis piqués, or Pawnee Picts, because they practiced tattooing. Distinctive to the Wichita was the conical grass house, which resembled a haystack. They practiced a dance for agricultural fertility, and in the late 19th cent. they adopted the Ghost Dance.

Winnebago, Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). When Father Jean Nicolet encountered them (1634), the Winnebago lived in E Wisconsin, from Green Bay to Lake Winnebago. Except for a war with the Illinois (1671) and one with the Ojibwa (1827), the Winnebago generally were peaceful toward their neighbors, who included the Menominee, the Sac and Fox, and the Ottawa. The Winnebago traded with, and were staunch supporters of, the French. After the fall of French power, however, they allied themselves with the British; they fought against the colonists in the American Revolution and in the War of 1812. The Winnebago clandestinely participated in the Black Hawk War (1832). After numerous hardships and much loss of population, they were settled on reservations in Nebraska (1860s) and Wisconsin (1880s). Winnebago culture was of the Eastern Woodlands cultural area with some Plains-area traits (see under Natives, North American). Their many ceremonies were elaborate, e.g., the spring buffalo dance and the winter feast; many Winnebago continue to follow their traditional religion. The tribe now operates several gambling casinos in Wisconsin and is among the larger employers in that state. In 1990 there were over 6,500 Winnebago in the United States.

Huron (hyoor'än") [key], confederation of four Native North American groups who spoke the Wyandot language, which belongs to the Iroquoian branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Their name for themselves was Wendat, Huron being the name applied to them by the French. In the early 17th cent. they occupied the region between Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay in Ontario and numbered some 20,000. Their culture was substantially that of the area of the Eastern woodlands. They lived in palisaded villages and cultivated tobacco.

In 1615, when Samuel Champlain visited the Huron, they were at war with the Iroquois. The long-standing enmity between the Huron and the Iroquois reached a climax in 1648, when the Iroquois, armed with Dutch firearms, invaded Huronia and subsequently disrupted (1649) the Huron confederacy. It was at this time that Father Jean de Brébeuf, who established (1626) a Roman Catholic mission among the Huron, and other Jesuit missionaries were killed by the Iroquois. The survivors of the Huron fled in all directions—southwest to the Tobacco Nation, south to the Neutral Nation, southeast to the Erie, and northeast to a French fort near Quebec. The implacable Iroquois hunted the Huron everywhere; in 1649 the Iroquois attacked the Tobacco Nation, causing the migration of these people in company with the Huron. In 1650 the Neutral Nation was invaded by the Iroquois and practically wiped out, and in 1656 the Erie were almost exterminated.

The Huron who had fled to Quebec ultimately received a small reservation at Lorette, where many still live, but the remnants of the Huron and Tobacco Nation went, under pressure from the Iroquois, first to Michigan, then to Wisconsin and Illinois, where the Sioux attacked them. The Tobacco Nation and Huron eventually settled (1750) in villages near Detroit and at Sandusky, Ohio. In Ohio they became known to the British as the Wyandot and as such fought with the British against the Americans in both the American Revolution and the War of 1812. After the War of 1812 possession of their lands was confirmed by the United States, but by 1842 they had sold their tracts and moved to what is now Wyandotte co., Kans. In 1867 they were settled in NE Oklahoma, where they reside as citizens, their tribe having been terminated in 1959. There were some 2,500 Wyandot in the United States in 1990. About 1,500 Huron live in Canada.

Yakima (yak'umô, –mu) [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Sahaptin-Chinook branch of the Penutian linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the early 19th cent. they lived along the Columbia and Yakima rivers, in central Washington. They then numbered some 1,200. In 1855 an attempt by the United States to place the Yakima on a reservation in Washington resulted in war. Under a capable leader, Kamiakin, the Yakima fought until 1859, when they were subdued. Several other tribes subsequently joined them on the reservation there and were absorbed by the Yakima. The culture of the Yakima was of the Plateau area (see under Natives, North American); they subsisted on salmon, roots, berries, and nuts. Today most live on the Yakima Reservation, where the main source of income is forestry. In 1990 there were over 7,500 Yakima in the United States.

Yamasee, Yamasi (both: yam'use, yäm'–) [key], or Yemasee (yem'–) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Muskogean branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the late 16th cent., when Spanish missions were established among them, the Yamasee lived in S Georgia and N Florida. They remained under Spanish rule until 1687, when they revolted and fled to South Carolina. The Yamasee were initially friendly toward the English, but in 1715 war broke out and they massacred more than 200 white settlers. Driven out of South Carolina, the Yamasee returned to Florida, where they became allies of the Spanish against the English. In 1727 their village near St. Augustine was attacked and destroyed by the English. Their population declined, and eventually they assimilated with the Seminole and the Creek.

Sioux or Dakota,confederation of Native North American tribes, the dominant group of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock, which is divided into several separate branches (see Native American languages). The Sioux, or Dakota, consisted of seven tribes in three major divisions: Wahpekute, Mdewakantonwan, Wahpetonwan, Sisitonwan (who together formed the Santee or Eastern division, sometimes referred to as the Dakota), the Ihanktonwan, or Yankton, and the Ihanktonwana, or Yanktonai (who form the Middle division, sometimes referred to as the Nakota), and the Titonwan, or Teton (who form the Western division, sometimes referred to as the Lakota). The Tetons, originally a single band, divided into seven sub-bands after the move to the plains, these seven including the Hunkpapa, Sihasapa (or Blackfoot), and Oglala.

Yokuts (yo'koots) [key], Native North Americans of S California. Their culture was essentially that of the California cultural area, and their basketry and pictographs are notable. In the late 18th cent. the Yokuts population was about 18,000; in 1990 it was under 3,000. The Yokuts, or Mariposan, languages are a branch of the Penutian linguistic family (see Native American Languages).

Yuma (yOO' mu) [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Yuman branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Also known as the Quechan, they formerly ranged over a large area in SW Arizona. Although a powerful group, the Yuma suffered much in warfare with the Maricopa, the Pima, and other tribes. In 1853 they numbered some 3,000. A reservation was created for them in 1883, but the next year they were removed to the California side of the Colorado River; they formally surrendered their lands to the United States in 1886. Today the remainder of the group lives on the Fort Yuma reservation in California and Arizona, numbering 1,160 in 1990.

Yurok (yoor'ok) [key], Native North Americans who in the mid-19th cent. occupied parts of NW California, particularly the area around the Klamath River. They were of the California cultural area but had some Pacific Northwest Coast traits (see under Natives, North American); they subsisted on salmon and acorns, and for money they used the dentalium shell, which they received from tribes living farther north. Their property laws were unique among Native Americans, pertaining only to the realm of the individual; the Yurok recognized no public claim to property. By 1855 a reservation was set aside for them; they then numbered some 2,500. Presently they live on several reservations in California, mainly on the Yurok reservation on the lower Klamath River. In 1990 there were some 4,400 Yurok in the United States. The Yurok and their southern neighbors, the Wiyot, speak languages of the Ritwan group that belong to the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock and possibly to the Algonquian branch of this stock (see Native American languages).