Read in ARKANSAS, A NARRATIVE HISTORY. Chapter 3 pp. 33-45.
Michael Dougan, Arkansas Odyssey. Rose Publishing Com. Little Rock, 1994,684pp.
It is possible to identify the Native American relationships at the end of the 17th century thanks to the accounts left by the Spanish and French explorers. During the next century, disease and warfare greatly reduced the already small number of Native Americans and some tribes lost their identity completely. The Quapaw lived at the beginning of the period on the Arkansas River near its juncture with the Mississippi River. Southwestern Arkansas remained under the control of the Caddo. Both feared the Osage of Missouri, the "little people" averaging more than six feet tall, who claimed all of Arkansas for their hunting ground. They drove the Caddo out of the Ozarks and harassed the Quapaw. Of the smaller tribes the Koras partially merged with the Choctaw: the Cahinnias, last recorded separately in 1771, moved to Louisiana as did the Ouachita, the "Cow River People", and both were absorbed into the Natchitoches tribe. The Tunica, who may have been form Arkansas originally, also moved south. Little is known about how these mergers occurred, and even the histories of the major tribes remain incomplete.
The Quapaw
The historic Native Americans most associated with Arkansas were the Quapaw but historians and archeologists disagree sharply about their origins. Many archeologists believe them to be the descendants of Mississippian residents present at the time of De Soto. This contention is supported by continuity between Mississippian and Quapaw pottery and other artifacts. On the other hand, Quapaw tradition and some historical data hold that the Quapaw were driven west by the Iroquois and arrived to find a loosely held or empty land. As a northern tribe, they shared the Siouan language with other western tribes. By their tradition, when their fleeing remnants reached the Mississippi River, the Omahas went north, the Osage west and the Quapaw south, thereby becoming the "Downstream People." Their four villages presumably were fortified and there are references to mounds but not to a temple culture. French accounts describe a culture that emphasized hunting buffalo and deer. Their agriculture included watermelons, apples, peaches and tobacco in addition to corn, squash and beans. At the time of the French arrival the Quapaw probably numbered between 2500 and 3500 divided among four villages. Tourima and Osotouy were on the north bank of the Arkansas River, Tongigua was on the east side of the Mississippi and Kappa was on the west bank some 20 miles up from the mouth of the Arkansas River. Each town was ruled by a hereditary chief. Tribal decisions were made collectively by the four chiefs. The Quapaw were often at war with their neighbors, primarily the Osage to the north and the Chickasaw to the east. The Quapaw welcomed the French so that they could trade for superior weapons to offset their small numbers.
The Caddo Indians
The Caddo, properly called the Cadhadacho Confederacy, consisted of three or more confederations containing some twenty-five tribes. Their nickname for allies, "Tejas", became the word Texas and their people lived from Louisiana to west Texas. Much internal fighting took place because the Confederacy lacked strong central government. Perhaps because the fierce oppositions of the Caddo to DeSoto limited their contact with whites ore because of their diffuse settlement pattern, the Caddo passed through the 130 year period between the Spanish and the French largely intact. The western-most Caddo, the comparatively primitive Hasinai, may have made contact with the Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado in 1540-1542 and by the time of LaSalle, the Caddo were in fairly constant contact with the Spanish i Mexico. They benefited by occupying a strategic middle ground between the French and Spanish for more than 100 years. The Arkansas
Caddo living on the rich lands of the Red River Valley, were among the most advanced of ;the Confederacy's tribes. They continued to live in a dispersed settlement pattern and built rather curious houses.: large beehive shaped cabins that stood some fifty feet high and held eight to twelve families. Hunting was important and the Caddo were famous for high quality bows made of bois d'arc, their pottery was highly regarded and they were active salt merchants. Report on the CaddoLoess-Zone Taensa Life Upon the Europeans' arrival.
Archaeo-geophysics and Archaeology at Grandview Ranch Caddo site
Arkansas Natives before the Louisiana Purchase
Native American History in Arkansas - Part 2
Be sure you can describe the differences between the Native Americans, know where they were located, where or if they moved, why they moved?
Be able to describe them as the Europeans found them/saw them
Location of Native
American tribes in Arkansas
