Indians,
The name commonly applied to the people found by Columbus in America; by many authorities believed to have been the aboriginal inhabitants. The [30] following remarks and tables refer to Indians within the present area of the United States. In manners, customs, and general features the difference between the Indians of the Gulf States and those of the shores of the Northern Lakes is scarcely perceptible; it is only by languages that they can be grouped into great families. East of the Mississippi there were not more than eight radically distinct languages, four of which are still in existence, while the others have disappeared.Names and location of the principal tribes of the eight Great families at the time of the first settlements.
Name. | Location. |
I. Algonquian tribes: | |
Micmacs | East of the State of Maine. |
Etchemins or Canoe men | Maine. |
Abenakis | New Hampshire and Maine. |
Narragansets | Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. |
Pokanokets or Wampanoags | |
Pequots | Central Massachusetts and Rhode Island. |
Mohegans | Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. |
Delawares or Lenni Lenape | New Jersey, the valley of the Delaware and Schuylkill. |
Nanticokes | Eastern shores of Chesapeake Bay. |
Powhatan Confederacy | E. Virginia and Maryland. |
Corees | E. North Carolina. |
Shawnees | South of the Ohio, W. Kentucky, and Tennessee. |
Miamis | S. Michigan, N. Indiana, and N. W. Ohio. |
Illinois | S. Illinois and Indiana. |
Kickapoos | N. and central Illinois. |
Pottawattomies | Northern Illinois. |
Ottawas | Michigan. |
Sacs and Foxes | Northern Wisconsin. |
Menomonees | Southern shore of Lake Superior. |
Chippewasor Ojibways | Southern shore of Lake Superior. |
II. Wyandotte or Huron-Iroquois tribes: | |
Eries (Huron or Wyandotte-Iroquois) | Southern shore of Lake Erie. |
Andastes (Huronor Wyandotte-Iroquois) | Head-waters of the Ohio. |
Wyandottes (Huron or Wyandotte-Iroquois) | Territory north of Lakes Erie and Ontario. |
Senecas (Iroquois proper) | Western New York. |
Cayugas (Iroquois proper) | Central New York. |
Onondagas (Iroquois proper) | Central New York. |
Oneidas (Iroquois proper) | Eastern New York. |
Mohawks (Iroquois proper) | Eastern New York. |
Tuscaroras (Iroquois proper) | S. W. Virginia and North Carolina. Joined the Iroquois of New York, 1713. |
Names and location of the principal tribes of the eight Great families at the time of the first settlements—Continued.
Name. | Location. |
Chowans (Huron) or Wyandotte-Iroquois) | Southern Virginia. |
Metherrins (Huron or Wyandotte-Iroquois) | Southern Virginia. |
Nottaways (Huron or Wyandotte-Iroquois | Southern Virginia. |
III. Catawbas | W. North and South Carolina. |
IV Cherokees | Mountainous regions of Tennessee, Georgia, North and South Carolina. |
V. Uchees | About Augusta, Ga. |
VI. Natchez | N. W. Mississippi. |
VII. Mobilian or Muscogees: | |
Chikasaws | Western Tennessee and Northern Mississippi. |
Choctaws | Eastern Mississippi and Western Alabama. |
Creeks | Alabama and Georgia. |
Seminoles | Florida. |
VIII. Winnebagoes | About Green Bay, Wis. |
principal tribes West of the Mississippi in 1800-30.
Name. | Location. |
Dakotas (Sioux) | Wisconsin, west to Rocky Mountains. |
Arapahoes | Wyoming, head-waters of Plate. |
Cheyennes | Wyoming and Nebraska. |
Kansas | Kansas, west. |
Poncas | Dakotas. |
Omahas | Nebraska. |
Mandans | Montana. |
Assinibois | Montana and Dakotas. |
Minnetaries (Gros Ventres) | Montana. |
Missouris | Lower Missouri. |
Iowas | Iowa. |
Osages | Kansas, west. |
Crows | Dakotas. |
Kaws | Kansas. |
Pawnees | Kansas and Nebraska. |
Caddos | Red River and Arkansas. |
Shoshones or Snakes | Kansas to Oregon. |
Kiowas | Kansas, west. |
Utes | Utah and Colorado. |
Comanches | Texas and New Mexico. |
Apaches | New Mexico and Arizona. |
Navajos and Moquis | Arizona. |
Yumas | Arizona and California. |
Pueblos | Nevada and New Mexico. |
Pimas | Arizona. |
Bannocks | Idaho and Oregon. |
Modocs | Nevada and Oregon. |
Nez Perces | Nevada and Oregon. |
Flatheads | California, Oregon, and Nevada. |
Klamaths | Oregon and N. California. |
For other details concerning the various tribes, see their respective titles; also reservations, Indian.