Summary of Native American Tribes

Index  A-B  C-D  E-K  L-M  N-O  P-S  T-V  X-Z

Houma - Originally the Houma were from east central Mississippi and were of the Chakchiuma. By 1682 the Houma had separated from the Chakchiuma and were living a few miles inland from the east bank of the Mississippi River just below the present border between Mississippi and Louisiana. Over time, they drifted south into Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes southwest of New Orleans. Most of their descendents are still there today and live in or in the vicinity of Montagne, Golden Meadow, and Dulac-Grand Caillou.

Hualupai, aka: Walapai - The Hualapai, meaning "People of the Tall Pine," have lived along the Colorado and the Grand Canyon for centuries. The Hualapai are descendants of the "Pai," whose earliest physical remains have been found along the Willow Beach bank near the Hoover Dam, dating back as early as A.D. 600. Traditional hunters and gatherers, they were first discovered by Spanish explorers in the 1500's. From 1865-1868, the Hualapai were involved in the Hualapai War, as a result of encroaching settlers upon their lands. The Hualapai Reservation was established by an executive order in 1883, when the tribe numbered around 700. Today, the Hualapai live on a reservation encompassing a million acres along 108 miles of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. Their tribal capital is located at Peach Springs, Arizona, with a total population of some 1,600 members. Their economy is based on tourism, river-rafting, cattle-ranching, hunting expeditions, and timber-cutting, as well as crafting of traditional and modern folk arts.

Huron - Many people today do not realize that Huron and Wyandot are the same people. Originally, more than a dozen Iroquoian-speaking tribes of southern Ontario, they referred to themselves as Wendat meaning "island people" or "dwellers on a peninsula." Rendered variously as: Guyandot, Guyandotte, Ouendat, Wyandot, and Wyandotte. The French, however, called members of a four-tribe confederacy Huron, a derogatory name derived from their word "hure" meaning rough or ruffian. This has persisted as their usual name in Canada.

lllinois - The destruction of the Illini after contact with white settlers is one of the great tragedies in North American history. By the time American settlements reached them during the early 1800s, the Illini were nearly extinct and replaced by other tribes. For the most part, the blame for this could not be placed on a war with the Europeans or the Illini refusal to adapt themselves to a changing situation. Actually, few tribes had adapted as much or attached themselves more closely to the French. This made it easy to place responsibility for the fate of the Illini on their native enemies, or perhaps even nature itself. The story of the Illini's decline is a chilling indication of how the European presence, regardless of purpose or intention, unleashed destructive forces upon North America's native peoples which reached far beyond the immediate areas of their colonization.

Inuit/Eskimo -  The Inuit are the indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Alaska, Greenland, and Canada, with close relatives in Russia. They are united by a common cultural heritage and a common language. They have over the years been called “Eskimo,” but prefer to becalled by their own name "Inuit," meaning simply "people." Traditionally, they have relied on fish, sea mammals, and land animals for food, heat, light, clothing, tools, and shelter. According to archaeological research, the origins of the Inuit lie in northwestern Alaska where they lived in houses made of driftwood and sod. Beginning about a thousand years ago, the Inuit began to move eastward into Arctic Canada. Within a few hundred years, they had replaced the earlier inhabitants of the region, a now-extinct people known as Tunit. By about 1250 AD, the first Inuit had entered Greenland through the Smith Sound area in the far northwest of the island. Here, they may have first encountered Viking hunters coming from the Norse colonies in southwest Greenland. In many areas, the old sod and whalebone winter houses were abandoned in favor of houses made of blocks of snow. They were easier to build as they could be put up anywhere, even on the sea ice, and required only an hour or two to construct. Today, the Inuit continue to live in the arctic regions, working in all sectors of the economy, though many still supplement their income through hunting. Tourism is a growing industry as guides take tourists on dogsled and hunting expeditions, and work with outfitting organizations.

Iowa or Ioway - Iowa, or Ayuwha, was a term borrowed by the French from the Dakotas that signifies "Sleepy-ones." The Iowa people are of Sioux stock and closely related to the Otoe and Missouri. They moved about a great deal, mostly in the states of Iowa and Minnesota. Through various treaties with the U.S. Government they lost their lands in Minnesotaq, Iowa and Missouri. The Ioway practiced farming and lived in villages; however, bands that lived farther west adopted more of the customs of the plains Indians.In 1836, another treaty assigned part of them a reservation along the Great Nemaha River in present Brown County, Kansas and Richardson County, Nebraska.

Innu - The Montagnais and Naskapi have different tribal names but consider themselves part of the same culture, Innu. The Innu are indigenous people of eastern Quebec and Labrador, Canada. Most Innu people still live in their traditional territory today, which they call Nitassinan.

Iroquois - The Iroquois Indians lived in the Northeastern of the United States, in what is now New York. The Iroquois Indians were actually a "nation" of Indians made up of five tribes, including the Seneca, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk. These tribes were hostile and war-like among each other until they joined together to become the "League of the Five Nations." When they were not at war with each other, their primary occupation was clearing fields and building villages. The men carefully removed all facial hair and wore their hair in a Mohawk style. Tattoos were common for both sexes. The Iroquois often practiced torture and ritual cannibalism. There are some 80,000 people in the United States today that claim an Iroquis heritage.

Kanza (Kaw) - A Siouian tribe closely related to the Omaha, Osage, Quapaw, and Ponca, the name "Kaw" or "Kanza" means, "People of the South Wind," and the state of Kansas takes its name from them. Their homeland was along the Kansas River, a tributary of the Missouri River that extends from Kansas into Nebraska. The Kanza were farmers and therefore more sedentary than most of the other plains tribes. They were notable for their hairstyle, a completely shaven head except for a single lock of hair at the back of their heads. Today, they hold a small land trust near the Osage in Oklahoma.

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Karok - Indigenous people of California, their name means "Upstream," defining them in relation to the Yurok, who lived "downstream" on the Klamath River from them. The Karok's name for themselves is simply "'Araar," meaning "human being." Traditionally, the Karok lived along the Klamath River in Humboldt and Siskiyou Counties in northwestern California, and on the tributary Salmon River. The Karok had little contact with white settlers until gold miners arrived in 1850 and 1851, resulting in widespread disease, violence, social dislocation, and cultural breakdown. Today, some 4,000 people identify themselves as having a Karok heritage. Though the Karok have no reservation, their tribal headquarters are in Happy Camp, California.

Kaskaskia - One of several tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, the name in their language translates to "he scrapes it off by means of a tool." Their first contact with Europeans reportedly occurred near present-day Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1667 at a French Jesuit mission station. For years the French Jesuits built missions and ministered to Kaskaskia until the French and Indian War ended. By that time, the Kaskaskia and other Illiniwek tribes were quickly declining. The original population was estimated by early French explorers from 6,000 to more than 20,000. But, by 1764, their numbers had been rduced to some 600, and by 1778 to just a little more than 200.

The causes of decline included making war with their French allies against other Indian tribes and the inevitable European diseases. In 1769, a Peoria warrior killed Ottowa Chief Pontiac, which brought down upon the Kaskaskia and other Illinois tribes, the wrath of the Great Lakes tribes, and soon the Ottawa, Sac and Fox, Miami, Kickapoo and Potawatomi tribes began to occupy their old tribal range along the Illinois River.

What was left of the tribe joined with the Wea, Peoria, and Piankashaw tribes in 1854.  They were then moved to Kansas before again being forced to move to Oklahoma, becoming the PeoriaTribe of Oklahoma.

Kickapoo - Before contact with Europeans, the Kickapoo lived in northwest Ohio and southern Michigan in the area between Lake Erie and Lake Michigan. By common tradition, the Kickapoo and Shawnee believe they were once a single tribe but separated after an argument over a bear's paw. When the white man pushed west, the Kickapoo migrated, first to Wisconsin, then Illinois. By treaty, they were relocated to southern Missouri, but less than have stayed, wondering south and west. Fiercely independent, many Kickapoo people fled all the way to Mexico rather than surrender to the Americans. Of those that went to Mexico, approximately half returned to the United States and were sent to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. Currently, there are three federally-recognized Kickapoo tribes: the Kickapoo of Kansas; the Kickapoo of Oklahoma; and the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas.

Kiowa - The Kiowa are a Native American tribe of the southern plains. Historically, they are known to have lived in the Kootenay Region of British Columbia, Canada, to have migrated to Western Montana, and then continued to move until they inhabited present day Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas . Allying themselves with the Comanche, the Kiowa carried out raids as far south as Mexico. Nomadic buffalo hunters, the Kiowa were soon forced onto a reservation in Oklahoma , where the majority remain today.

Klickitat - A Shahaptian tribe whose home was at the headwaters of the Cowlitz, Lewis, White Salmon, and Klickitat Rivers, in Klickitat and Skamania Counties, Washington. In 1805 Lewis and Clark reported them as wintering on the Yakima and Klickitat Rivers, and estimated their number at about 700. Between 1820 and 1830 the tribes of Willamette Valley were visited by an epidemic of fever and greatly reduced in numbers. Enterprising traders, they became widely known as intermediaries between the coast tribes and those living east of the Cascade range. They joined in the Yakima treaty at Camp Stevens, Washington on June 9, 1855, by which they ceded their lands to the United States. Today, they reside with the Yakima Indians on the Yakama Reservation in Washington.

Kootenai - This nomadic tribe stretched from west of the Rocky Mountains to Arrow Lake in British Columbia. The word Kootenai originated from a Blackfoot word meaning “slim people.”  They are divided into eight separate bands including the Tunaxa, Tobacco Plains, Jennings, Libby, Bonners, Ferry, Ft. Steele, Creston, and Windermere. Once they acquired horses in the 18th century, they created the famous Appaloosa breed. They are one of three tribes of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation in Montana, and they form the Ktunaxa Nation in British Columbia. There are also populations in Idaho and Washington in the United States.

Kutchin - A group of Athapascan tribes in Alaska and Canada, that once inhabited the region on the Yukon and its tributaries above Nuklukayet, the Peel River Basin, and the lower Mackenzie Valley. Their name means "people" and the group included several tribes including the Tenakutchin, Natsitkutchin, Kutchakutchin, Hankutchin, Tortsikkutchin, Tutchonekutchin, Vuntakkutchin, Tukuthkutchin, Tatlitkutchin, Nakotchokuchin and Kwitchakutchin. They generally lived in large groups and men of rank, such as chiefs and medicine men were allowed to have two or more wives. They were very hospitable, often allowing guests to stay for months. by the early 1900s, their numbers had been reduced primarily due to wars between the tribes and the killing of female children.

Kwakiutl -  According to their own folk etymology, the name signifies "smoke of the world." They were a group of closely related tribes who lived near Fort Rupert, British Columbia, Canada. In 1904, their population was only 163. According to a treaty, the Kwakuitl have hunting, fishing and gathering rights in their traditional territory on Vancouver Island. However, the Canadian government breached the and today, the Kwakiutl First Nation continues to pursue Land Claims. They are well-known for their masks and totem poles, which depict animals and supernatural beings.

Kiowa Lone Wolf and his wife