Summary of Native American Tribes

Native American Tribes - T-W

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

Tachi - One of the larger tribes of the Yokut Indians, they lived on the plains north of Tulare Lake in south central California. By the early 1900s they had been reduced to only a few dozen survivors.

Takelma - Their name means "those dwelling along the river," as they first occupied the middle portion of the course of Rogue River in southwest Oregon. Culturally they were closely allied to the Shasta Indians of north California, with whom they frequently intermarried. Their main dependence for food source was acorns, which they boiled into a mush, and also gathered roots seeds and berries. Tobacco was the only plant they cultivated. Of animal foods, they fished primarily for salmon and hunted deer. They lived in timer houses that were partly underground with a raised door from which entrance was made on a ladder. Their numbers were dramatically reduced in the Rogue river War and by the early 1900s those few survivors were residing on the Siletz Reservation in Oregon.

Tanoan Family - A linguistic family consisting of the Tewa, Tano, Tigua, Jemez, and Piro groups of Pueblo Indians, who dwelt in various substantial villages on and near the Rio Grande River in New Mexico. Of these groups, the Tano and Piro are extinct and the Jemez includes the remnant of the former inhabitants of Pecos.

Tewa - Their name meaning "moccasins,” the Tewa are a group of Pueblo tribes belonging to the Tanoan linguistic family, who historically made their homes on or near the Rio Grade River north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. When Juan de Ciliate first encountered them in 1598 he named 11 Tewa pueblos and stated there were others. Thirty years later, Spanish missionary, Fray Alonzo Benavides, reported their population to be 6,000, living in 8 pueblos. After the Second Pueblo Revolt of 1680-1692, many fled to northeast Arizona, where they lived with the Hopi Indians. By the early 1900s their population had been reduced to about 1,200. In times past, each Tewa village was divided into two sections the Winter people and the Summer people, and the Chief of each village would alternate between the two groups depending upon the season. Today, the Tewa live primarily in the Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, Ohkay Owingeh (formerly known as San Juan Pueblo), Santa Clara and Tesuque Pueblos in northeastern New Mexico; with some descendents also residing on the First Mesa Hopi Reservation in Arizona

Tionontati - The tribe, numbering around 8,000 in the 1600s, occupied the highlands south and west of Nottawasaga Bay extending west to the southeastern shores of Lake Huron in Ontario. After a series of epidemics swept the area during the 1630s, only 3,000 Tionontati, in nine villages, had survived by 1640. Of these, about 1,000 Huron and Tionontati managed to escape the Iroquois in 1650 and reach temporary safety on Mackinac Island (Upper Michigan). The remainder of the Tionontati were either killed, or captured and later adopted into the Iroquois. The mixed Huron-Tionontati group that escaped became known afterwards as the Wyandot.

Tiwa/Tigua - A group of Tanoan Pueblo tribes which live in three geographic regions, including Taos and Picuris in northeast New Mexico, Sandia and Isleta near Albuquerque, New Mexico, and at Isleta del Sur, near El Paso, Texas. They fought in the Tiguex War in 1540 and in the Pueblo Revolt in 1680. Today, the Tiwa still live at the Isleta, Picuris, Sandia, and Taos Pueblos in New Mexico, as well a in and around El Paso, Texas. More ...

Tlingit - Their name for themselves is Lingít, meaning "people." The tribe once controlled all the land that extends more than 500 miles from Yakutat Bay to the British Columbia border south of present day Ketchikan. Scientists believe the natives came to this continent from Asia many thousands of years ago, entering Alaska over a land mass that is now cover by the Bering Strait. The Tlingit were a matrilineal society who developed a complex hunter-gatherer culture in the temperate rainforest of the southeast Alaska coast. They built large houses using beams and wooden planks. They had a hierarchical society, that included slaves, and they performed the potlatch ceremony, in which wealth was ostentatiously given away. They also fashioned totem poles. In war the Tlingits used wooden slat armor and wore masks designed to terrorize their enemies. The Tlingit fought the Russians on many occasions, and sacked their greatest fort on Baraxou Island. Today, the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe is a federally recognized Indian tribe located in Yakutat, Alaska with over 450 tribal members.

Umatilla - A Sahaptin-speaking tribe lived on the Columbia River Plateau in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington. They were included under the Walla Walla by Lewis and Clark in 1805, though their language is distinct. Because the Umatilla were frequently raided by neighboring Paiute, they were terrified when the Lewis and Clark Expedition approached them. However, determined to placate them, Clark forced his way into one of the lodges and convinced the inhabitants of his good will through the liberal distribution of gifts. The Umatilla depended on the great numbers of salmon found in the rivers for food and trade, even using the dried fish for fuel. In 1855 they joined in a treaty with the United States and settled on the Umatilla Reservation in eastern Oregon. Today, the Umatilla share land and a governmental structure with the Cayuse and the Walla Walla tribes as part of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The reservation is located near Pendleton, Oregon near the Blue Mountains.

Ute - Of Shoshonean liguistic stock, the Ute occupied the Four Corners region which was formerly ruled by the Anasazi, a close relative of the Shoshone Indians. The Ute lived in small groups, mainly familial units, and were a gatherer tribe. It isn't until the 1800s, when the Ute acquired the horse, that they would become hunters. The state of Utah is named after the Ute. More ...

Wabanaki - The Wabanaki Confederacy was a powerful alliance of east-coast Indian tribes

Tablita Dance, Tewa Indians, San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico,

Edward S. Curtis, 1905.

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Ute Tipi, 1915, by William J. Carpenter.

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Waccamaw - One of the small tribes formerly dwelling on the Lower Pedee and its branches in South Carolina and the adjacent border of North Carolina. Nothing is known of their language, and very little else concerning them, as they were never prominent in history. Their associations indicate that they were Siouan. Their habitat was along Waccamaw river, which enters the Pedee from the north almost at its mouth. They were mentioned first in 1715 as living near the Winyaw, both tribes receiving ammunition from the Cheraw, who attempted to gain them as allies of the Yamasee and other tribes against the English. At this time they were living in 6 villages with a population of 610. In 1755 the Cherokee and Notchee were reported to have killed some Pedee and Waccamaw in the white settlements. Like the Pedee, Cheraw, and other tribes of that region, they probably finally incorporated with the Catawba.

Walapai - See Hualupai

Walla Walla - A Shahaptian tribe formerly living on lower Walla Walla River and along the east bank of the Columbia from Snake River nearly to the Umatilla in Washington and Oregon. There name translates to "Little River." While a distinct dialect, their language is closely related to the Nez Percé. Their number was estimated by Lewis and Clark as 1,600 in 1805, but it is certain this figure included other bands now recognized as independent. By treaty of 1855 they were removed to the Umatilla Reservation in Oregon, where many of them still live today. In the Wasco treaty of 1855, by which the Warm Springs Reservation was established, a number of Shahaptian tribes or bands were mentioned as divisions of the Walla Walla which had no real connection with that tribe. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, located in the near of Pendleton, Oregon is today home to not only the Wallawalla, but also the Cayuse and the Umatilla tribes.

Wampanoags - The Wampanoag people were original natives of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and it was Wampanoag people who befriended the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock and brought them corn and turkey for the famous first Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, the relationship went downhill from there, and disease and British attacks killed most of the Wampanoag people. Today about 300 Wampanoag people live on a small reservation on Martha's Vineyard, which belongs to them and is under their control. However, the US government still considers them citizens and controls some of their decisions. Other people of Wampanoag descent live in communities within Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Wappinger - Originally the tribe was located on the east side of the Hudson River between the Bronx and Rhinebeck extending east to the crest of the Taconic Mountains on the border between New York and Connecticut. Except for a few small groups, most Wappinger had left the lower Hudson Valley by 1760 and settled in western Massachusetts with the Mahican at Stockbridge, the Iroquois in New York, or the Delaware in Pennsylvania. Once numbering around 8.000 in 30 villagtes, disease and warfare evenutually wiped out most of the tribe. One possible group of Wappinger remain in northern New Jersey today -- the Ramapough Mountain Indians (Ramapo Mountain People). With 2,500 members, they have state recognition but were denied federal status in 1993.

Washoe - An indigenous Native American people, the Washoe originally lived around Lake Tahoe and adjacent areas of the Great Basin. Semi-sedentary hunters and gatherers, their tribe name means "people from here.” Today, they are the federally recognized Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California with an approximate population of 2,000. More ...

Wea - The name Wea is a shortened version of the many recorded names, such Wawaagtenang, "place of the round, or curved, channel", or Waayaahtanonki, "place of the whirlpool," and others indicating where they were first seen by the Europeans. A sub-tribe of the Miami Indians, they were first mentioned in Jesuit relations in 1673 as living in east Wisconsin. However, they were later said to have occupied land in Indiana. They also had villages in Illinois and Ohio. In 1757, the Wea had alligned themselves with the Piankashaw and were trying to come into friendly relations with the whites. Subsequently, various agreements of peace with other tribes and the whites were entered into, which in 1854 lead to a treaty that confederated the Wea with the Kaskaskia, Peoria, and Piankashaw tribes. They were then moved to Kansas before again being force to move to Oklahoma, becoming the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma. However, not all of the Wea people moved with the rest, remaining in Indiana. Today, the Wea Tribe of Indiana is a state recognized tribe located in Clinton, Indiana.

Wichita - A Caddoan speaking people of Kansas, the Wichita lived in villages of grass huts resembling haystacks. For most of the year their economy was based on farming, but during the buffalo hunt they were nomadic and lived in teepees. They were fond of tattoos, and called themselves Kitikiti'sh, "Raccoon-Eyed," after a popular tattoo pattern. After a defeat at the hands of the Spanish in 1662, the Wichita moved south into Oklahoma. In the mid-eighteenth century, they also migrated to Texas under pressure from the Osage. They formed an alliance with the powerful Comanche nation, which held their enemies in check. Today, the Wichita tribal lands are centered around Gracemont, Oklahoma with their tribal headquarters in Anadarko, Oklahoma. More ...

Wiyots - The Wiyots are original people of Northern California, where their surviving descendents still live today along with Wiyot descendents live together with Yurok, Hupa, Tolowa, and Mattole Indians on four rancheros. These California Indians have partial control over the rancherias and each tribe has its own government, laws, police, and other services. However, the US government still considers the Wiyots citizens and controls some of their decisions. Today, since the rancherias comprise Indians from several different tribes, they are ruled by tribal councils which represent all the ethnicities of each rancheros.

Winnebago/Hotcagara - The Winnebago do not remember a time when they did not live at Red Banks on the south shore of Green Bay. Their clothing was fringed buckskin, which the Winnebago frequently decorated with beautiful designs created from porcupine quills, feathers and beads - a skill for which they are still renown. Men originally wore their hair in two long braids, but in time this changed to the scalplock and roach headdress favored by the Algonquin. Body tattooing was common to both sexes.

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