Summaries: A B C D E-I J-K L-M N O P Q-R S T-V W X-Z
Caddo Indian
Caddo – The modern Caddo people are the descendants of many tribes that once inhabited Louisiana, southern Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas as far west as the Brazos River.
Cahokia – The Cahokia were an Algonquian-speaking tribe of the Illinois confederacy who were usually noted as associated with the Tamaroa tribe. At the time of European contact with the Illinois Indians, they were located in what would become the states of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Arkansas. They have since been absorbed into the Peoria, and the Cahokia tribe is now considered extinct.
Cahuilla Woman by Edward S. Curtis, 1905
Cahuilla – The Cahuilla people are natives of the inland areas of southern California. Uto-Aztecan people arrived in southern California about 2,000-2,500 years ago. They originally ranged over the San Bernardino Basin, the San Jacinto Mountains, the Coachella Valley, and portions of the southern Mojave Desert.
Cajuenche – A Yuman tribe speaking the Cocopa dialect, who resided on the Colorado River’s east bank, below the Gila River’s mouth in the late 1700s. Their villages also extended into south-central California. At that time, they were said to have numbered about 3,000 and were bitter enemies of the Cocopa tribe. Later, they disappeared, thought to have been due to constant wars with the Yuma.
Calapooya – A Kalapuya Family division formerly occupied the watershed between Willamette and Umpqua Rivers in Oregon. The term “Calapooya” has long been used to include all the bands speaking dialects of the Kalapuya language and is made synonymous with the family name. This double use of the term and the scanty information regarding the division brought much confusion in the classification of the bands.
Callam – Their name means “strong people,” the Callam was a Salish tribe living on the south side of Puget Sound, Washington, extending from Port Discovery to the Hoko River. Later, they occupied Chimakum territory and established a village at Port Townsend. A comparatively small number found their way across to the south end of Vancouver Island, and there was a large village on Victoria Harbor. They were said to be more closely related to the Songish than any other tribe. By the mid-1800s, many had joined the Puyallup Reservation in Washington.
Calusa Tribe of Florida
Calusa – An important tribe of Florida, they formerly held the southwest coast from about Tampa Bay to Cape Sable and Cape Florida, together with all the outlying keys, and extending inland to Lake Okeechobee. The tribe is extinct today.
Canarsee – Formerly one of the leading tribes on Long Island, New York, the tribe once occupied most of what is now Kings County and the shores of Jamaica Bay. At the time of the Dutch settlement of New York, they were apparently paying tribute to the Iroquois. They were also at war with the Mohawk, from whom they had asserted their independence. However, after the Dutch settled on the island, the Mohawk attacked them again and nearly exterminated them. They also suffered considerably during the war between the Long Island tribes with the Dutch. The city of Brooklyn was obtained from them. The last known survivor of the tribe died about 1800.
Caparaz – A small tribe or band documented in 1674 as having been located on the Apalachee coast of Florida, along with two other bands called Amacano and Chine. They may have been survivors of the Capachequi encountered by Hernando De Soto in 1540. The three bands were estimated to contain 300 people.
Cape Fear Indians – These Native Americans once lived on the Cape Fear River (now Carolina Beach State Park, North Carolina). In 1715 their population was just a little more than 200 people living in five villages. By the early 19th century, they were totally gone.
Capinans – A small tribe or band documented in 1699, together with the Biloxi and Pascagoula tribes in Mississippi. The three tribes then numbered 100 families.
Catawba Indians, 1913
Catawba – The Catawba, also known as Issa, Essa, or Iswa, have lived along the Catawba River for thousands of years, with their ancestral lands in the Piedmont region of North and South Carolina and into southern Virginia. Today, the Catawba Indian Nation is the only federally recognized Indian tribe in South Carolina.
Cathlacomatup – A Chinookan tribe, who, according to Lewis and Clark, on the south side of Sauvies Island, in the present Multnomah County, Oregon, in 1806. They were estimated at that time to have about 170 people.
Cathlacumup – A Chinookan tribe formerly living on the west bank of the lower mouth of the Willamette River in Oregon. Lewis and Clark estimated their number at 450 in 1806. They were later mentioned in 1850 as associated with the Namoit and Katlaminimim tribes.
Cathlakaheckit – A Chinookan tribe living at the cascades of Columbia River in Oregon in 1812, when their number was estimated at 900.
Chinook Men by George Catlin
Cathlamet – A Chinookan tribe formerly residing on the south bank of the Columbia River near its mouth in Oregon. They adjoined the Clatsop and claimed the territory from Tongue Point to the neighborhood of Puget Island. In 1806 Lewis and Clark estimated their number at 300. In 1849 their numbers were reported at 58 people, but by the early 20th Century, they were extinct.
Cathlanahquiah (‘people of the river, Nagoaix’). A Chinookan tribe living in 1806, according to Lewis and Clark, on the southwest side of Wappatoo, now Sauvies Island, Multnomah County, Oregon, and numbering 400 souls.
Cathlapotle – A Chinookan tribe formerly living on the lower part of Lewis River and the southwest side of Columbia River in Clarke County, Washington. In 1806 Lewis and Clark estimated their number at 900 living in 14 large wooden houses. Their main village was Nahpooitle.
Cathlathlalas – A Chinookan tribe living on both sides of the Columbia River, just below the cascades, in Oregon. In 1812 their number was estimated at 500.
Cathlakaheckit – A Chinookan tribe living near the cascades of the Columbia River in Oregon. In 1812, their number was estimated at 900.