MISSISSIPPI 

     
Acolapissa tribe. - When first known to Europeans, this tribe lived 
on Pearl River, partly in what is now Mississippi, partly in Louisiana, 
but they were more closely associated with Louisiana in later times 
and will be treated among the tribes of that State. (See Louisiana.)

Biloxi tribe. - Apparently a corruption of their own name Taneks 
anya, "first people," filtered over the tongues of other Indians. 
Also called: Ananis, Anaxis, Annocchy, early French spellings intended 
for Taneks;  Polu'ksalgi, Creek name.

Biloxi Connections.- They belonged to the Siouan linguistic family.

Biloxi Location.- Their earliest historical location was on the 
lower course of Pascagoula River. (See also Louisiana, Oklahoma, and 
Texas.)

Biloxi  Villages. - None are known except those bearing the name 
of the tribe, unless we assume the "Moctobi" or "Capinans" to be a 
part of them. These, however, may have been merely synonyms of the 
tribal name.

Biloxi History.- It is possible that the Biloxi are the Capitanesses 
who appear west of Susquehanna River on early Dutch charts. On the 
De Crenay map of 1733, a Biloxi town site appears on the right bank 
of the Alabama River, a little above the present Clifton in Wilcox 
Co., Ala. This was probably occupied by the Biloxi during their 
immigration from the north. Individuals belonging to the tribe were 
met by Iberville on his first expedition to Louisiana in 1699, and 
in June of the same year his brother Bienville visited them. In 1700 
Iberville found their town abandoned and does not mention encountering 
the people them-selves, though they may have been sharing the Pascagoula 
village at which he made a short stop. A few years later, Penicaut 
says (1702-23), St. Denis persuaded the Biloxi to abandon their village 
and settle on a small bayou near New Orleans but by 1722 they had 
returned a considerable distance toward their old home and were established 
on the former terrain of the Acolapissa Indians on Pearl River. They 
continued in this neighborhood and close to the Pascagoula until 1763, 
when French government east of the Mississippi came to an end. Soon 
afterward, although we do not know the exact date, they moved to Louisiana 
and settled not far from Marksville. They soon moved farther up Red 
River and still later to Bayou Boeuf. Early in the nineteenth century 
they sold their lands, and, while part of them remained on the river, 
a large body migrated to Texas and settled on Biloxi Bayou, in Angelina 
Co.. All of these afterward left, either to return to Louisiana 
or to settle in Oklahoma. A few Biloxi are still living in Rapides 
Parish, La., and there are said to be some in the Choctaw Nation, 
but the tribe is now practically extinct. In 1886 the Siouan relationship 
of their language was established by Dr. Gatschot of the Bureau of 
American Ethnology, and a considerable  record of it was obtained 
by Mr. James D. Dorsey of the same institution in 1892-93. (See Dorsey 
and Swanton, 1912.)

Biloxi Population.- On the basis of the imperfect records available, 
I have made the following estimates of Biloxi population at different 
periods: 420 in 1698, 175 in 1720, 105 in 1805, 65 in 1829, 6-8 in 
1908. Mooney (1928) estimated that this tribe, the Pascagoula, and 
the "Moctobi" might number 1,000 in 1650.

Biloxi Connection in which they have become noted.- The Biloxi are 
remarkable (1) as having spoken a Siouan dialect unlike all of their 
neighbors with one possible exception; (2) as the tribe first met 
by Iberville when he reached the coast of Louisiana and established 
the French colony of that name; (3) as having furnished the names 
of the first two capitals of Louisiana, Old and New Biloxi; that of 
the present Biloxi, Miss.; and the name of Biloxi Bay.

Capinans tribe. - The name of a body of Indians connected in French 
references with the Biloxi and Pascagoula and probably a branch of 
one of them.

Chakchiuma tribe. - Proper spelling Shatci' homma', meaning "Red 
Crawfish [People]."

Chakchiuma Connections.- They spoke a dialect closely related to 
Choctaw and Chickasaw. Their nearest relatives were the Houma (q. 
v.), who evidently separated from them in very recent times.

Chakchiuma Location.- In the eighteenth century on Yalobusha River 
where it empties into the Yazoo but at an early period extending to 
the head of the Yalobusha and eastward between the territories of 
the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes as far as West Point.

Chakchiuma  Subdivisions. - A French map dated about 1697 seems 
to call that section of the tribe on Yazoo River, Sabougla, though 
these may have been a Branch of the Sawokli. (See Georgia.)

Chakchiuma History.- According to tradition, this tribe came from 
the west at the same time as thc Chickasaw and Choctaw and settled 
between them. When De Soto was among the Chickasaw, an expedition 
was directed against the Chakchiuma "who the [Chickasaw] Cacique said 
had rebelled," but their town was abandoned and on fire. It was claimed 
that they had planned treachery against the Spaniards.  The chief 
of the tribe at this time was Miko Lusa (Black Chief). After the French 
settlement of Louisiana a missionary was killed by these people and 
in revenge the French stirred up the neighboring tribes to attack 
them. They are said to have been reduced very considerably in consequence. 
Afterward, they remained closely allied with the French, assisted 
them after the Natchez outbreak, and their chief was appointed leader 
of the Indian auxiliaries in the contemplated attack upon the Chickasaw 
in 1739. The animosity thus excited probably resulted in their destruction 
by the Chickasaw and absorption into the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes. 
From De Crenay's map it appears that a part had gone to live with 
the Chickasaw by 1733. The rest may have gone to the Choctaw, for 
a band bearing their name constituted an important division of that 
nation. Tradition states that they  were destroyed by the united efforts 
of the Chickasaw and Choctaw, but the latter were uniformly allied 
with the French and hostile to the Chickasaw when this alliance is 
supposed to have been in existence.

Chakchiuma Population.- Mooney (1928) estimates 1,200 souls among 
the Chakchiuma, Ibitoupa, Taposa, and Tiou in 1650; exclusive of the 
Tiou, my own would be 750. In 1699 they are said to have occupied 
70 cabins. In 1702 it is claimed that there were 400 families, which 
in 1704 had been reduced to 80, but probably the first figure is an 
exaggeration. About 1718-30 where were 50 Chakchiuma cabins and in 
1722 the total population is placed at 150.

Chickasaw tribe. - Meaning unknown, though the ending suggests that 
it might have been a place name. Also called: Ani'-Tsi'ksu, Cherokee 
name; Kasaha unun, Yuchi name; Tchaktchan, Arapaho name; Tchikasa, 
Creek name; Tci'-ka-sa', Kansa name; Ti-ka'-ja, Quapaw name; Tsi'-ka-ce, 
Osage name.

Chickasaw Connections.- Linguistically the Chickasaw were closely 
connected with the Choctaw and one of the principal tribes of the
Muskhogean group.

Chickasaw Location.- In northern Mississippi, principally in Pontotoc 
and Union Counties. (See South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, 
Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.)

Chickasaw Subdivisions. - Aside from some incorporated tribes such 
as the Napochi and Chakchiuma, no major subdivisions other than towns 
are mentioned until late in Chickasaw history when we hear of three 
such subdivisions: those of Tishomingo, Sealy, and McGilvery, named 
after their chiefs. These, however, were probnbly superficial and 
temporary.

Chickasaw Mississippi Villages. - 
Ackia; 
Alaoute, mentioned only by Iberville; 
Amalahta; Apeonne; Apile faplimengo (Iberville); 
Ashukhuma; 
Ayebisto (Iberville); 
Chatelaw; 
Chinica (Iberville); 
Chucalissa; 
Chukafalaa; 
Coui loussa, (French Memoir of 1755); 
Eatcha Hoa, on Latcha Hoa Run, an affluent of Ahoola Ihalchubba, 
a western tributary of Tombigbee River, northeastern Mississippi; 
Etoukouma (De Batz); 
Falatchao; 
Gouytola (Iberville); 
Ogoula- Tchetoka (Do Batz); 
Onthaba atchosa (Iberville); 
Ooe-asa, in Creek Nation near Sylacauga; 
Oucahata (Iberville); 
Oucthambolo (Iberville); 
Outanquatle (French Memoir of 1756); 
Tanyachilca (Iberville); 
Thanbolo (Iberville); 
Tuckahaw; 
Tuskawillao; 
Yaneka.
All of the above, with one or two exceptions noted, were close to
one another in the general location given above.

Chickasaw History.- Like most of the other Muskhogean peoples, the 
Chickasaw believed they had come from the west. They thought that 
they had settled for a time at a spot in northern Alabama on the north 
side of the Tennessee River long known as Chickasaw Old Fields. There 
is little doubt that Chickasaw had once lived at that place whether 
or not the whole tribe was so located. The first Europeans to become 
acquainted with the tribe were the Spaniards under De Soto, who spent 
the months of January, February, and March 1541, in the Chickasaw 
country, nnd in the latter month were attacked by the tribe with such 
fury that they were nearly destroyed. Little is heard of the Chickasaw 
from this time until French explorers and colonists arrived, at the 
end of the seventeenth century They found the tribe in approximately 
the position in which De Soto had encountered them, and they found 
them as warlike as before. Although the French tried to make peace 
with them, English traders had effected establishments in their country 
even before the settlement of Louisiana, and they remained consistent 
allies of England while England and France were fighting for the possession 
of North America. In the south their alliance meant much the same 
to the English as Iroquois friendship meant to them in the north. 
As practically all of the surrounding peoples were devoted to the 
French, and the Chickasaw were not numerous, they were obliged to 
maintain a very unequal struggle until the final victory of England 
in 1763, and they suffered severely in consequence. They supported 
the Natchez when they revolted in (1729) and when French expeditions 
from the north and south were hurled upon them simultaneously in 1736, 
they beat both off with heavy losses. In 1740 a gigantic attempt was 
made to conquer them, but the greater part of the force assembled 
dissolved without accomplishing anything. A small French expedition 
under Celoron succeeded in obtaining a treaty of peace advantageous 
to the French but this soon became a dead letter, and French communications 
up and down the Mississippi River were constantly threatened and French 
voyageurs constantly attacked in the period following. In 1752 and 
1753 the French commanders Benoist and Reggio were defeated by the 
Chickasaw. At an earlier period, shortly before 1715, they and the 
Cherokee together drove the Shawnee from their settlements on the 
Cumberland, and in 1745 they expelled another Shawnee band from the 
same region. In 1769 they utterly routed the Cherokee on the site 
of the Chickasaw Old Fields. In 1793-95 war broke out with the Creeks, 
who invaded their territories with 1,000 men, but while they were 
attacking a small stockade, a band of about 200 Chickasaw fell upon 
them, whereupon an unaccountable terror took possession of the invaders, 
and they fled precipitately. There was at one time a detached body 
of Chickasaw on the lower Tennessee not far from its mouth. They also 
had a town among the Upper Creeks for a brief period (Ooe-asa), and 
a settlement near Augusta, Ga., from about 1723 to the opening of 
thc American Revolution. Thc Chickasaw maintained friendship with 
the American Government after its establishment, but, being pressed 
upon by white settlers, parted with their lands by treaties made in 
1805, 1816, 1818, and 1832. The actual migration to new homes in what 
is now Oklahoma began in 1837 and extended to 1847. The Chickasaw 
and Choctaw mingled rather indiscriminately at first but their lands 
were separated in 1855 and the Chickasaw set up an independent government 
modeled on that of the United States which lasted until merged in 
the new State of Oklahoma.

Chickasaw Population.- Mooney (1928) estimates that there were about 
8,000 in 1600. In 1702 Iberville estimated that there were 2,000 families 
of Chickasaw, but in 1715 a rather careful enumeration made by the 
colony of South Carolina, gave 6 villages, 700 men, and a population 
of 1,900. In 1761, a North Carolina estimate gives about 400 men; 
in 1766, about 350. Most of the subsequent estimates of the number 
of warriors made during the eighteenth century vary between 250 and 
800. In 1817 Morse (1822) places the total population at 3,625; in 
1829 General Peter B. Porter estimates 3,600 (in Schoolcraft, 1851-57, 
vol. 3); and a more accurate report in Schoolcraft gives 4,715 in 
18,33. The figures of the United States Indian Office between 1836 
and the present time vary from 4,500 for 1865 to 1870 to nearly 11,000 
in 1923, but this latter figure includes more than 5,000 freedmen 
and persons intermarried in the tribe, and, when we allow for mixed 
bloods, we shall find that the Chickasaw population proper has usually 
stood at between 4,500 and 5,500 during the entire period. There has 
probably been a slow decline in the absolute amount of Chickasaw blood 
owing to constant intermixture with other peoples. The 1910 census 
returned 4,204 Chickasaw and that of 1930, 4,745.

Chickasaw Connection in which they have become noted.- The Chickasaw 
were noted (1) as one of the most warlike tribes of the Gulf area, 
(2) as the tribe of all those encountered by the Spaniards who came 
nearest putting an end to De Soto's army, (3) as the constant allies 
of the English without whom the control of the Gulf region by the 
latter would many times have been jeopardized. There are post villages 
of the name in Mobile Co., Ala., and Mercer Co., Ohio, and Chickasha, 
a variant form, is the name of the Co. seat of Grady Co., Okla.






Choctaw Tribe. - (East Nation)

Meaning unknown, though Halbert (1901) has suggested that they received their 
name from Pearl River, "Hachha". [REF:#001]
Also called: 

     Ani'-Tsa'ta, the Cherokee name; 

     Flat Heads, from their custom of flattening the heads of infants; 

     Henne'sh, the Arapaho name; 

     Nabuggindehaig, probably the Chippewa name for this tribes signifying "flat heads.";  

     Pans falaya, "Long Hairs," given by the Adair; 

     Sanaklwa, the Cheyenne name, meaning "feathers sticking up above the ears."; 

     Ta-qta, the Quapaw name; 

     Tca-qta an-ya- di, or Tca-qta han-ya, the Biloxi name; 

     Tca-ta, the Kansa name; 

     Tetes Plates, rhe French equivalent of "Flat Heads."; 

     Tsah-tu, the Creek name.

Choctaw Connections.
This was the largest tribe belonging to the southern Muskhogean branch. Linguistically, but not physically, it was most closely allied with the Chickasaw and after them with the Alabamas.

Choctaw Location.
Nearly all of the Choctaw towns were in the southeastern part of Mississippi though they controlled the adjoining territory in the present State of Alabama. The small tribes of Mobile were sometimes called Choctaw.
(See also Alabama; Arkansas; Louisiana; Oklahoma - West Nation; Texas;

Choctaw Maps
See: Maps - Choctaw Nation East

Choctaw Subdivisions and Villages.
From the earliest times of which we have any knowledge the Choctaw villages were distributed into three divisions: a southern, a northeastern, and a western, though a central group may also be distinguished. The southern division is fairly well defined by our several informants, but there is considerable disagreement with reference to the others. One authority gives but two divisions, an eastern and a western, and even cuts up the southern group between them. The following locations were established largely by Mr. H. S. Halbert (1901):

Choctaw History.
After leaving the ruins of Mabila, De Soto and his followers, according to the Gentleman of Elvas (see Robertson, 1933), reached a province called Pafallaya, but, according to Ranjel, to a chief river called Apafalaya. Halbert is undoubtedly right in believing that in these words we have the old name of the Choctaw, Pansfalaya, "Long Hairs," and this is the first appearance of the Choctaw tribe in history. We hear of them again, in Spanish Florida documents of the latter part of the seventeenth century, and from this time on they occupied the geographical position always associated with them until their removal beyond the Mississippi. The French of necessity had intimate dealings with them from the time when Louisiana was first colonized, and the relations between the two peoples were almost invariably friendly. At one time an English party was formed among the Choctaw, partly because the prices charged by the Carolina traders were lower than those placed upon French goods. This was led by a noted chief named Red Shoes and lasted for a considerable time, one of the principal Choctaw towns being burned before it came to an end with the defeat of the British party in 1750. In 1763,, after French Government had given way to that of the English east of the Mississippi, relations between the latter and the Choctaw were peaceful though many small bands of Indians of this tribe crossed the Mississippi into Louisiana.

The American Revolution did not alter conditions essentially, and, though Tecumseh and his emissaries endeavored to enlist the Choctaw in his favor, only about 30 individuals joined the hostile Creeks. The abstinence of the tribe as a whole was due very largely to the personal influence of the native statesman, Pushmataha, whose remains lie in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, surmounted by an impressive monument.

Choctaw Treaties.
See: Choctaw Index

Choctaw Population.
Estimates of the number of Choctaw warriors between 1702 and 1814 vary between 700 and 16,000. A North Carolina estimate made in 1761 says they numbered at least 5,000 men. Common estimates are between 4,000 and 5,000, but even these figures may be a trifle low since the first reliable census, that of Armstrong, in 1831, gave 19,554. However, there may have been a slight increase in population after the beginning of the nineteenth century, when an end was put to intertribal wars. Figures returned by the Indian Office since that time show a rather unusual constancy. They go as low as 12,600, and at the other extreme reach 22,707, but the average 13 from 18,000 to 20,000. The census of 1910 gave 15,917, including 1,162 in Mississippi, 14,551 in Oklahoma, 115 in Louisiana, 57 in Alabama, and 32 in other States, but the United States Indian Office Report for 1923 has 17,488 Choctaw by blood in Oklahoma, 1,600 "Mississippi Choctaw" in Oklahoma, and 1,439 in the State of Mississippi, not counting about 200 in Louisiana, Alabama, and elsewhere. A few small tribes were gathered into this nation, but only a few. The census of 1930 returned 17,757, of whom 16,641 were in Oklahoma, 624 in Mississippi, 190 in Louisiana, and the rest in more than 14 other States. In 1937 the Mississippi Choctaw numbered 1,908, from which it seems that many of the Mississippi Choctaw were missed in 1930 unless the "Mississippi Choctaw" already in Oklahoma are included.

Choctaw Connection in which they have become noted.
(1) as the most numerous tribe in the Southeast next to the Cherokee,
(2) as depending more than most other tribes in the region on agriculture.
(3) for certain peculiar customs such as head deformation, extensive use of ossuaries for the dead, and the male custom of wearing the hair long.
(4) as faithful allies of the French against the English but always at peace with the United States Government.
(5) as having furnished the names to counties in Alabama, Mississippi, and Oklahoma, and settlements in the same States, and in Van Buren Co., Ark.

>

Choula tribe. - Bernard de La lIarpe gives this as the name of a 
small tribe of 40 individuals on the Yazoo River. There is some reason 
to think it was applied to a part of the Ibitoupa tribe (q. v.). The 
name means "fox" in Chicliasaw and Choctaw.

Grigra tribe. - Said to have been given them from the frequent occurrence 
of these two syllables in their speech. They sometimes appear as the 
"Gray Village" of the Natchez.

Grigra Connections.- The fact that the language of this tribe contained 
and suggests a probable relationship with the tribes of the Tunican 
group.

Grigra Location.- When first known to us, is formed one of the Natchez 
villages on St. Catherines Creek, Miss.

Grigra Villages. - Only one village is mentioned called by A shorter 
form of the name given to the tribe, Gris or Gras.

Grigra History.- The Grigra had been adopted by the Natchez at an 
earlier period than the Tiou (q. v.) and, like them, may once have 
resided on Yazoo River, but there is no absolute proof of this. They 
are mentioned as one of three Natchez tribes belonging to the anti-French 
faction. Other vise their history is identical with that of the Natchez.

Grigra Population.- One estimate made about 1720-25 gives about 
60 warriors.

Houma tribe. - Literally "red," but evidently an abbreviation of 
saktci homma, "red crawfish."

Houma Connections.- They spoke a Muskhogean language very close 
to Choctaw, and it is practically certain from the fact that their 
emblem was the red crawfish that they had separated from the Chakchiumn 
(q. v.).

Houma Location.- The earliest known location of the Houma was on 
the east side of the Mississippi River some miles inland and close 
to the Mississippi-Louisiana boundary line, perhaps near the present 
Pinckney, Miss. (See also Louisiana.)

Houma Villages. - At one time the people of this tribe were distributed 
between a Little Houma village 2 leagues below the head of Bayou La 
Fourche and a Great Houma village half a league inland from it. This 
was after they had moved from their earlier home.

Houma History.- La Salle heard of the Houma in 1682, but he did 
not visit them. Tonti made an alliance with them 4 years later, and 
in 1699 their village was the highest on the Mississippi reached by 
Iberville before returning to his ships. In 1700 Iberville visited 
them again and left a missionary among them to build a church, which 
was an accomplished fact when Gravier reached the tribe in November 
of the same year. A few years later the Tunica, who had been impelled 
to leave their old town, were hospitably received by this tribe, but 
in 1708 they rose upon their hosts, destroyed part of them, and drove 
the rest down the Mississippi. These re-established themselves on 
Bayou St. John near New Orleans, but not long afterward they re-ascended 
the river to the present Ascension Parish and remained there for a 
considerable period. In 1776 they sold a part at least of their lands 
to two French Creoles but seem to have remained in the neighborhood 
until some years after the purchase of Louisiana by the United States. 
By 1805 some had gone to live with thc Atakapa near Lake  Charles. 
Most of the remainder appear to have drifted slowly across to the 
coast districts of Terrebonne and La Fourche Parishes, where their 
descendants, with Creole and some Negro admixture, still live. 

Houma Population.- Mooney (1928) estimates a Houma population in 
1650 of 1,000. In 1699 Iberville gives 140 cabins and about 350 warriors, 
while the Journal of the second vessel in this expedition gives a 
population of 600-700. In 1718, after the tribe had suffered from 
both pestilence and massacre, La Harpe estimates 60 cabins and 200 
warriors. In 1739 a French officer who passed their town rates the 
number of their warriors at 90 - 100 and the whole population at 270-300. 
In 1758 there is an estimate of 60 warriors and in 1784 one of 25 
while, in 1803, the total Houma population is placed at 60. In 1907 
the native estimate of mixed-blood population calling itself Houma 
was 800 - 900, but the census of 1910 returned only 120 Indians from 
Terrebonne. To these there should probably be added some from La Fourche 
but not a number sufficient to account for the discrepancy. In 1920, 
639 were returned and in 1930, 936 from Terrebonne besides 11 from 
La Fourche. Speck estimates double the number.

Houma Connection in which they have become noted.- Houma, the capital 
of Terrebonne Parish, preserves the name.

Ibitoupa tribe. - Meaning probably, people "at the source of" a 
stream or river.

Ibitoupa Connections.- No words of this language are known unless 
the tribal name itself is native, but from this and Le Page du Pratz's 
(1758) statement that their language, unlike that of the Tunica group, 
was without an r, there is every reason to class it as Muskhogean 
and closely related to Chackchiuma, Chickasaw, and Choctaw.

Ibitoupa Location.- On Yazoo River in the present Holmes Co., 
perhaps between Abyatche and Chicopa Creeks.

Ibitoupa Villages. - Only one village is known, and that called 
by the tribal name, though it is possible that the Choula, (q. v.) 
mentioned by La Harpe were an offshoot.

Ibitoupa History. - The Ibitoupa are mentioned in 1899 by Iberville, 
and in Coxe's Carolana (1705). Before 1722 they had moved higher up 
and were 3 leagues above the Chalkchiuma (q.v.), who were then probably 
at the mouth of the Yalobusha. They probably united with the Chickasaw 
soon after the Natchez War, though they may first have combined with 
the Chakchiuma and Taposa. They were perhaps related to the people 
of the Choctaw towns called Ibetap Okla.

Ibitoupa Population. - All that we know of the population of the 
Ibitoupa is that in 1722 it occupied 6 cabins; in the same year there 
are said to have been 40 Choula, a possible offshoot.

Ibitoupa Connection in which their name has become noted.- It seems 
to have been the original of the name of Tippo Bayou, Miss.

Koasati tribe. - A band of Koasati moved from Alabama to Tombigbee 
River in 1763 but returned to their old country a few years later 
impelled by the hostilities of their new neighbors. (See Alabama.)

Koroa tribe. - Meaning unknown. Also called: Kulua, Choctau name, 
the Muskhogcan people being unable to pronounce "r" readily.

Koroa Connections.- The name and associations, together with Le 
Page du Pratz's (1758) statement that their language possessed an 
"r" sound, are practically conclusive proof that this tribe belonged 
to the Tunican linguistic group.

Koroa Location.- The Koroa appear often in association with the 
Yazoo on the lower course of Yazoo River, but at the very earliest 
period they were on the banks of the Mississippi or in the interior 
of what is now Louisiana on the other side of that river. (See also 
Louisiana.)

Koroa  Villages. - None are known under any other name.

Koroa History.- In the De Soto narratives the people is mentioned 
called Coligua and Colima which may be the one under discussion. If 
not, the first appearance of the Koroa in history is on Marquette's 
map applying to 1673, though they are there misplaced. The La Salle 
narratives introduce us, apparently, to two tribes of the name, one 
on Yazoo River, the other below Natchez, but there arc reasons for 
thinking that the latter was the tribe elsewhere called Tiou. In Tonti's 
account of his expedition overland to the Red River in 1690 we learn 
of a Koroa town west of the Mississippi, and also of a Koroa River. 
In 1700 Bienville also learned of a trans-Mississippi Koroa settlement. 
From the time of Tonti's expedition to the mouth of the Mississippi 
in 1686 there seems to have been a Koroa town on or near the lower 
Yazoo, as mentioned above. When the Natchez out- break occurred, this 
tribe and the Yazoo joined them and destroyed the French post on Yazoo  River, 
but they suffered severely from Indians allied with the  French and 
probably retired soon afterward to the Chickasaw, though part, and 
perhaps all of them, ultimately settled among the Choctaw. The Choctaw 
chief Allen Wright claimed to be of Koroa descent.

Koroa Population.- Mooney (1928) estimates that there were 2,000 
Koroa, Yazoo, Tunica, and Ofo in 1650. Le Page du Pratz places the 
number of Koroa cabins in his time at 40. In 1722 the total population 
of the Koroa. Yazoo nnd Ofo is given as 250, and in 1730 the last 
estimate of the Koroa and Yazoo together gives 40 warriors, or perhaps 
100 souls.

Moctobi tribe. - This name appears in the narratives of the first 
settlement of Louisiana, in 1699, applied to a tribe living with or 
near the Biloxi and Pascagoula. It is perhaps the name of the latter 
in the Biloxi language, or a subdivision of the Biloxi themselves, 
and is best treated in connection with the latter.

Natchez tribe. - Meaning unknown (the z should not be 
pronounced  ..prs); Also called: Ani'-Na'tsi, Cherokee name;  
Sunset Indians, given by Swan (in Schoolcraft (1851-57);  Theloel 
or Thecoel, name used by the Natchez but seemingly derived from 
that of a town.

Natchez Connections.- The Natchez were the largest of three tribes 
speaking closely related dialects, the other two being Taensa and 
Avoyel, and this group was remotely related to thc great Muskhogcan 
family.

Natchez Location.- The historic scat of the Natchez Indians was 
along St. Catherines Creek, and a little east of the present city 
of Natchez. (See also Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, 
South Carolina, and Tennessee.)

Natchez  Villages. - Iberville gives the following list of Natchez 
villages- "Natches, Pochougoula, Ousagoucoulas, Cogoucoulas, Yatanocas, 
Ymacachas, Thoucoue, Tougoulas, and Achougoulas." This list was obtained 
through the medium of the Mobilian trade language and part of the 
names are undoubtedly translated into it. Thus we find the Mobilian 
and Choetaw word for people, okla, "ougoula," or "oucoula," in five 
of these. The term Tougoulas probably designates the town of the Tiou 
(q. v.), an adopted tribe, and one of the others is perhaps a designation 
for the adopted tribe of Grigrn (q. v.). Later writers usually speak 
of but five settlements, including that of the Grigra. One of these, 
the town of the "walnuts," is evidently the Ousagoucoulas of Iberville's 
informants, meaning, in reality, the town of the Hickories. The Great 
Village was probably the town called Naches or Natchez, and Poehougoula, 
the Flour Village, but the others mentioned, Jenzenaque or Jensenac 
and the White Apple or Apple Village cannot be identified. A White-earth 
village is mentioned by one writer, probably intended for the White 
Apple village. The Natchez among the Cherokee lived for a time at 
a town called Guhlaniyi.

Natchez History.- Undoubtedly tribes of the Natchez group were encountered 
by De Soto and his companions in 1541-43, and it is highly probable 
that the chief Quigaltanqui, who figures 60 prominently in the pursuit 
of the Spaniards when they took to the Mississippi, was leader of 
the tribe in question or of one of its divisions. The name Natchez 
appears first, however, in the narratives of La Salle's descent of 
the Mississippi in 1682. Relations between the French and Natchez 
were at first hostile, but peace was soon made and in 1699 a missionary 
visited the latter with a view to permanent residence. The next year 
Iberville, who had stopped short of the Natchez in his earlier ascent 
of the Mississippi, opened negotiations with the Natchez chief. A 
missionary was left among them at this time and the mission was maintained 
until 1706. In 1713 a trading post was established. The next year 
four Canadians, on their way north, were killed by some Natchez Indians 
and this resulted in a war which Bienville promptly ended. Immediately 
afterward a stockaded fort was built on a lofty bluff by the Mississippi 
and named Fort Rosalie. Several concessions were granted in the neighborhood 
and settlers flowed in until this was one of the most flourishing 
parts of the new colony. Between 1722 and 1724 there were slight disturbances 
in the good relations which had prevailed between the settlers and 
Indians, but they were soon smoothed over and harmony prevailed until 
a new commandant named Chepart, who seems to have been utterly unfit 
for his position, was sent to take command of Fort Rosalie. In consequence 
of his mismanagement a conspiracy was formed against the French and 
on November 28, 1729, the Indians rose and destroyed both post and 
settlement, about 200 Whites being slain. Next year the French and 
their Choctaw allies attacked the forts into which the Natchez had 
retired and liberated most of their captives but accomplished little 
else, and one night their enemies escaped across the Mississippi, 
where they established themselves in other forts in the marshy regions 
of northeastern Louisiana. There they were again attacked and about 
400 were induced to surrender, but the greater part escaped during 
a stormy night and withdrew to the Chickasaw, who had been secretly 
aiding them. Later they divided into two bands, one of which settled 
among the Upper Creeks while the other went to live with the Cherokee. 
Afterward each followed the fate of their hosts and moved west of 
the Mississippi with them. Those who had lived with the Creeks established 
themselves not far from Eufaula, Okla., where the last who was able 
to speak the old tongue died about 1890. The Cherokee Natchez preserved 
their language longer, and a few are able to converse in it at the 
present day (1925).

Natchez Population.- Mooney's (1928) estimate of Natchcz population 
in 1650 is 4,500; my own, as of 1698, 3,500. In 1731, after the losses 
suffered by them during their war with the French, Perrier estimated 
that they had 300 warriors. In 1735, 180 warriors were reported among 
the Chickasaw alone. During the latter half of the eighteenth century 
estimates of the warriors in the Creek band of Natchez vary from 20 
to 150, and in 1836 Gallatin conjectures that its numbers over all 
were 300, which is probably above the fact. There are no figures whatever 
for the Cherokee band of Natchez.

Natchez Connection in which they have become noted.- The Natchez 
have become famous in a number of ways: (1) because they were the 
largest and strongest tribe on the lower Mississippi when Louisiana 
was settled by the French, (2) on account of their monarchical government 
and the peculiar institution of the Sun caste, (3) on account of the 
custom of destroying relatives and companions of a dead member of 
the Sun caste to accompany hum or her into the world of spirits, (4) 
for the massacre of the French post at Natchez and the bitter war 
which succeeded it, (5) from the name of the city of Natchez, Miss., 
adopted from them. The name is also borne by post villages in Monroe 
Co., Ala.; and Natchitoches Parish, La.; and a post hamlet in Martin 
Co., Ind.

Ofo, or Ofogoula tribe.- (See Mosopelea of Ohio.)

Okelousa tribe. - A tribe living at one time in northem Mississippi. 
(See Louisiana.)

Pascagoula tribe. - "Bread people." Also called: Miskigula, Biloxi 
name; 

Pascagoula Connections.- They were probably Muskhogeans although 
closely associated with the Siouan Biloxi.

Pascagoula Location.- Their earliest known location was on the river 
which still bears their name, about 16 French leagues from its mouth. 
(See also Louisiana and Texas.)

Pascagoula Villages. - Unknown, but see Biloxi.

Pascagoula History.- Iberville heard of the Pascagoula in 1699 when 
he made the first permanent settlement in Louisiana. That summer his 
brother Bienville visited them, and the following winter another brother, 
Sauvolle, who had been left in charge of the post, received several 
Pascagoula visitors. Some Frenchmen visited the Pascagoula town the 
next spring and Penicaut (in Margry) 1875-85, vol. 5) has left an 
interesting account of them. In Le Page du Pratz's time (early eighteenth 
century) they were on the coast, but they did not move far from this 
region as long as France retained possession of the country. When 
French rule ended the Pascagoula passed over to Louisiana and settled 
first on the Mississippi River and later on Red River at its junction 
with the Rigolet du Bon Dieu. In 1795 they moved to Bayou Boeuf and 
established themselves between a band of Choctaw and the Biloxi. Early 
in the nineteenth century all three tribes sold these lands. A part 
of the Pasengoula remained in Louisiana for a considerable period, 
Morse mentioning two distinct bands, but a third group accompanied 
some Biloxi to Texas and lived for a time on what came to be called 
Biloxi Bayou, 15 miles above its junction with the Neches. I have 
been able to find no Indians in Louisiana claiming Pascagoula descent, 
but in 1914 there were two among the Alabama who stated that their 
mother was of this tribe, their father having been a Biloxi.

Pascagoula Population.- Mooney (1928) estimates that in 1650 there 
were 1,000 all told of the Biloxi, Pascagoula, and Moctobi. My own 
estimate for about the year 1698 is 875 of whom I should allow 455 
to the Pascagoula. In 1700 Iberville states that there were 20 families, 
which would mean that they occupied the same number of cabins, but 
Le Page du Pratz raises this to 30. In 1758 the Pascagoula, Biloxi, 
and Chatot are estimated to have had about 100 warriors. In 1805 Sibley 
(1832) gives 25 among the Pascagoula alone. Morse (1822) estimates 
a total Pascagoula population of 240, and Schoolcraft (1851-57) cites 
authority for 111 Pascagoula in 1829. This is the last statement we 
have bearing upon the point.

Pascagoula Connection in which they have become noted.- The Pasengoula 
tribe is of some note as a constant companion of the Siouan Biloxi, 
and from the fact that it has bequeathed its name to Pascagoula River, 
Pascagoula Bay, and Pascagoula Port, Miss.

Pensacola tribe. - This tribe moved inland from Pensacola Bay near 
the end of the seventeenth century and in 1725-26 had established 
themselves near the Biloxi on Pearl River. (See Florida.)

Quapaw tribe. - When the French discovered this tribe in 1673 one 
town was on the east side of the Mississippi, but before 1700 it moved 
to the western bank. (See Arkansas.)

Taposa tribe. - Name meaning unknown.

Taposa Connections.- As this tribe is said to have been allied with 
the Chickasaw and, unlike the Tunica and Tiou, did not have an "r" 
sound in their language, there is every reason to suppose that they 
belonged to the Muskhogean stock. Probably they were most closely 
affiliated with their neighbors, the Chakchiuma and Chickasaw.

Taposa Location.- Their earliest known location was on Yazoo River 
a few miles above the Chakchiuma.

Taposa History.- The Taposa are first mentioned by Iberville and 
the missionary De Montigny, in 1699. On the De Crenay map of 1733 
(1910) their village is placed very close to that of the Chakchiuma, 
whose fortunes they probably followed.

Taposa Population.- The only hint as to the size of this tribe is 
given by Le Page du Pratz who says that the Taposa had about 25 cabins, 
half the number he assigns to the Chakchiuma. Other writers usually 
include them with the Chakchiuma (q. v.).

Tiou  tribe. - Meaning unknown. The name has occasionally been misprinted 
"Sioux," thus causing confusion with the famous Sioux or Dakota of 
Minnesota and the Dakotas.

Tiou Connections.- The Tiou are proved by a statement of Diron d'Artaguiette 
(1916) to have belonged to the Tunica linguistic group of the Tunican 
family.

Tiou Location.- Their earliest location was near the upper course 
of Yazoo River; later they lived a little south of the Natchez and 
then among them.

Tiou History.- Shortly before 1697 the Tiou appear to have been 
in the locality first mentioned, and a map of that date seems to give 
two towns of Tiou, one above the Tunica and one below them. By 1699 
part had settled among the Natchez, having been driven from their 
former homes, according to Le Page du Pratz (1758), by the Chickasaw. 
Before establishing themselves finally with the Natchez, they seem 
to have lived for a time a short distance below them on the Mississippi 
River, where La Salle and his companions speak of them as Koroa. Part 
of the tribe appears to have remained on the Yazoo for some years 
after the rest had left. At a later period the Bayogoula called in 
Tiou and Acolapissa to take the places of the Mugulasha with whom 
they had formerly lived and whom they had destroyed. Soon after Fort 
Rosalie had been built, the Tiou sold the lands upon which they had 
settled to the Sieur Roussin and moved elsewhere. After the Natchez 
massacre the hostile Indians sent them to the Tunica in a vain endeavor 
to induce thc latter to declare against the French. In 1731, if we 
may trust a statement by Charlevoix, they were utterly cut off by 
the Quapaw, and while the completeness of this destruction may well 
be doubted, we hear nothing of them afterward.

Tiou Population.- No estimate of Tiou population separate from that 
of the Natchez is known.

Tunica tribe. - Meaning "the people," or "those who are the people."; 
Also called: Yoron, their own name.

Tunica Connections.- They were the leading tribe of the Tunica group 
of the Tunican stock, the latter including also the Chitimacha and 
Atakapa.

Tunica Location.- On the lower course of Yazoo River, on the south 
side about 4 French leagues from its mouth. (See also Arkansas.)

Tunica History.- There is evidence that tribes belonging to the 
Tunica group were encountered by De Soto west of the Mississippi and 
very probably the name of the tribe is preserved in that of the town 
of Tanico mentioned by Elvas (in Robertson, 1933), where people made 
salt, for in later years we find the Tunica engaged in the making 
and selling of this commodity. An early location for them on the eastern 
side of the Mississippi is indicated by the "Tunica Oldfields" near 
Friar Point, not many miles below Helena, Ark. Thc name appears on 
Marquette's map (1673) but there they are wrongly placed. In 1682 
La Salle and his companions learned of this tribe, than located as 
given above, but neither he nor his lieutenant Tonti visited them 
on this or any subsequent expedition, though they learned of Tunica 
villages in the salt-making region of northeastern Louisiana. The 
Yazoo town of the tribe was first seen, apparently, by three missionary 
priests from Canada, one of whom, Father Davion, established himself 
among them in 1699. In 1702 he fled from his charges, but two or three 
years later was induced by them to return, and he remained among them 
for about 15 years more. In 1706 this tribe left the Yazoo and were 
received into the Houma town nearly opposite the mouth of Red River, 
but later, according to La Harpe (1831), they rose upon their hosts 
and killed more than half of them, and for a long period they continued 
to live in the region they had thus appropriated. They were firm friends 
of the French and rendered them invaluable service in all difficulties 
with thc tribes higher up, and particularly against the Natchez, but 
in 1719 or 1720 Davion was so much discouraged at the meager results 
of his efforts that he left them. The anger excited against them by 
their support of the French resulted in an attack by a largo party 
of Natchez and their allies in 1731 in which both sides suffered severely 
and the head chief of the Tunica was killed. 

The Tunica remained in the same region until some time between 1784 
and 1803, when they moved up Red River and settled close to the present 
Marksville, La., on the land of the Avoyel Indian village which they 
claimed to have bought from the Avoyel tribe. Before this event took 
place, in company with the Ofo, Avoyel, and some Choctaw, they attacked 
the pirogues of a British expedition ascending the Mississippi, killed 
six men, wounded seven, and compelled the rest to turn back. A few 
families descended from the Tunica are still settled on the site just 
mentioned, which forms a small reservation. Sibley (1832) says that 
in his time Tunica had settled among the Atakapa, and it was perhaps 
some of their descendants of whom Dr. Gatsehet heard as living near 
Beaumont, Tex., about 1886. Mooney (1928) learned of some Tunica families 
in the southern part of the Choctaw Nation, Okla., but they had lost 
their old language.

Tunica Population.- Mooney (1928) estimated that in 1650 the total 
population of the Tunica, Yazoo, Koroa, and Ofo was 2,000, and this 
very figure, except that it does not include the Koroa, is given by 
the missionary De Montigny in 1699. My own figure for the same date 
is somewhat higher, 2,450, out of which I estimate about 1,575 were 
Tunica. In 1719 the number of Tunica was conjectured to be 460 and 
in 1803, 50 to 60, though a second statement of about the same period 
gives 25 warriors. Morse (1822) reports 30 Tunica in Louisiana. The 
census of 1910 gives 43 Tunica in all, but among these are included 
some Indians of other tribes and there were many mixed-bloods. The 
census of 1930 gives only 1, he being the only one who could speak 
the old language.

Tunica Connection in which they have become noted.- The Tunica were 
prominent in history (1) from the fact that their language was the 
principal dialect of a stock on the lower Mississippi which received 
its name from them, (2) for their sedentary character, (3) for their 
devotion to the French interest and their part in the Natchez wars, 
(4) from the perpetuation of their name in Tunica Co., and Tunica 
Oldfields, Miss., and & post village of the name in West Feliciana 
Parish, La.

Yazoo tribe. Meaning unknown.

Yazoo Connections.- The associations of this tribe with the Koroa 
and the fact that their language contained an r sound make it reasonably 
certain that they belonged to the Tunican group and stock.

Yazoo Location.- On the south side of Yazoo River about 4 French 
leagues above its mouth. (See also Arkansas.)

Yazoo History.- The Yazoo appear to have been the first of the tribes 
living on the lower part of the Yazoo River to have established themselves 
there, and hence it was from them that the stream received its name. 
They are mentioned by La Salle and his companions in connection with 
their voyage to the mouth of the Mississippi in 1682. A French post 
was established near them in 1718, and in 1727 a Jesuit missionary, 
Father Seuel, settled nearby. In 1729, however, the Yazoo joined the 
Natchez in their uprising, murdered the missionary, and massacred 
the French garrison. Their subsequent fortunes were identical with 
those of the Koroa, and they were probably absorbed into the Chickasaw 
or Choctaw. It is not improbable that there is some connection between 
the name of this tribe and that of two of the Yazoo towns among the 
Choctaw, but if so it goes back beyond recorded history.

Yazoo Population.- I have estimated that in 1698 there were somewhat 
more than 600 Yazoo and Koroa together. In 1700 Gravier reported 30 
Yazoo cabins, but a quarter of a century later Le Page du Pratz (1758) 
estimated 100. In 1722 the Yazoo, Koroa, and Ofo together are said 
to have numbered 260. In 1730, however, the number of Yazoo and Koroa 
warriors is placed at 40.

Yazoo Connection in which they have become noted.- The Yazoo are 
noted principally from the fact that they have transmitted their name 
to Yazoo River, Miss., and secondarily to Yazoo Co. and its capital 
city, in the same State.

End of MISSISSIPPI Indian Tribes.



Source & Reference Notes!

   [REF:#001]
   "The�Indian�Tribes of North�America"
    By�John�R. Swanton; 1944
    [Retired�from active membership on the�staff�of�the 
    Bureau of American Ethnology in 1944]

   [REF:#002]
   File: MS_PG1.TXT
   Refised: July 05, 1996
   By: Paul R. Sarrett, Jr., [email protected]

SE. Index

N.A. Index

SFA - Index

SFA - REF.

Would like to Exchange and Share information on SARRATT / SARRETT / SURRATT Families, contact me at:

E-Mail: Paul R. Sarrett, Jr. Auburn, CA.