| Total population |
|---|
| fewer than 1393[1] |
| Regions with significant populations |
| United States (Oklahoma, previously Missouri) |
| Languages |
| Religion |
|
Christianity (Protestant and Roman Catholic), Native American Church |
| Related ethnic groups |
The Missouria or Missouri are a Native American tribe that originated in the Great Lakes region of United States before European contact.[2] The tribe belongs to the Chiwere division of the Siouan linguistic family, with the Iowa and Otoe. Historically, the tribe lived near the mouth of the Grand River, the mouth of the Missouri River, and in Saline County, Missouri. Today they live primarily in Oklahoma.
Contents |
Name
Their name means "One who has dugout canoes" in the Illinois language (Wimihsoorita).[3] In their own language, the Missouri call themselves Niúachi. They were known as the Waçux¢a by the Osage and Wa-ju'-xd¢ǎ, by the Quapaw.[4] Niutachi, as their self-designation is also spelled, means, "People of the River Mouth."[5]
The state of Missouri and the Missouri River are named for the tribe.
History
The tribe's oral history says they once lived north of the Great Lakes. They began migrating south in the 16th century. By the 1600, the Missouria lives near the confluence of the Missouri and the Grand Rivers, where they settled through the 18th century. They split from the Otoe tribe because of love affair between the two tribal chief's children.[6]
The 17th century brought hardships to the Missouria. The Sauk and Fox frequently attacked them, and they faced epidemics of smallpox and other introduced European diseases. French explorer Jacques Marquette contacted the tribe in 1673 and paved the way for trade with the French.[6]
The Sauk staged a devastating attack on the Missouria in 1730, killing hundreds of people. The Missouria migrated west of the Missouri River into Osage territory. During this time, they acquired horses and hunted buffalo. An attack by the Fox tribe nearly destroyed the Missouria. Most survivors reunited with the Otoe, while some joined the Osage and Kansa. After a smallpox outbreak in 1829, less than 100 Missouria survived and they all joined the Otoe.[6]
Treaties signed in 1830 and 1854 ceded their lands in Missouri and created an Otoe-Missouria reservation on the Big Blue River at the Kansas-Nebraska border. The two tribes were pressured into ceding more lands in 1876 and 1881.[6]
In 1880 the tribes split into two factions, the Coyote, traditionalists, and the Quakers, assimilationists. The Coyote settled onto the Iowa Reservation in Indian Territory, while the Quakers negotiated a small reservation in Indian Territory. By 1890 most of the Coyote band rejoined the Quakers on their reservation; however, those lands were broken up into individual allotments by 1907 under the Dawes Act.[6]
Despite tribal courts in Oklahoma being disbanded under the Curtis Act, the tribe created their own court system in 1900. The Missouria were primarily farmers in the early 20th century. Oil was discovered on their lands in 1912, and the US government forced many of the tribe off their allotted land.[6]
Population
According to the enthnographer James Mooney, the population of the tribe was about 200 families in 1702; 1000 people in 1780; 300 in 1805; 80 in 1829, when they were living with the Otoe; and 13 in 1910; afterward, their populations numbers are combined with those of the Otoe.
Today
Currently the Missouria are members of the federally recognized tribe, the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, based in Red Rock, Oklahoma.[7]
Notes
- ^ Oklahoma Indian Affairs. Oklahoma Indian Nations Pocket Pictorial Directory. 2008: 24. (retrieved 16 July 2009)
- ^ May, John D. Otoe-Missouria. Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. 2009 (22 Feb 2009)
- ^ McCafferty, Michael. 2004. Correction: Etymology of Missouri. American Speech, 79.1:32
- ^ Missouri Indian Tribes. Access Genealogy: Indian Tribal Records. (retrieved 23 Feb 2009)
- ^ Pritzer, 337
- ^ a b c d e f Pritzer, 338
- ^ Oklahoma Indian Affairs. Oklahoma Indian Nations Pocket Pictorial Directory. 2008: 24. (retrieved 16 July 2009)
References
- Pritzer, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0195138771
External links
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