Peoria

Peoria

Peoria moccasins, ca. 1860, collection of Oklahoma History Center
Total population
2810
Regions with significant populations
United States (Oklahoma)
Languages
English
Religion
Christianity (Roman Catholicism), traditional tribal religions
Related ethnic groups
Kaskaskia, Piankesaw, and Wea

The Peoria people are a Native American tribe, which today are represented by the federally recognized Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. Historically, they were part of the Illinois Confederation.

History

The Peoria are Algonquian people, whose ancestors came from what is now Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio.^[1] They were once part of the Cahokia culture of Moundbuilders.^[2] The Peoria were one of the many tribes encountered by the explorers, Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet. French missionaries converted tribal members to Roman Catholicism.^[2]

The Peoria migrated south into Missouri Territory after 1763.^[2] In 1818, the Treaty of Edwardsville includes the cession of Peoria lands in Illinois.^[3] The 1832 Treaty of Lewisville ceded Missouri lands in exchange for land in Kansas, near the Osage River.^[2] Disease and wars drastically reduced the tribe's numbers, so the members of the Kaskaskia, Peoria, Piankeshaw, and Wea tribes formed a confederacy under the Peoria name. After the Civil War, most of the confederated tribe signed the 1867 Omnibus Treaty,^[1] which purchased land from the Quapaw tribe and relocated the majority of the tribe to Indian Territory.^[2]

The Dawes Act and Curtis Act of 1898 broke up tribal landholdings and dismantled tribal governments. The tribe reorganized in 1939 under the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act.^[1]

The US government followed Indian termination policy and dissolved the Peoria tribal government.^[when?] The tribe lost federal recognition in 1959 but successfully regained it in 1978.^[2]

Language

The Peoria spoke a dialect of the Miami-Illinois language. The name 'Peoria' derives from their name for themselves in the Illinois language, peewaareewa (modern pronunciation peewaalia). Originally it meant, "Comes carrying a pack on his back."^[4] There are no living speakers of the Peoria language today.^[5]

Tribal Government Today

The tribe is based in Miami, Oklahoma, and their tribal jurisdictional area is in Ottawa County. Of the 2810 enrolled tribal members, only 744 live within the state of Oklahoma. John P. Froman is the tribe's elected Chief, currently serving a four-year term. The tribe issues its own vehicle tags and operates its own housing authority. The Peoria Tribes owns Peoria Ridge Golf Course, and two casinos.^[6] The estimated annual economic impact of the tribe is $50 million.^[6] Tribal businesses, the Peoria Gaming Center, Buffalo Run Casino and Hotel, and Joe's Outback are all located in Miami, Oklahoma.^[7]

Namesakes

The city of Peoria, Illinois and the surrounding Peoria County are named after the tribe which lived in that area. The Peoria War occurred in this area but is named after the town, not the tribe who had already left for Missouri before this conflict occurred. Peoria, Oklahoma and Paola, Kansas are also named directly for the tribe. Many other places named Peoria and ships were directly named after the town in Illinois.

See also

Sagamite

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} History. Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. 2007 (retrieved 8 Feb 2009)
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Vaugh-Roberson, Glen. Peoria. Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. 2009 (retrieved 8 Feb 2009)
3. ^ Illinois Indian Histitiry Timeline, Illinois State Museum
4. ^ Peoria Indian Tribal History. Access Genealogy: Indian Tribal Records. 2009 (retrieved 8 Feb 2009)
5. ^ Anderton, Alice, PhD. Status of Indian Languages in Oklahoma. Intertribal Wordpath Society. 2009 (retrieved 8 Feb 2009)
6. ^ ^{a b} Oklahoma Indian Affairs. Oklahoma Indian Nations Pocket Pictorial Directory. 2008:27
7. ^ Oklahoma Indian Casinos: Casinos by Tribes. 500 Nations. 2009 (retrieved 8 Feb 2009)

External links

• Official Website of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
• Tribes of the Illinois/Missouri Region at First Contact (1673)
• The Tribes of The Illinois Confederacy
• Inoca Ethnohistory Project: Eye Witness Descriptions of the Contact Generation, 1667 - 1700

•  "Peoria Indians". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Peoria_Indians.