Illinois (people)

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Illinois residential and hunting grounds before 1700
An Illinois Tribal Member, drawing by Georges-Henri-Victor Collot (1796)

The Illinois or Illinois Confederation , also Inoca or illi or illiwek , were a loose confederation of at least twelve Algonquin- speaking Indian tribes , whose tribal areas at the beginning of the 17th century extended over large parts of what is now the Midwest , including today's US states Illinois and the neighboring states of Missouri , Iowa and Arkansas included.

Language, tribal area and associated tribes

language

When the first French settlers arrived at the end of the 17th century, they met tribes in what is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arkansas who all spoke dialects of a common language: the Miami (Myaamiaki) along the Wabash River ( Waapaahšiki siipiiwi) and the "Illinois / Inoca" along the Illinois River (Inoka Siipiiwi) . The language is divided into an "Illinois / Inoca" dialect and a "Miami / Myaamiaki" dialect and is therefore mostly known under the collective term "Miami-Illinois" . The only difference between the two dialects was the pronunciation of the words or the duration of the spoken vowels , the "Illinois / Inoca" spoke with a "short" accent or vowel quantity , while the "Miami / Myaamiaki" spoke more slowly and therefore a "long" “Accented. In addition, since the first contact with speakers of the "Miami-Illinois" language, there had been a change in sound from r / ɹ / to l / l /, which was completed by the 18th century at the latest.

Names

The different tribes were very well aware of their cultural and linguistic closeness, but retained their own identity.

Today's tribal name can be derived from the Miami-Illinois words / irenweewa / , iren (i) we · wa or ileenwewa ("the one who speaks our language", "the one who speaks in the correct, usual way") or / irenawaki / or / ilenawaki / ("people, the people"; incorrectly often reproduced as "true, genuine, superior people") or aleniaki (singular: alenia , "people, people"). Probably / irenweewa /, iren (i) we · wa, ileenwewa was the designation of the neighboring "Miami / Myaamiaki" for the only slightly different dialect speaking "Illinois / Inoca".

The French probably adapted this term using the language of the Odawa ( nini / íniniw "person, man", plural: ninwak ) or the Anishinabe ( inini "person, man", plural: ininiwag ) and referred to them as "Illinois" or " Illinois ".

The origin of the tribal name could possibly be derived from another "Miami-Illinois" word: ireniweeyoni or iilinwiyankwi ("our language").

However, they referred to themselves as / Inoca / , / Inoka / or / Inouca / (the meaning could not be clarified until today).

Therefore usually are in the (historic) and current literature , the terms Illini (singular) or Iliniwek , Illiniwek (plural) usual or - the political organization to clarify - Illinois Confederacy .

Historically, they were known by other name variants: Eriniouai, Liniouek, Aliniouek, Iliniouek, Ilinois, Ilinoués , etc.

Tribal areas and way of life

When Europeans first encountered "Illinois / Inoca" tribes in 1673, they were the dominant politico-military power in the entire Illinois River Valley (in Miami-Illinois: Inoka Siipiiwi - "River of the Inoka, ie the Illinois") and along the Kaskaskia River ; the tribal areas were generally mostly west of the Mississippi River (in Miami-Illinois: Mihsi-siipiiwi ), the Ohio River (in Miami-Illinois: Kaanseenseepiiwi ) formed the southern and the White River the southwestern border, in the northwest the tribal area extended along the River basin of the Des Moines River and in the north it bordered Lake Michigan (in Miami-Illinois: Kihcikami - "Big Lake") - thus it encompassed today's US states of Illinois and large areas of the bordering states of Iowa , Missouri and Arkansas .

The "Illinois / Inoca" were not nomads , their tribal areas extended over the eastern high grass prairie and bordered with Lake Michigan on the Great Lakes region ; they resembled in their lifestyle more the tribes of the Northeast woodlands than the south, west and east partly living typical representatives of the German language, usually as Plains Indians peoples designated (but in English as Plains Indians are known).

Typical for the prairies ( Mahkoteew - "grassland") is an extreme climate, which is characterized by very cold winters, hot summers and one or more consecutive years with large floods, which in turn are followed by periods of large droughts. The frequency and strength of the drought (as well as a decrease in precipitation) increases with the distance to the forests from the high grass prairie in the east (the “prairie in the narrowest sense”) via the central mixed grass prairie to the dry short grass prairie (mostly “Great Plains” or Called "Plains") in the west.

In the area of ​​the prairies, thanks to the numerous rivers and fertile black earth, simple farming was possible, which enabled the conditions for a sedentary way of life. Agriculture formed the basis of nutrition (supplemented by fishing, wild animal hunting and the gathering of fruits and roots) and enabled the generation of food surpluses, which not only enabled the tribes to maintain a secure stockpile, but also to generate necessary goods in extensive trade contacts with the nomadic plains. Tribes.

The "Illinois / Inoca" lived in fixed villages along tree-lined rivers and mostly inhabited longhouses ( Kinoonteewa , singular: Kinoonteewi , similar to the tribes along the Great Lakes) or sometimes also earth houses (similar to most of the sedentary prairie tribes), as the latter offer better protection offered in the bitterly cold winters, but also stayed cool in the hot summer months. In order to secure their livelihood, they practiced agriculture (corn, beans, squash, later watermelons and wheat), fishing and mostly in winter hunting (deer, antelopes, beavers) in the adjacent forests. In spring / summer and autumn they gathered in larger camps and then lived in easy-to-set-up and transportable wigwams ( Wiikiaama , singular: Wiikiaami ) to hunt buffalo .

Tribes

The first reports of the Illinois / Inoca indicate at least twelve tribes (circa 1680), but some of these could be different names of the same tribe:

  • Cahokia (pronounced: "ca • HO • ki • a", lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries in the center of the "Illinois / Inoca" territory along the Mississippi River in southwest Illinois and directly south of the Tamaroa)
  • Chepoussa or Chipussea (pronounced: "che • POUS • sa", are mostly called in connection with the Michigamea), lived in northeast Arkansas and southeast Missouri along the Black River , a tributary of the White River (on which the Michigamea settled), and were thus one of the southernmost tribes of the "Illinois / Inoca", later they lived with them in today's historical site called "Kolmer Site", their history is identical from here to that of Michigamea - for more information see Michigemea)
  • Chinko or Chinkoa (pronounced: "CHIN • ko")
  • Coiracoentanon or Korakoenitanon (pronounced: "coi • ra • coen • TAN • on", lived along the lower reaches of the Des Moines Rivers and thus southeast of the Moingwena and south of the Peoria, some later joined the Kaskaskia, but the majority of the Peoria, therefore soon lost their own identity)
  • Espeminkia or Ispeminkia (read: "es • pe • MIN • ki • a")
  • Kaskaskia , Kaaskaaskiwa , Kaskaskahamwa or Kaahkaahkiaki ( onomatopoeic for the " long-feeler horror (Katydid) " thus "Katydid (Tettigonia viridissima) people", pronounced: "kas • KAS • ki • a"), in the late 16th century the Kaskaskia inhabited the northeast of the "Illinois / Inoca" territory in the Upper Illinois River Valley southwest of Lake Michigan . At the end of the 17th century, the Kaskaskia and neighboring Illinois / Inoca tribes inhabited a large village on the north bank of the Illinois River near the present-day village of North Utica, Illinois. which was known as the Grand Village of Kaskaskia (also: Grand Village of the Illinois or Old Kaskaskia Village ) (near today's Starved Rock State Park ). Due to aggressively penetrating raiding raids of the Iroquois League during the Beaver Wars , the Kaskaskia left theirs around 1700 Home along the Illinois River and moved to the mouth of the Kaskaskia River, named after them,in southwest Illinois; at the confluence of the Kaskaskia and Missis rivers sippi River they founded their new main settlement called Kaskaskia (which was even the capital of Illinois from 1809 to 1820) and stayed in this area until the early 19th century.)
  • Maroa , Maroua or Omouahoa (according to a roughly drawn map by the Jesuit and explorer, Fr. Jacques Marquette , they lived in the 17th century in an area that now includes parts of Illinois and Indiana; they are often only considered to be a band of the Tamaroa , quickly lost their own identities and the survivors joined them)
  • Michibousa (pronounced: "me • i • BOU • sa")
  • Michigamea , Mitchigamea , Michigamie or Meehcikamia or Mihshikamiia (pronounced: "me • i • GA • me • a", possibly originally from the area of ​​what is now Chicago), they were moved south by the hostile Sauk and Fox in the late 16th century expelled to northeast Arkansas and settled as the southernmost tribe along the St. Francis River and the White River , but around 1700 they again had togive wayto the Quapaw and returned to the Mississippi River and Upper Sangamon River in southwest Illinois; here they built several Villages near a French fort (Fort de Chartes), together with the Chepoussa they lived in avillage heavily fortifiedby means of palisades (today's historical site called "Kolmer Site") - but this was already in 1752 through an alliance of hostile tribes - the Fox , Sioux and Cherokee - ambushed, burned to thegroundand most of the population killed (part of the French and Indian Wars). The survivors Michigamea erri wanted a new settlement (today's historic site called "Waterman Site") in the immediate vicinity or joined the Kaskaskia.)
  • Moingwena , Moingona or Mooyinkweena (pronounced: "moin • GWE • na") originally lived south of the Peoria, which is closely allied with them - sometimes they are even regarded as a sub-tribe of the Peoria - along the Upper Des Moines River , which is probably named after this tribe became - Riviere de Moingwena )
  • Peoria , Peroveria , Pewaria , Pewarea or Peewaareewa , modern pronunciation Peewaalia or Peewaaliaki (literally: someone comes and carries a load on his back , read: "pe • O • ri • a", in the late 16th century they lived in the northwest the "Illinois / Inoca" Territory along the tributaries of the Mississippi River in southeast Iowa and northeast Missouri; French visited a large villagenear the mouth of the Des Moines River in 1673 ; later the Peoria moved east into the Illinois River Valley and built in 1691 their main village near today's city of Peoria , Illinois, this was a preferred hunting area and was therefore named Pimiteoui / Pee-Mee-Twee (“fat, abundant lake”)after the nearby Peoria Lake , a natural widening of the Illinois RiverHowever, by the 1760s the Peoria left the Illinois Valley and moved south to the Mississippi River in southwest Illinois and east Missouri.)
  • Tamaroa or Tamarowa ("cut tail" and referred to a totem animal like the bear or the wild cat, read: "ta • ma • RO • a", in the late 17th century and early 18th century the Tamaroa lived on both sides of the Mississippi River in the area of ​​the confluence with the Illinois River and Missouri River in the east of Missouri and in the southwest of Illinois, directly southeast of them lived the Cahokia and again further in the southwest the Michigamea; the Tamaroa later moved together with the Cahokia to the vicinity of the Kaskaskia to the mouth of the Kaskaskia River in what is now Illinois, where they lived near the French settlement of Kaskaskia (and also the main settlement of the Kaskaskia) and suffered from European diseases against which they could not develop any resistance forces, as well as wars against hostile tribes such as the Chickasaw and Shawnee , and widespread alcoholism , so that the population of the "Illinois / Inoca" tribes living here continues to shrink dramatically e.)
  • Tapouaro , Taponero , Taporoua or Tapuaro (pronounced: "ta • POUA • ro", lived in eastern Iowa and western Illinois on the lower reaches of the Iowa River to its confluence with the Mississippi)

Around 1750 - presumably due to epidemics and ongoing wars - several tribes had joined neighboring larger tribes and lost their identity, so that there were now only five tribes whose identity is considered certain:

  • Cahokia
  • Kaskaskia (as well as some Michigamea)
  • Michigamea (as well as survivors of the Chepoussa)
  • Peoria (as well as Moingwena survivors) and
  • Tamaroa (and later all survivors Cahokia and Maroa)

Of these five tribes, only the Kaskaskia existed in 1818 (Kaskaskia and survivors of the Cahokia, Coiracoentanon, Chepoussa, Maroa, Tamaroa and Michigamea) and the Peoria, who, due to the advancing frontier, all claims and land rights east of the Mississippi River in a treaty with the USA resigned; today there is only the Peoria Indian Tribe of Oklahoma (which also consists of many descendants of the Miami tribes of the Wea (Waayaahtanooki) and Piankashaw (Peeyankihšiaki) ).

External relationships

Early French records indicate that the "Illinois / Inoca" and "Miami / Myaamiaki" were considered linguistically and culturally identical. In addition, both showed cultural similarities with other central Algonk groups (especially Fox , Sauk , Kickapoo and Mascouten ) and also shared significant characteristics with Sioux-speaking peoples of the Mississippi Valley ( Iowa , Oto , Missouri and Winnebago ) and the adjacent prairies ( Kansa , Osage , Omaha , Ponca and Quapaw ) (with the characteristic combination of village farming and buffalo hunting and the organization in moieties ). Despite the linguistic and cultural similarities, the "Illinois / Inoca" and "Miami / Myaamiaki" (who lived north of them in the late 17th century and east of them from the beginning of the 18th century to the beginning of the 19th century) often stood together hostile to and at times waged violent wars against each other.

Relations broke out into open enmity when some bands of the "Miami / Myaamiaki" in the Beaver Wars (also called French and Iroquois Wars , 1640 to 1701 ) after several costly wars and defeats now joined the militarily superior Iroquois League ( Naatowiaki , Singular: Naatowia ) and their allies, the British, joined and invaded the land of the "Illinois / Inoca" and fought them mercilessly. The "Illinois / Inoca" had made the Iroquois bitter enemies when they offered protection to scattered bands of the Wyandot , Tionontati and Neutral peoples who had already been subjugated by the Iroquois - whereupon the western Iroquois tribes did not hand them over ( Seneca , Cayuga and Onondaga ) sent punitive expeditions and the "Illinois / Inoca" from 1655 largely left the Illinois River Valley and moved to the west bank of the Mississippi River and north to Green Bay on the south coast of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (1680 Iroquois killed approx. 700 Tamaroa and hundreds more members of the Maroa, Espeminkia and Peoria who had tried to withstand the enemy); these raids did not end until the Great Peace of Montreal in 1701 , which meant a defeat for New France and its Indian allies - including the "Illinois / Inoca". After the peace agreement, the Iroquois had to withdraw to the east (but remained in control of the Ohio River Valley and the subordinate Algonquin tribes resident there) and the militarily and demographically weakened "Illinois / Inoca" returned to their old tribal areas - but they had to From now on they increasingly share this with the Algonquin and Sioux tribes who fled the Iroquois from the north and east. During the French and Indian War (1754–1760) the "Illinois / Inoca" fought on the side of their old allies, the French ( Meehtikoošiaki , singular: Meehtikoošia ), while the "Miami / Myaamiaki" fought on the side of New England ; the military and numerical superiority of their enemies forced the "Illinois / Inoca" for the second time to give up their already shrunken tribal area completely. The five tribes of the Iroquois League were certainly the most dangerous indigenous enemies between 1640 and 1760 - but there were probably constant armed conflicts between the "Illinois / Inoca" and the Iroquois even before the first contact with Europeans, which, however, was due to the competition of the colonial powers England and France were tightened. Overall, and in retrospect, it can be said that this pattern, in which native tribes participated or were involved as allies in armed conflicts between European powers, in no way paid off for the former owners of North America: These early alliances and alliances did nothing to change the situation that, once the power struggle for the supremacy of European powers was decided, the former allies were got rid of, their living spaces were pushed back, they were disenfranchised, expropriated and decimated (see: Covenant Chain ).

Relations with other Indian tribes and alliances changed over the centuries - especially as a result of the great refugee movements and expulsions of entire tribes during the Beaver Wars and the French and Indian Wars that followed (1688 to 1763). The then militarily superior and technically better equipped Iroquois League (first by means of the Dutch, then by the British) tried to maintain its position as an intermediary in the fur trade in North America between the French and the Western tribes, first through diplomatic pressure and later through military force to establish a trade monopoly. The Iroquois tried to expand their territory (for the purpose of hunting beavers) to the territory of the neighboring tribes, mainly hostile Algonquians; In doing so, they demanded that they either submit to the league and become a member of the "Convenant Chain" as a vassal or leave their tribal areas immediately. If the tribes did not submit, the Iroquois undertook extremely cruel war campaigns, invaded the tribal areas, repeatedly abducted warriors, women and children into slavery and plundered the hunting grounds in search of more furs. The expansion of the Iroquois and the expulsion of the inferior tribes changed the tribal geography in large areas of North America.

Due to their geographical location (and their proximity to the French), the tribal areas of the "Illinois / Inoca" soon became a place of refuge for several tribes from the east in the course of the late 17th and early 18th centuries - and this was due to the scarcity of resources and Overhunting and overfishing soon led to violent clashes between the tribes.

During the late 1630s, American Indian allies of the French armed with firearms - Odawa ( Taawaawaki - "trader", singular: Taawaawa ) and Anishinabe / Ojibwe ( Acipwiaki , singular: Acipwia ) - moved to the lower peninsula of Michigan in the hunting grounds of the resident Fox, Sauk, Mascouten, Kickapoo and Potawatomi and forced them to get to safety across Lake Michigan in Wisconsin around 1640; there they set up large settlements shared by several tribes. The areas around Green Bay, on the west bank of Lake Michigan and on Lake Winnebago belonged to the Winnebago ( Wiinipiikwaki - "people of stinking water", singular: Wiinipiikwa ) and Menominee ( Naloominaki - "people of the wild travel ", singular: Naloomina ) who settled there ) - both traditional enemies of the "Illinois / Inoca"; the Winnebago had already repulsed previous attempts at Anishinabe and in 1641 forced the Potawatomi to withdraw to the north, after which they also attacked the Fox, who settled on the west bank of Lake Winnebago. However, their huge canoe fleet was sunk on the lake by a storm and about 500 warriors drowned. When the Winnebago holed up in a palisade-fortified settlement, an epidemic and famine broke out among them (because they could not till their fields due to the Fox warriors) and they sent messengers to the "Illinois / Inoca". Despite their hostility, the latter sent around 500 warriors with provisions to support them, but the "Illinois / Inoca" warriors were murdered from behind by the Winnebago. Thereupon the "Illinois / Inoca" sent a large punitive expedition and destroyed almost all Winnebago except for a few survivors; Few survivors were able to flee to the Menominee, about 150 (mostly women and children) were taken into slavery by the "Illinois / Inoca" (after several years they were allowed to return to their relatives). The only 500 surviving Winnebago never forgave the "Illinois / Inoca" the massacre and they may have lost an important future ally in the fight against other tribes.

Already in 1665 the French reported in alarm that more than 30,000 Algonquian refugees (Fox, Sauk, Ottawa, Mascouten, Miami, Kickapoo, Anishinabe and Potawatomi as well as some Miami) overran the local Winnebago and Menominee, took over their hunting grounds and had already plundered them there this northern area was not suitable for arable farming either. Soon the starving tribes began to fight among themselves and had already started a war with the Dakota Sioux as Algonquin hunting parties were advancing into their territory.

At this time the Dhegiha Sioux (Osage, Quapaw, Kansa, Omaha, and Ponca) were also forced to give up their tribal areas along the lower reaches of the Ohio River and the Wabash Rivers and move west of the Mississippi Rivers. The Omaha, Ponca and Kansa moved up the Missouri River posed no immediate danger, but the Missouri moved to the confluence of the Grand River in the Missouri and the very aggressive and warlike Osage to the lower reaches of the Missouri and the Osage River in west-central Missouri and thus both became feared enemies for the "Illinois / Inoca" already living on the west bank of the Mississippi. The Quapaw ( Kaahpaki , singular: Kaahpa ) in turn moved south to the confluence of the Arkansas River in the Mississippi in what is now Arkansas and there drove the local Chepoussa and Michigamea to the north. In addition, the Pawnee were among their enemies along the tributaries of the Missouri, Platte, Loup and Republican Rivers in present-day Nebraska and northern Kansas, who were often victims of slave hunts by the "Illinois / Inoca", who sold them to the French (The slave trade became so lively that the name “Pani” became a synonym for slave in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries ). Relations with the tribes in the west only improved in the late seventeenth century, presumably because the "Illinois / Inoca" had returned to their old tribal areas east of the Mississippi River.

The "Illinois / Inoca" were weakened by the raids and wars as well as several epidemics during the Beaver Wars and found it difficult to defend their already shrunken tribal area. In the eighteenth century new enemies appeared who wanted to take advantage of the weakness. A loose coalition of tribes - including the Dakota ( Šaahaki , singular: Šaaha ), Sauk ( Saakiaki , singular: Saakia ), Fox, Kickapoo ( Kiikaapooki , singular: Kiikaapwa ) and Potawatomi ( Wahoonahaki , singular: Wahoonaha ) - attempted in from the north invade the tribal area. Meanwhile, the Shawnee ( Šaawanooki , singular: Šaawanwa ) and Chickasaw also began to exert pressure on the "Illinois / Inoca" from the south , so that they were ultimately involved in constant wars with their northern and southern neighbors. After the end of the French and Indian War (1754–1760) they had lost their only permanent allies, the French, and the victorious British regarded the former tribal areas of the "Illinois / Inoca" as now part of the British Empire and the "Illinois / Inoca" as subjects who, due to their loyalty to the French, are difficult to trust. So they finally fought almost alone against the hostile tribes, the advancing settlement borders and the associated epidemics and the alcoholism that soon spread among the tribes. First they had to give up the north of their tribal area, then large parts of the east, but soon they could no longer defend themselves and their land claims east of the Mississippi passed to the Americans ( Mihši-maalhsaki , singular: Mihši-maalhsa ).

Culture

Most of the information about the Illinois way of life comes from the records of French explorers between 1673 and 1700, such as Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet . They only reported on visits to the Peoria and Kaskaskia, because almost nothing is known about the culture of the Cahokia, Michigamea and Tamaroa.

The Illinois people made a living from farming, hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plants. Growing maize and gathering roots and wild plants was a woman's job, while the men went hunting and fishing. The annual cycle began in late March or early April when people returned to the summer villages from their winter camps. The women spent the first time collecting firewood in order to be able to devote themselves intensively to planting maize from the beginning of May. From June, most of the residents left their villages and went to the buffalo hunt together , which lasted about six weeks. The first maize could be harvested and dried at the end of July, followed by the second harvest at the end of August. Then the residents left their villages again to set up winter camps. In addition to corn, the Illinois people also grew beans , squash and watermelons . Women also collected a variety of tubers, nuts, berries and fruits. During the joint buffalo hunt, a herd of young men was surrounded, who drove the animals into a prepared ambush and killed them. The meat of the bison was dried and thus preserved and the prepared skins were used as winter clothing. The prey also included deer, bears, turkeys, lynxes and pumas.

The summer camps were on the banks of the rivers and sometimes extended over considerable distances. The Peoria village visited by Marquette and Joliet in 1673 had 300 huts, the Kaskaskia village visited in 1677 even consisted of 351 huts. Each village probably had a larger building that was used for rituals and community accommodation. The summer huts had a rectangular floor plan and consisted of curved tree saplings covered with reed mats. Summer camps were usually set up on the edge of prairies, in places that offered shade and could be defended against sudden attacks.

history

At the beginning of their contact with Europeans, the Illinois had been pushed westward by the Iroquois, who at that time already owned firearms. By the mid-17th century, most of Illinois were concentrated along the Illinois River from Starved Rock to the Mississippi River, where they had evaded before raids by the Dakota , Fox , Sauk, and other northern tribes. Around 1667 the French outpost of Chequamegon was visited for the first time by a group of Illinois. In 1673, Marquette observed the possession of French trade goods, including rifles, among the Peoria. The prospect of closer trade relations with the French apparently prompted the northern Illinois tribes to prefer to settle in the large Kaskaskia village near what is now Starved Rock State Park . This place was invaded and destroyed by the Iroquois in 1680, but rebuilt two years later in the same place as La Salles Fort and Trading Post . In addition to the Kaskaskia, the residents also included members of the Miami and Shawnee . In 1691, the lack of firewood forced the residents to found the new settlement Pimitéout on Lake Peoria further downstream . Meanwhile, the southern Illinois tribes had begun to establish many smaller villages in the American Bottom instead of one large settlement . The Cahokia continued to live in their traditional residential area at the confluence of the Illinois Rivers and Mississippi, while the Tamaroa moved to the east bank of the Mississippi and Michigamea moved north to the Kaskaskia River around 1693 . Around 1700 the Kaskaskia left Pimitéout, followed by the French merchants and missionaries, and moved south to the Mississippi at Fort de Chartres . The Illinois tribes allied themselves with certain French settlements: the Cahokia with the French Cahokia of the same name , the Michigamea with Fort de Chartres , the Kaskaskia and Tamaroa with the French Kaskaskia .

During the 18th century, the population of the Illinois tribes shrank dramatically, and eventually there were few survivors. One of the reasons for the decline was the never-ending war with the Wisconsin tribes that began when the Iroquois raids stopped. The Peoria were particularly vulnerable due to their northern residential area and suffered from constant attacks from their enemies. The murder of Ottawa chief Pontiac by an Illinois resident provoked retaliation from various northern Algonquin tribes, which continued to decrease their population. They were finally driven south in the late eighteenth century. The Illinois tribes living in the south owed a certain protection to the French. Nevertheless, they suffered from poverty and the loss of their cultural identity, so that many relatives became addicted to alcohol. Apparently successful missionary work led to complete dependence on the French. They followed this and moved across the Mississippi until the start of the American Revolutionary War , in which the Kaskaskia became allies of the Americans.

In the early nineteenth century, what remained of the Illinois lived mostly west of the Mississippi and began selling their land. In 1832 the Illinois consisted of only a few tribesmen who had lost their identity, and they moved into a reservation in eastern Kansas. Here a new movement arose under the Baptist Peoria, which led to cultural adaptation and ensured their common life as Peoria. In 1854 they united with the remnants of the Wea and Piankashaw and called themselves Confederated Peoria (United Peoria). The advancing colonization of Kansas eventually forced them to move to a new reservation in northeast Oklahoma . They were federally recognized as the Peoria Indian Tribe of Oklahoma in 1940 . However, there are hardly any remains of their traditional culture.

Demographics

First estimates of the population were made by specifying huts or warriors and only referred to the northern tribes. In 1673 Marquette reported about 300 huts in the Peoria village and 74 huts in the Kaskaskia settlement. Around 1677 there were a total of 351 huts here, including the Peoria and other tribes. Louis Deliette identified a total of 260 huts with 800 warriors, that is, men between the ages of 20 and 40, in the Pimitéoui settlement, a collection point for northern Illinois, for 1691. In the case of the Cahokia and Tamaroa, he found only 60 huts. In 1736, Céloron estimated a total population of 2,400 tribesmen for all Illinois tribes, including 600 warriors. By 1756 that number had shrunk to 1,720 people. The population also fell in the following years, so that by 1840 only around 200 people had survived.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cahokia . Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Retrieved October 6, 2016 .
  2. ^ Illinois Indians in the Illinois Country
  3. ↑ a b c d Charles Callender: Handbook of North American Indians . Volume 15: Northeast, Illinois, p. 673
  4. ↑ Aacimotaatiiyankwi - A Myaamia Community Blog - Language (Myaamiaataweenki - Miami-Illinois) (I do not know the name for the dialect variant of "Illinois / Inoca").
  5. ^ Nishnaabemwin - Odawa & Eastern Ojibwe online dictionary
  6. ↑ Anishinaabemowin - Ojibwe-English Wordlist
  7. ↑ FREELANG Ojibwe-English-Ojibwe online dictionary
  8. ↑ Myaamia Center Historical Landscapes of the Miami (and the Illinois)
  9. ^ Illinois State Museum - The Illinois Indians - Identity - Territory
  10. ^ Center for Social Research, Parkland College Champaign, Illinois, - Glossary of Ethnographic and Archaeological Terms Associated with the Contact Period in the North American Midwest.
  11. ^ David J. Costa: Miami-Illinois Tribe Names
  12. ^ The Illinois Confederation: Lords of the Mississippi Valley
  13. ↑ Sometimes it is also reported that the Coiracoentanon lived on the upper reaches of the Des Moines River and the Moingwena instead lived on its lower reaches up to the confluence with the Mississippi, and the tribal areas of the latter thus extended to southeastern Iowa and northeastern Missouri
  14. ↑ ILLINOIS HISTORY
  15. ↑ Some tribes in the Ohio Valley disappeared and are only known by name: Casa, Cisca, Iskousogom, Moneton, Mospelea, Ouabano, Teochanontian, Tomahitan and Tramontane. Who they were and what exactly happened to these tribes is unknown.
  16. ^ Charles Callender: Handbook of North American Indians . Volume 15: Northeast, Illinois, pp. 674-676
  17. ^ A b Charles Callender: Handbook of North American Indians . Volume 15: Northeast, Illinois, pp. 677-679
  18. ^ Charles Callender: Handbook of North American Indians . Volume 15: Northeast, Illinois, p. 679