The Adai (also Adaizan, Adaizi, Adaise, Adahi, Adaes, Adees, Atayos) were a Native American people of northwestern

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and northeastern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

with a Southeastern culture. The name ''Adai'' is derived from the

Caddo The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, wh ...

word ''hadai'' meaning 'brushwood'.Thomas N. Campbell, "HAQUI INDIANS,"

Handbook of Texas Online The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular ...

br>
accessed July 12, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. The Adai were among the first peoples in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

to experience European contact and were profoundly affected. In 1530,

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (; 1488/90/92"Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Núñez (1492?-1559?)." American Eras. Vol. 1: Early American Civilizations and Exploration to 1600. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 50-51. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Decembe ...

wrote of them using the name ''Atayos''. The Adai subsequently moved away from their homeland. By 1820, there were only 30 persons remaining. Their extinct language was possibly

Caddoan The Caddoan languages are a family of languages native to the Great Plains spoken by tribal groups of the central United States, from present-day North Dakota south to Oklahoma. All Caddoan languages are critically endangered, as the number of ...

, but Adai remains unclassified because of a lack of attestation.

References

Caddoan peoples Native American history of Louisiana Native American tribes in Louisiana Native American tribes in Texas {{NorthAm-native-stub