The Hasinai Confederacy (

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 ...

: ) was a large confederation of

-speaking Native Americans who occupied territory between the Sabine and Trinity rivers in eastern Texas. Today, their descendants are enrolled in the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma and the Natchitoches Tribe of Louisiana.

Name

The name ''Hasinai'' (with the variants ''Hasini'', ''Asenai'', ''Asinai'', ''Assoni'', ''Asenay'', ''Cenis'', ''Senis'', and ''Sannaye'') means "our own people" in Caddoan. The Spanish knew the Hasinai as the ''Tejas'' or ''Texas'', from a form of greeting meaning "friend", which gave the state of Texas its name.

Government

When the Spanish and the French encountered the Hasinai in the 1680s, they were a centrally organized chiefdom under the control of a religious leader, known as the Grand Xinesi. He lived in a secluded house and met with a council of elders. The chieftainship consisted of several subdivisions, which have been designated "cantonments". Each was under the control of a Caddi. There were also men designated as Canahas and Chayas, who helped the Caddi run the system.

History

During the 17th century, the Hasinai traded with the Jumano at the western Hasinai city of Nabedache. Some consider the residents of Nabedache to have been a distinct people designated by that name.

Historic populations

It is estimated that in 1520, the people who would become the Hasinai, the Kadohadacho and the Natchitoches, numbered about 250,000. Over the next 250 years, the population of these Caddoan-speaking peoples was severely reduced by epidemics of endemic diseases carried by Spanish and French colonists and spread through indigenous trading networks. Native Americans had no acquired immunity to the new diseases, and suffered high mortality. In 1690, the Hasinai numbered in the vicinity of 10,000 people or a little more. By 1720, as a result of infectious diseases such as smallpox, the Hasinai population had fallen to 2,000.Anderson, ''The Indian Southwest'', p. 57

Closely related peoples

* Arikara * Chitimacha * Kadohadacho * Natchitoches * Pawnee *

Tula Tula may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Tula Mountains *Tula Point India *Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar Iran * Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province Italy * Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the pr ...

Notes

References

* Edmonds, Randlett. ''Nusht'uhtiʔtiʔ Hasinay: Caddo Phrasebook''. Richardson, TX: Various Indian Peoples Publishing, 2003. .

External links

The Hasinai Society of the Caddo Nation

Tides.sfasu.ed−Texas Tides: Location of the Tribes of the Hasinai Confederacy in 1716

Texasbeyondhistory.net: Life and Times of the Caddo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasinai Caddoan peoples Native American tribes in Oklahoma Native American tribes in Texas Native American history of Texas