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Pacaha was a Native American polity encountered in 1541 by the
Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...
expedition. This group inhabited fortified villages in what is today the northeastern portion of the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
. The tribe takes its name from the chieftain Pacaha (born in early 16th century), who ruled the tribe from its primary village on the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
, which was thought to be located in present-day
Crittenden County, Arkansas Crittenden County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 50,902. The county seat is Marion, and the largest city is West Memphis. Located in the Arkansas Delta, Crittenden County is Arkan ...
near Turrell. The site, part of the
Nodena phase The Nodena phase is an archaeological phase in eastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri of the Late Mississippian culture which dates from about 1400–1650 CE. The Nodena phase is known from a collection of villages along the Mississippi Ri ...
, is known to archaeologists as "The Bradley Site". Information about Chief Pacaha and his people comes from journals made during the expedition of Hernando De Soto in 1541. The de Soto expedition stayed at Pacaha's village for approximately 40 days.


De Soto expedition

The initial encounter between the Pacaha and the de Soto expedition was violent. Chief Pacaha's tribe had been at war for some time with a neighboring chieftain named
Casqui Casqui was a Native American polity visited in 1541 by the Hernando de Soto expedition. This group inhabited fortified villages in eastern Arkansas. The tribe takes its name from the chieftain Casqui, who ruled the tribe from its primary village ...
. The Casqui tribe is thought to have lived at a site near
Parkin, Arkansas Parkin is a city in Cross County, Arkansas, United States, along the St. Francis River. The population was 1,105 at the 2010 census, down from 1,602 in 2000. Due to the recent population loss, a large segment of the downtown area has many abando ...
and the location of the present-day
Parkin Archeological State Park Parkin Archeological State Park, also known as Parkin Indian Mound, is an archeological site and state park in Parkin, Cross County, Arkansas. Around 1350–1650 CE an aboriginal palisaded village existed at the site, at the confluence of ...
. De Soto had encountered the
Casqui Casqui was a Native American polity visited in 1541 by the Hernando de Soto expedition. This group inhabited fortified villages in eastern Arkansas. The tribe takes its name from the chieftain Casqui, who ruled the tribe from its primary village ...
tribe first. When he pressed on to visit the Pacaha village, many of the Casqui people followed him. Many of the Pacaha, seeing the approach of their enemy, attempted to flee to an island in the river and drowned. The Casqui who accompanied de Soto sacked the village, desecrated holy sites, and looted valuables. The Pacaha controlled more territory and had a larger population than the Casqui. Chief Pacaha was younger than the Casqui chief, however, and seemingly had more to lose from the continued aggressive Casqui attacks. De Soto contacted Chief Pacaha and convinced him that he had nothing to do with the attack and that the expedition's intentions were peaceful. De Soto assured the Pacaha that the expedition would help the Pacaha attack the Casqui to punish them for their subterfuge. The Casqui received advance warning of the planned attack. They returned the looted items and apologized in order to stave off retribution. De Soto arranged a dinner for the two leaders and a peace treaty between the tribes. Chief Pacaha presented de Soto with one of his wives, one of his sisters, and another woman from his tribe. This action was in gratitude for the arrangement of peace and also to outdo his rival, who had only presented a daughter to de Soto. The Hernando de Soto expedition records are the only historical records of Chief Pacaha and his tribe. Their later history is uncertain. The name Pacaha was spelled Capaha in one account. Some scholars believe this word is related to the historic
Quapaw The Quapaw ( ; or Arkansas and Ugahxpa) people are a tribe of Native Americans that coalesced in what is known as the Midwest and Ohio Valley of the present-day United States. The Dhegiha Siouan-speaking tribe historically migrated from the Ohi ...
tribe encountered in Arkansas by European expeditions in the 17th and 18th centuries. The primary village of the eastern Arkansas Quapaw was named ''Kappa'' or ''Kappah''. Human and cultural remains found at the suspected Pacaha site are repatriated to the Quapaw and
Tunica-Biloxi The Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe, ( tun, Yoroniku-Halayihku) formerly known as the Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe of Louisiana, is a federally recognized tribe of primarily Tunica and Biloxi people, located in east central Louisiana. Descendants of ...
tribes, which are active.


See also

*
Tunica people The Tunica people are a group of linguistically and culturally related Native American tribes in the Mississippi River Valley, which include the Tunica (also spelled Tonica, Tonnica, and Thonnica); the Yazoo; the Koroa (Akoroa, Courouais); and ...
*
List of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition This is a list of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition in the years 1539–1543. In May 1539, de Soto left Havana, Cuba, with nine ships, over 620 men and 220 surviving horses and landed at Charlotte Harbor, Florida. This ...
*
Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern United States, Midwestern, Eastern United States, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from appr ...


References

* Hudson, Charles M., ''Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun: Hernando De Soto and the South's Ancient Chiefdoms'', University of Georgia Press, 1997. * Galloway, Patricia, Editor. ''The Hernando de Soto Expedition''. University of Nebraska Press. 1997.


External links


University of Arkansas Report on de Soto travels in Arkansas
{{authority control Nodena Phase Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Native American history of Arkansas Native American tribes in Arkansas Pre-statehood history of Arkansas