Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, Southeastern cultures, or Southeast Indians are an ethnographic classification for Native Americans who have traditionally inhabited the area now part of the Southeastern United States and the northeastern border of Mexico, that share common cultural traits. This classification is a part of the

Eastern Woodlands The Eastern Woodlands is a cultural area of the indigenous people of North America. The Eastern Woodlands extended roughly from the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern Great Plains, and from the Great Lakes region to the Gulf of Mexico, which is now pa ...

. The concept of a southeastern cultural region was developed by anthropologists, beginning with Otis Mason and Frank Boas in 1887. The boundaries of the region are defined more by shared cultural traits than by geographic distinctions.Jackson and Fogelson 3 Because the cultures gradually instead of abruptly shift into Plains, Prairie, or Northeastern Woodlands cultures, scholars do not always agree on the exact limits of the Southeastern Woodland culture region. Shawnee,

Powhatan The Powhatan people (; also spelled Powatan) may refer to any of the indigenous Algonquian people that are traditionally from eastern Virginia. All of the Powhatan groups descend from the Powhatan Confederacy. In some instances, The Powhata ...

Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the s ...

, Tawakoni, Tonkawa, Karankawa,

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 ...

, and Mosopelea are usually seen as marginally southeastern and their traditional lands represent the borders of the cultural region. The area was linguistically diverse, major language groups were Caddoan and Muskogean, besides a number of language isolates.

List of peoples

Acolapissa The Acolapissa were a small tribe of Native Americans of North America, who lived in the Southeast of what is the present-day United States. They lived along the banks of the Pearl River, between present-day Louisiana and Mississippi. They are beli ...

(Colapissa), Louisiana and MississippiSturtevant and Fogelson, 69 * Ais, eastern coastal FloridaSturtevant and Fogelson, 205 * Alafay (Alafia, Pojoy, Pohoy, Costas Alafeyes, Alafaya Costas), FloridaSturtevant and Fogelson, 214 * Amacano, Florida west coast *

Apalachee The Apalachee were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, specifically an Indigenous people of Florida, who lived in the Florida Panhandle until the early 18th century. They lived between the Aucilla River and Ochlockonee River,Bobby ...

, northwestern Florida *

Atakapa The Atakapa Sturtevant, 659 or Atacapa were an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, who spoke the Atakapa language and historically lived along the Gulf of Mexico in what is now Texas and Louisiana. They included several distinct band ...

(Attacapa), Louisiana west coast and Texas southeastern coast **

Akokisa The Akokisa were the indigenous tribe that lived on Galveston Bay and the lower Trinity and San Jacinto rivers in Texas, primarily in the present-day Greater Houston area.Campbell, Thomas N. "Akokisa Indians.''The Handbook of Texas Online.''(ret ...

, Texas southeast coast **

Bidai The Bidai were a tribe of Atakapa Indians from eastern Texas.Sturtevant, 659 History Their oral history says that the Bidai were the original people in their region.Deadose, eastern Texas **

Eastern Atakapa The Atakapa Sturtevant, 659 or Atacapa were an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, who spoke the Atakapa language and historically lived along the Gulf of Mexico in what is now Texas and Louisiana. They included several distinct ...

, western coastal Louisiana ** Orcoquiza, southeast Texas ** Patiri, eastern Texas **

Tlacopsel The Atakapa Sturtevant, 659 or Atacapa were an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, who spoke the Atakapa language and historically lived along the Gulf of Mexico in what is now Texas and Louisiana. They included several distinct band ...

, southeast Texas *

Avoyel The Avoyel or Avoyelles were a small Native American tribe who at the time of European contact inhabited land near the mouth of the Red River at its confluence with the Atchafalaya River near present-day Marksville, Louisiana. Also called variou ...

("little Natchez"), LouisianaSturtevant and Fogelson, 81-82 *

Bayogoula The Bayagoula were a Native American tribe from what is now called Mississippi and Louisiana in the southern United States. Due to transcription errors amongst cartographers who mistakenly rewrote the tribe's name as their name is erroneously assu ...

, southeastern Louisiana *

Biloxi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

, Mississippi *

Caddo Confederacy 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, who ...

, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, TexasSturtevant, 617 ** Adai (Adaizan, Adaizi, Adaise, Adahi, Adaes, Adees, Atayos), Louisiana and Texas ** Cahinnio, southern Arkansas **

Doustioni The Doustioni or Dotchetonne were a tribe of American Indians somewhere in the region around the Gulf of Mexico; they are known only from records of the expedition of the Sieur de la Salle, which identify them as allies, in the late 17th century, ...

, north central Louisiana **

Eyeish The Eyeish were a Native American tribe from present-day eastern Texas. History The Eyeish were part of the Caddo Confederacy,Sturtevant, 616 although their relationship to other Caddo tribes was ambiguous, and they were often hostile to the Hasi ...

(Hais), eastern Texas **

Hainai The Hainai ( Caddo: Háynay) were a Native American tribe that lived in what is now east Texas. The Hainai (also sometimes called Aynais, Aynay, Ainai, Ioni, Huawni and Ayonai) were the leading group in the Hasinai confederacy. They were a part o ...

, eastern Texas **

Hasinai The Hasinai Confederacy (Caddo: ) was a large confederation of Caddo-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 an ...

, eastern Texas **

Kadohadacho The Kadohadacho (Caddo: Kadawdáachuh) are a Native American tribe within the Caddo Confederacy. Today they are enrolled in the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma. History The Kadohadacho traditionally lived at the borders of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and ...

, northeastern Texas, southwestern Arkansas, northwestern Louisiana **

Nabedache The Nabedache were a Native American tribe from eastern Texas.Sturtevant, 617 Their name, Nabáydácu, means "blackberry place" in the Caddo language.Sturtevant, 629 An alternate theory says their original name was Wawadishe from the Caddo word, , ...

, eastern Texas ** Nabiti, eastern Texas **

Nacogdoche The Nacogdoche (Caddo: Nakúʔkidáawtsiʔ) are a Native American tribe from eastern Texas.Sturtevant, 617 History The Nacogdoche were part of the Hasinai branch of the Caddo Confederacy and closely allied with the Lower Nasoni. They historicall ...

, eastern Texas **

Nacono The Nacono were a Native American tribe from eastern Texas. Today they are part of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe in Oklahoma. History The Nacono were part of the Hasinai branch of the Caddo Confederacy.Sturtevant 616 T ...

, eastern Texas **

Nadaco The Nadaco, also commonly known as the Anadarko, are a Native American tribe from eastern Texas. Their name, Nadá-kuh, means "bumblebee place."Sturtevant, 630 History The Nadaco were part of the trive branch of the Caddo Confederacy and occupie ...

, eastern Texas **

Nanatsoho The Nanatsoho were a Native American tribe that lived at the border of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.Sturtevant, 617 History The Nanatsoho were part of the Kadohadacho branch of the Caddo Confederacy. During the late 17th and early 18th centur ...

, northeastern Texas ** Nasoni, eastern Texas ** Natchitoches, Lower: central Louisiana, Upper: northeastern Texas ** Neche, eastern Texas **

Nechaui The Nechaui were a Native American tribe from eastern Texas. Their name is thought to be derived from Nachawi, the Caddo language word for Osage orange.

, eastern Texas ** Ouachita, northern Louisiana **

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 ...

, western Arkansas **

Yatasi The Yatasi (Caddo: Yáttasih) are Native American peoples from northwestern Louisiana that are part of the Natchitoches Confederacy of the Caddo Nation. Today they are enrolled in the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma. History Prior to European contact, th ...

, northwestern Louisiana *

Calusa The Calusa ( ) were a Native American people of Florida's southwest coast. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region. Previous indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands of years. At the time of ...

, southwestern Florida *

Cape Fear Indians The Cape Fear Indians were a small, coastal tribe of Native Americans who lived on the Cape Fear River in North Carolina (now Carolina Beach State Park). Name and language The autonym of the Cape Fear Indians may have been Daw-hee. Their name f ...

, North Carolina southern coast *

Catawba Catawba may refer to: *Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas * Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family * Catawban languages Botany *Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other ...

(Esaw, Usheree, Ushery, Yssa),Folgelson, ed. (2004), p. 315 North Carolina, South Carolina *

Chacato The Chatot (also Chacato or Chactoo) were a Native American tribe who lived in the upper Apalachicola River and Chipola River basins in what is now Florida. They spoke a Muskogean language, which may have been the same as that of the Pensacola ...

, Florida panhandle and southern Alabama *

Chakchiuma The Chakchiuma were a Native American tribe of the upper Yazoo River region of what is today the state of Mississippi. The identification of the Chakchiuma by the French of the late 17th century as "a Chicacha nation" indicates that they were rel ...

, Alabama and Mississippi *

Chatot people The Chatot (also Chacato or Chactoo) were a Native American tribe who lived in the upper Apalachicola River and Chipola River basins in what is now Florida. They spoke a Muskogean language, which may have been the same as that of the Pensacola p ...

(Chacato, Chactoo), west Florida * Chawasha (Washa), Louisiana *

Cheraw The Cheraw people, also known as the Saraw or Saura, were a Siouan-speaking tribe of indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, in the Piedmont area of North Carolina near the Sauratown Mountains, east of Pilot Mountain and north of the Ya ...

(Chara, Charàh), North Carolina * Cherokee, western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, later Georgia, northwestern South Carolina, northern Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, Mexico, and currently North Carolina and OklahomaFrank, Andrew K
Indian Removal.
''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. Retrieved 10 July 2009. :* Chickamauga, eastern Tennessee * Chickanee (Chiquini), North Carolina *

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classified as ...

, Alabama and Mississippi, now Oklahoma *

Chicora Chicora was a legendary Native American kingdom or tribe sought during the 16th century by various European explorers in present-day South Carolina. The legend originated after Spanish slave traders captured an Indian they called Francisco de C ...

, coastal South Carolina *

Chine A chine () is a steep-sided coastal gorge where a river flows to the sea through, typically, soft eroding cliffs of sandstone or clays. The word is still in use in central Southern England—notably in East Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and the Isl ...

, Florida *

Chisca The Chisca were a tribe of Native Americans living in present-day eastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia in the 16th century, and in present day Alabama, Georgia, and Florida in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries, by which time th ...

(Cisca), southwestern Virginia, northern Florida *

Chitimacha The Chitimacha ( ; or ) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who live in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly on their reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charenton on Bayou Teche. They are the only Indigenous people in the s ...

, Louisiana *

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

, Mississippi, Alabama, and parts of Louisiana; later Oklahoma *

Chowanoc The Chowanoke, also spelled Chowanoc, are an Algonquian-language Native American tribe who historically inhabited the coastal area of the Upper South of the United States. At the time of the first English contacts in 1585 and 1586, they were th ...

(

Chowanoke The Chowanoke, also spelled Chowanoc, are an Algonquian-language Native American tribe who historically inhabited the coastal area of the Upper South of the United States. At the time of the first English contacts in 1585 and 1586, they were th ...

), North Carolina * Congaree (Canggaree), South CarolinaSturtevant and Fogelson, 188 *

Coree The Coree (also Connamox, Cores, Corennines, Connamocksocks, Coranine Indians, Neuse River Indians) were a very small Native American tribe, who once occupied a coastal area south of the Neuse River in southeastern North Carolina in the area no ...

, North Carolina *

Croatan The Croatan were a small Native American ethnic group living in the coastal areas of what is now North Carolina. They might have been a branch of the larger Roanoke people or allied with them. The Croatan lived in current Dare County, an are ...

, North Carolina *

Cusabo The Cusabo or Cosabo were a group of American Indian tribes who lived along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in what is now South Carolina, approximately between present-day Charleston and south to the Savannah River, at the time of European colon ...

coastal South Carolina * Eno, North Carolina * Etiwan, South Carolina * Grigra (Gris), MississippiSturtevant and Fogelson, 598-9 * Guacata (Santalûces), eastern coastal Florida * Guacozo, Florida *

Guale Guale was a historic Native American chiefdom of Mississippian culture peoples located along the coast of present-day Georgia and the Sea Islands. Spanish Florida established its Roman Catholic missionary system in the chiefdom in the late 1 ...

(Cusabo, Iguaja, Ybaja), coastal Georgia * Guazoco, southwestern Florida coast * Houma, Louisiana and Mississippi * Jaega (Jobe), eastern coastal Florida * Jaupin (Weapemoc), North Carolina * Jororo, Florida interior * Keyauwee, North Carolina * Koasati (

Coushatta The Coushatta ( cku, Koasati, Kowassaati or Kowassa:ti) are a Muskogean-speaking Native American people now living primarily in the U.S. states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. When first encountered by Europeans, they lived in the territor ...

), formerly eastern Tennessee, currently Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas * Koroa, Mississippi * Luca, southwestern Florida coast *

Lumbee The Lumbee are a Native American people primarily centered in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland and Scotland counties in North Carolina. They also live in surrounding states and Baltimore, Maryland. The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-rec ...

, North Carolina * Machapunga, North Carolina * Matecumbe (Matacumbêses, Matacumbe, Matacombe), Florida Keys *

Mayaca ''Mayaca'' is a genus of flowering plants, often placed in its own family, the Mayacaceae (or Mayaceae in earlier systems). In the APG II system of 2003, it is assigned to the order Poales in the clade commelinids. The Cronquist system, of 1981, ...

, Florida * Mayaimi (Mayami), interior Florida * Mayajuaca, Florida * Mikasuki (Miccosukee), Florida * Mobila (Mobile, Movila), northwestern Florida and southern Alabama *

Mocoso Mocoso (or Mocoço) was the name of a 16th-century chiefdom located on the east side of Tampa Bay, Florida near the mouth of the Alafia River, of its chief town and of its chief. Mocoso was also the name of a 17th-century village in the province ...

, western Florida *

Mougoulacha The Mougoulacha were a Native American tribe that lived near Lake Pontchartrain. Population In 1699 Iberville said that the Bayagoula and Mougoulacha together had about 180-250 warriors and an estimated 1,250 people. Language The Mougoulacha lan ...

, Mississippi * Muscogee, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, later Oklahoma **

Abihka Abihka was one of the four mother towns of the Muscogee Creek confederacy. ''Abihka'' is also sometimes used to refer to all Upper Creek (or ''Muscogee'') people. History Origins The Abihka were the remnants of the 16th century " Chiefdom of Coosa. ...

, Alabama,Sturtevant and Fogelson, 374 later Oklahoma **

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

, formerly Alabama, southwestern Tennessee, and northwestern Mississippi,Sturtevant and Fogelson, ix now Oklahoma and Texas ***

Pakana The Taskigi Mound or Mound at Fort Toulouse – Fort Jackson Park ( 1EE1) is an archaeological site from the South Appalachian Mississippian ''Big Eddy phase''. It is located on a bluff at the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers whe ...

(Pacâni, Pagna, Pasquenan, Pak-ká-na, Pacanas), central Alabama, later Texas ** Apalachicola, Creek Confederacy, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina **

Chiaha Chiaha was a Native American chiefdom located in the lower French Broad River valley in modern East Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. They lived in raised structures within boundaries of several stable villages. These overlooked the ...

, Creek Confederacy, Alabama **

Eufaula tribe The Eufaula people were a tribe of Native Americans in the United States, located in the Southeast. A Muskogean-speaking people, they possibly broke off from the Kealedji or Hilibi tribe.Hitchiti, Creek Confederacy, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida *** Oconee, Georgia, Florida ** Kialegee Tribal Town, Alabama, later Oklahoma ** Osochee ( Osochi, Oswichee, Usachi, Oosécha), Creek Confederacy, Alabama ** Talapoosa, Creek Confederacy, Alabama ** Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, Alabama, Georgia, later Oklahoma **

Tukabatchee Tukabatchee or Tuckabutche ( Creek: ''Tokepahce'' ) is one of the four mother towns of the Muscogee Creek confederacy.Isham, Theodore and Blue Clark"Creek (Mvskoke)." ''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' ...

, Muscogee Creek Confederacy, Alabama * Naniaba, northwestern Florida and southern Alabama * Natchez, Louisiana and Mississippi later Oklahoma *

Neusiok The Neusiok were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Wooodlands in present-day North Carolina. They were also known as the Neuse Indians. Territory The Neusiok lived along the southern banks of the Neuse River, primarily in what are now ...

(Newasiwac, Neuse River Indians), North Carolina *

Norwood culture The Norwood culture was a subculture or subperiod of the late Archaic culture. The Norwood culture was located in the Apalachee region, a forested and hilly part of what is now north Florida and was typical of other Archaic cultures using tria ...

, Apalachee region, Florida, c. 12,000 BCE — 4500 BCE * Ofo ( Mosopelea), Arkansas and Mississippi, eastern Tennessee * Okchai (Ogchay), central Alabama * Okelousa, Louisiana *

Opelousas :''Opelousas is also a common name of the flathead catfish.'' Opelousas (french: Les Opélousas; Spanish: ''Los Opeluzás'') is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 ...

, Louisiana * Pacara, Florida *

Pamlico The Pamlico (also ''Pampticough'', ''Pomouik'', ''Pomeiok'') were American Indians of North Carolina. They spoke an Algonquian language also known as ''Pamlico'' or ''Carolina Algonquian''. Geography The Pamlico Indians lived on the Pa ...

, formerly North Carolina *

Pascagoula The Pascagoula (also Pascoboula, Pacha-Ogoula, Pascagola, Pascaboula, Paskaguna) were an indigenous group living in coastal Mississippi on the Pascagoula River. The name ''Pascagoula'' is a Mobilian Jargon term meaning "bread people". Choctaw n ...

, Mississippi coast *

Pee Dee The Pee Dee is a region in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It lies along the lower watershed of the Pee Dee River, which was named after the Pee Dee, a Native American tribe that historically inhabited the region. Hi ...

(Pedee), South CarolinaSturtevant and Fogelson, 302 and North Carolina * Pensacola, Florida panhandle and southern Alabama * Potoskeet, North Carolina *

Quinipissa The Quinipissa (sometimes spelled Kinipissa in French sources) were an indigenous group living on the lower Mississippi River, in present-day Louisiana, as reported by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in 1682. They were joined together wi ...

, southeastern Louisiana and Mississippi * Roanoke, North Carolina * Saluda (Saludee, Saruti), South Carolina * Santee (Seretee, Sarati, Sati, Sattees), South Carolina (no relation to

Santee Sioux The Dakota (pronounced , Dakota language: ''Dakȟóta/Dakhóta'') are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into ...

), South Carolina *

Santa Luces Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

, Florida * Saponi, North Carolina, VirginiaSturtevant and Fogelson 293 * Saura, North Carolina * Sawokli (Sawakola, Sabacola, Sabacôla, Savacola), southern Alabama and Florida panhandle *

Saxapahaw Saxapahaw ()
from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

(Sissipahua, Shacioes), North Carolina * Secotan, North Carolina * Seminole, Florida and Oklahoma *

Sewee The Sewee or "Islanders" were a Native American tribe that lived in present-day South Carolina in North America. In 1670, the English founded the coastal town of Charleston in the Carolina Colony on land belonging to the Sewee. The town flouri ...

(Suye, Joye, Xoye, Soya), South Carolina coast *

Shakori The Shakori were an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. They were thought to be a Siouan people, closely allied with other nearby tribes such as the Eno and the Sissipahaw. As their name is also recorded as Shaccoree, they can be c ...

, North Carolina * Shoccoree (Haw), North Carolina, possibly Virginia *

Sissipahaw The Sissipahaw or Haw were a Native American tribe of North Carolina. They are also variously recorded as ''Saxahapaw'', ''Sauxpa'', ''Sissipahaus'', etc. Their settlements were generally located in the vicinity of modern-day Saxapahaw, North ...

, North Carolina * Sugeree (Sagarees, Sugaws, Sugar, Succa), North Carolina and South Carolina * Surruque, east central Florida * Suteree (Sitteree, Sutarees, Sataree), North Carolina *

Taensa The Taensa (also Taënsas, Tensas, Tensaw, and ''Grands Taensas'' in French) were a Native American people whose settlements at the time of European contact in the late 17th century were located in present-day Tensas Parish, Louisiana. The meani ...

, Mississippi * Tawasa, Alabama * Tequesta, southeastern coastal Florida * Timucua, Florida and Georgia **

Acuera Acuera was the name of both an indigenous town and a province or region in central Florida during the 16th and 17th centuries. The indigenous people of Acuera spoke a dialect of the Timucua language. In 1539 the town first encountered Europeans when ...

, central FloridaHann 1996, 5-13 **

Agua Fresca ''Aguas frescas'' ( en, cool waters, lit=fresh waters, italic=yes) are light non-alcoholic beverages made from one or more fruits, cereals, flowers, or seeds blended with sugar and water. They are popular in Mexico and some other Latin A ...

(or Agua Dulce or Freshwater), interior northeast Florida **

Arapaha Arapaha (also Arapaja or Harapaha) was a Timucua town on the Alapaha River in the 17th century. The name was also sometimes used to designate a province or sub-province in Spanish Florida. Arapaha entered historical records with the establishment ...

, north central Florida and south central Georgia? **

Cascangue The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The var ...

, coastal southeast Georgia **

Icafui The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The var ...

(or Icafi), coastal southeast Georgia **

Mocama The Mocama were a Native American people who lived in the coastal areas of what are now northern Florida and southeastern Georgia. A Timucua group, they spoke the dialect known as Mocama, the best-attested dialect of the Timucua language. Thei ...

(or Tacatacuru), coastal northeast Florida and coastal southeast Georgia **

Northern Utina The Northern Utina, also known as the Timucua or simply Utina, were a Timucua people of northern Florida. They lived north of the Santa Fe River and east of the Suwannee River, and spoke a dialect of the Timucua language known as "Timucua prope ...

north central Florida **

Ocale Ocale was the name of a town in Florida visited by the Hernando de Soto expedition, and of a putative chiefdom of the Timucua people. The town was probably close to the Withlacoochee River at the time of de Soto's visit, and may have later been ...

, central Florida ** Oconi, interior southeast Georgia ** Potano, north central Florida **

Saturiwa The Saturiwa were a Timucua chiefdom centered on the mouth of the St. Johns River in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. They were the largest and best attested chiefdom of the Timucua subgroup known as the Mocama, who spoke the Mocama dialect ...

, northeast Florida **

Tacatacuru Tacatacuru was a Timucua chiefdom located on Cumberland Island in what is now the U.S. state of Georgia in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was one of two chiefdoms of the Timucua subgroup known as the Mocama, who spoke the Mocama dialect of Tim ...

, coastal southeast Georgia ** Tucururu (or Tucuru), central? Florida ** Utina (or Eastern Utina), northeast central Florida ** Yufera, coastal southeast Georgia ** Yui (Ibi), coastal southeast Georgia **

Yustaga The Yustaga were a Timucua people of what is now northwestern Florida during the 16th and 17th centuries. The westernmost Timucua group, they lived between the Aucilla and Suwannee Rivers in the Florida Panhandle, just east of the Apalachee peop ...

, north central Florida * Tiou ( Tioux), Mississippi * Tocaste, Florida *

Tocobaga Tocobaga (occasionally Tocopaca) was the name of a chiefdom, its chief, and its principal town during the 16th century. The chiefdom was centered around the northern end of Old Tampa Bay, the arm of Tampa Bay that extends between the present-day ...

, Florida * Tohomé, northwestern Florida and southern Alabama * Tomahitan, eastern Tennessee * Topachula, Florida * Tunica, Arkansas and Mississippi * Utiza, Florida * Uzita, Tampa Bay, Florida * Vicela, Florida * Viscaynos, Florida *

Waccamaw The Waccamaw people were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, who lived in villages along the Waccamaw and Pee Dee rivers in North and South Carolina in the 18th century.Lerch 328 Language Very little remains of the Waccama ...

, South Carolina *

Waccamaw Siouan Waccamaw Siouan Indians are one of eight state-recognized tribes in North Carolina. They are also known as the "People of the Fallen Star." Historically Siouan-speaking, they are located predominantly in the southeastern North Carolina counties of ...

, North Carolina * Wateree (Guatari, Watterees), North Carolina * Waxhaw (Waxsaws, Wisack, Wisacky, Weesock, Flathead), North Carolina and South Carolina *

Westo The Westo were an Iroquoian Native American tribe encountered in the Southeastern U.S. by Europeans in the 17th century. They probably spoke an Iroquoian language. The Spanish called these people Chichimeco (not to be confused with Chichimeca ...

, Virginia and South Carolina, extinct * Winyaw, South Carolina coast * Woccon, North Carolina * Yamasee, Florida, Georgia * Yazoo, southeastern tip of Arkansas, eastern Louisiana, Mississippi * Yuchi ( Euchee), central Tennessee, then northwest Georgia, now Oklahoma

Federally recognized tribes

# Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas # Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, Oklahoma #

Caddo Nation of Oklahoma 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, who ...

# Catawba Indian Nation, South Carolina #

Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma The Cherokee Nation ( Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. ...

Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma The Chickasaw Nation (Chickasaw: Chikashsha I̠yaakni) is a federally recognized Native American tribe, with its headquarters located in Ada, Oklahoma in the United States. They are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, originall ...

Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana The Chitimacha ( ; or ) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who live in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly on their reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charenton on Bayou Teche. They are the only Indigenous people in the st ...

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma The Choctaw Nation (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United St ...

# Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana #

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), ( Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᏱ ᏕᏣᏓᏂᎸᎩ, ''Tsalagiyi Detsadanilvgi'') is a federally recognized Indian Tribe based in Western North Carolina in the United States. They are descended from the smal ...

Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, Louisiana The Jena Band of Choctaw Indians ( cho, Jena Chahta) are one of three federally recognized Choctaw tribes in the United States. They are based in La Salle, Catahoula, and Grant parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The Jena Band received fed ...

Kialegee Tribal Town, Oklahoma The Kialegee Tribal Town is a federally recognized Native American tribe in Oklahoma, as well as a traditional township within the former Muscogee Creek Confederacy in the American Southeast. Tribal members pride themselves on retaining their tr ...

# Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida #

Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Mississippi The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians ( cho, Mississippi Chahta) is one of three federally recognized tribes of Choctaw Native Americans, and the only one in the state of Mississippi. On April 20, 1945, this tribe organized under the Indian Re ...

Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Oklahoma The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the Southe ...

Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama The Poarch Band of Creek Indians ( ;) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans in Alabama. Speaking the Muscogee language, they were formerly known as the Creek Nation East of the Mississippi. They are located mostly in Escambia Co ...

Seminole Tribe of Florida The Seminole Tribe of Florida is a federally recognized Seminole tribe based in the U.S. state of Florida. Together with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, it is one of three federally recognized Sem ...

# Seminole Nation of Oklahoma #

Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, Oklahoma Thlopthlocco Tribal Town is both a federally recognized Native American tribe and a traditional township of Muscogee Creek Indians, based in Oklahoma. The tribe's native language is Mvskoke, also called Creek. Pronunciation An item in the ''Tu ...

# Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe of Louisiana # United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma

History

The following section deals primarily with the history of the peoples in the lengthy period before European contact. Evidence of the preceding cultures have been found primarily in archeological artifacts, but also in major earthworks and the evidence of linguistics. In the Late Prehistoric time period in the Southeastern Woodlands, cultures increased agricultural production, developed ranked societies, increased their populations, trade networks, and intertribal warfare. Most Southeastern peoples (excepting some of the coastal peoples) were highly

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

, growing crops like maize, squash, and beans for food. They supplemented their diet with hunting, fishing, ''Four Directions Institute.'' (retrieved 2 June 2011) and gathering wild plants and fungi. Belonging in the Lithic stage, the oldest known art in the Americas is the

Vero Beach Vero Beach is a city in and the seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. Vero Beach is the second most populous city in Indian River County. Abundant in beaches and wildlife, Vero Beach is located on Florida's Treasure Coast. It is thi ...

bone found in present-day Florida. It is possibly a mammoth bone, etched with a profile of walking mammoth; it dates to 11,000 BCE.

Poverty Point culture

The Poverty Point culture inhabited portions of the state of Louisiana from 2000–1000 BCE during the Archaic period. Many objects excavated at Poverty Point sites were made of materials that originated in distant places, indicating that the people were part of an extensive trading culture. Such items include chipped stone projectile points and tools; ground stone plummets, gorgets and vessels; and shell and stone beads. Stone tools found at Poverty Point were made from raw materials that can be traced to the relatively nearby Ouachita and Ozark mountains, as well as others from the more distant Ohio and

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...

valleys. Vessels were made from soapstone which came from the Appalachian foothills of

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Hand-modeled lowly fired clay objects occur in a variety of shapes including anthropomorphic figurines and cooking balls. File:Poverty Point clay utensils HRoe 2009.jpg, File:Poverty Point female figurines HRoe 2009.jpg, File:Poverty Point gorgets atlatl weights HRoe 2009.jpg,

Mississippian culture

Mississippian cultures flourished in what is now the

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. ...

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally. After adopting maize agriculture the Mississippian culture became fully agrarian, as opposed to the preceding

Woodland culture In the classification of archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BCE to European contact in the eastern part of North America, with some archaeolog ...

s that supplemented hunting and gathering with limited horticulture. Mississippian peoples often built platform mounds. They refined their ceramic techniques and often used ground

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which ...

shell as a tempering agent. Many were involved with the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, a multi-regional and multi-linguistic religious and trade network that marked the southeastern part of the

Mississippian Ideological Interaction Sphere The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (formerly the Southern Cult), aka S.E.C.C., is the name given to the regional stylistic similarity of artifacts, iconography, ceremonies, and mythology of the Mississippian culture. It coincided with their ad ...

. Information about Southeastern Ceremonial Complex primary comes from archaeology and the study of the elaborate artworks left behind by its participants, including elaborate pottery, conch

shell gorget Shell gorgets are a Native American art form of polished, carved shell pendants worn around the neck. The gorgets are frequently engraved, and are sometimes highlighted with pigments, or fenestrated (pierced with openings). Shell gorgets were mos ...

s and cups, stone statuary, and

Long-nosed god maskette Long-nosed god maskettes are artifacts made from bone, copper and marine shells (Lightning whelk) associated with the Mississippian culture (800 to 1600 CE) and found in archaeological sites in the Midwestern United States and the Southeastern ...

s. The

peoples, of southern Florida, carved and painted wood in exquisite depictions of animals. By the time of European contact the Mississippian societies were already experiencing severe social stress. Some major centers had already been abandoned. With social upsets and diseases unknowingly introduced by Europeans many of the societies collapsed and ceased to practice a Mississippian lifestyle, with an exception being the Natchez people of Mississippi and Louisiana. Other tribes descended from Mississippian cultures include 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, who ...

, Muscogee Creek, Tunica, and many other southeastern peoples. Image:Spiro engraved hero twins HRoe 2005.jpg, Image:Spiro ceremonial mace HRoe 2005.jpg, Image:Moundville stone pallette HRoe 2003.jpg, Image:Spiro Lucifer Pipe HRoe 2005.jpg, Image:Etowah statues HRoe 2007.jpg, Image:Calusa carved gator head on display at the Florida Museum of Natural History.jpg,

Post-European contact

During the Indian Removal era of the 1830s, most southeastern tribes were forcibly relocated to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River by the US federal government, as European-American settlers pushed the government to acquire their lands. Some members of the tribes chose to stay in their homelands and accept state and US citizenship; others simply hid in the mountains or swamps and sought to maintain some cultural continuity. Since the late 20th century, descendants of these people have organized as tribes; in a limited number of cases, some have achieved federal recognition but more have gained state recognition through legislation at the state level.

Culture

Frank Speck identified several key cultural traits of Southeastern Woodlands peoples. Social traits included having a matrilineal kinship system,

exogamous Exogamy is the social norm of marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which two groups ...

marriage between clans, and organizing into settled villages and towns. Southeastern Woodlands societies were usually divided into

clans A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meanin ...

; the most common from pre-contact Hopewellian times into the present include Bear, Beaver, Bird other than a raptor, Canine (e.g. Wolf), Elk, Feline (e.g. Panther), Fox, Raccoon, and Raptor. They observe strict incest taboos, including taboos against marriage within a clan. In the past, they frequently allowed polygamy to chiefs and other men who could support multiple wives. They held puberty rites for both boys and girls. Southeastern peoples also traditionally shared similar religious beliefs, based on

animism Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things— animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, hum ...

. They used fish poison, and practiced purification ceremonies among their religious rituals, as well as the Green Corn Ceremony.

Medicine people A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and ceremo ...

are important spiritual healers. Many southeastern peoples engaged in mound building to create sacred or acknowledged ritual sites. Many of the religious beliefs of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex or the Southern Cult, were also shared by the Northeastern Woodlands tribes, probably spread through the dominance of the Mississippian culture in the 10th century. The main agricultural crops of the region were the Three Sisters :

winter squash Winter squash is an annual fruit representing several squash species within the genus ''Cucurbita''. Late-growing, less symmetrical, odd-shaped, rough or warty varieties, small to medium in size, but with long-keeping qualities and hard rinds, a ...

, maize (corn), and climbing

bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes thr ...

s (usually

tepary bean ''Phaseolus acutifolius'', also known as the tepary bean, is a legume native to the southwestern United States and Mexico and has been grown there by the native peoples since pre-Columbian times. It is more drought-resistant than the common bean ...

s or

common bean ''Phaseolus vulgaris'', the common bean, is a herbaceous annual plant grown worldwide for its edible dry seeds or green, unripe pods. Its leaf is also occasionally used as a vegetable and the straw as fodder. Its botanical classification, alo ...

s). Originating in Mesoamerica, these three crops were carried northward over centuries to many parts of North America. The three crops were normally planted together using a technique known as

companion planting Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons, including pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial insects, maximizing use of space, an ...

on flat-topped mounds of soil. The three crops were planted in this way as each benefits from the proximity of the others. The tall maize plants provide a structure for the beans to climb, while the beans provide nitrogen to the soil that benefits the other plants. Meanwhile, the squash spreads along the ground, blocking the sunlight to prevent weeds from growing and retaining moisture in the soil.

Notes

References

*Carr, Christopher and D. Troy Case
''Gathering Hopewell: Society, Ritual, and Ritual Interaction.''
New York: Springer, 2006. . *Hann, John H. "The Mayaca and Jororo and Missions to Them", in McEwan, Bonnie G. ed. ''The Spanish Missions of "La Florida"''. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. 1993. . *Hann, John H. ''A History of the Timucua Indians and Missions.'' Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida, 1996. . *Hann, John H. (2003). ''Indians of Central and South Florida: 1513-1763''. University Press of Florida. * Jackson, Jason Baird and Raymond D. Fogelson. "Introduction." Sturtevant, William C., general editor and Raymond D. Fogelson, volume editor. ''Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast''. Volume 14. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004: 1-68. . * Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. . * Sturtevant, William C., general editor and Raymond D. Fogelson, volume editor. ''Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast''. Volume 14. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004. . *Roark, Elisabeth Louise
''Artists of Colonial America''.
Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2003. .

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southeastern Tribes Mississippian culture

Indigenous peoples in Mexico Indigenous peoples in the United States Native American tribes Southeastern United States Southeastern Woodlands

List of peoples

Federally recognized tribes

History

Poverty Point culture

Mississippian culture

Post-European contact

Culture

See also

Notes

References

External links