The Cahinnio were a Native American tribe that lived in

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 ...

.Sturtevant, 617 The Cahinnio were part of the

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 ...

, possibly affiliated with Kadohadacho. In 1687 French explorer

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (; November 22, 1643 – March 19, 1687), was a 17th-century French explorer and fur trader in North America. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, ...

encountered the tribe, they settled near Red River, in southwest Arkansas.Cahinnio Indian Tribe History.
''Access Genealogy.'' (retrieved 15 Sept 2009) In July 1687, Father Anastasius Douay, a French priest, visited a Cahinnio village near present-day

Arkadelphia, Arkansas Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,714. The city is the county seat of Clark County. It is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Henderson ...

. In the 1680s, French explorer Henri Joutel traveled with the La Salle expedition, to Cahinnio territory. He wrote that they presented his expedition with two loaves of

corn bread Cornbread is a quick bread made with cornmeal, associated with the cuisine of the Southern United States, with origins in Native American cuisine. It is an example of batter bread. Dumplings and pancakes made with finely ground cornmeal are ...

, describing it as "the finest and the best we had so far seen; they seemed to have been baked in an oven, and yet we not noticed any among them." Joutel noted that corn was an important food staple among the Cahinnio, as were beans and sunflower seeds. Additionally he recorded that the Cahinnio used deer hide for pouches and bearskins for rugs. The Cahinnio were known for their superior bows, which they made from

Osage orange ''Maclura pomifera'', commonly known as the Osage orange ( ), is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, native to the south-central United States. It typically grows about tall. The distinctive fruit, a multiple fruit, is roughly spherical, b ...

wood. During the 18th century, the Cahinnio moved northwest, possibly due to new sources of salt and horses. They settled along the southern bank of the

Ouachita River The Ouachita River ( ) is a river that runs south and east through the U.S. states of Arkansas and Louisiana, joining the Tensas River to form the Black River near Jonesville, Louisiana. It is the 25th-longest river in the United States ( ...

. By 1763, they moved to the upper

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

. In 1771, the Cahinnio and several neighboring tribes signed a peace treaty with the French. Ultimately, they assimilated into other Kadohadacho tribes by the 19th century. They are enrolled in the

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, wh ...

today.

Synonymy

The tribe is also known as the Cachaymon, Cahaynohoua, Caynigua Cahainihoua, and Cainione.Carter, 54, 190

Notes

References

* Carter, Cecile Elkins
''Caddo Indians: Where We Come From''.
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2001. * Perttula, Timothy K
''The Caddo Nation: Archaeological and Ethnohistoric Perspectives.''
Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997. . * Sturtevant, William C., general editor and Raymond D. Fogelson, volume editor. ''Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast''. Volume 14. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004. . * Swanton, John Reed
''Source material on the history and ethnology of the Caddo Indians''.
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996. .

External links

from Access Genealogy {{authority control Caddoan peoples Native American history of Arkansas Native American tribes in Arkansas