The Nasoni are a Native American tribe from eastern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and southwestern

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 O ...

History

The Nasoni were divided into two bands. The Upper Nasoni, who lived along the Red River in the southwestern corner of Arkansas.Nasoni Indians.
''Handbook of Texas Online.'' (retrieved 7 Sept 2009) They were affiliated with the

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 ...

branch of the Caddo Confederacy. The Lower Nasoni, who lived between the

Sabine The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines di ...

and

Angelina River The Angelina River is formed by the junction of Barnhardt and Shawnee creeks northwest of Laneville in southwest central Rusk County, Texas. The river flows southeast for and forms the boundaries between Cherokee and Nacogdoches, Angelina and ...

s in present-day

Rusk County, Texas Rusk County is a county located in Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 52,214. Its county seat is Henderson. The county is named for Thomas Jefferson Rusk, a secretary of war of the Republic of Texas. Rusk County is part of th ...

. They were part of the branch of the Caddo Confederacy. Hernando De Soto encountered the Lower Nasoni in 1541. During René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle's 1686 expedition, members of his party were greeted by the Lower Nasoni and carried into their town for welcoming festivities. During the 17th through 19th centuries, European diseases, particularly smallpox, wreaked havoc upon Nasoni and other Caddo groups, forcing them to consolidate for survival. In 1719, French explorers established a fort and trading post on the Red River,

Le Poste des Cadodaquious Le Poste des Cadodaquious was a small French fort founded in 1719; it was located northwest of Texarkana, Texas in today's Bowie County. Recent analysis suggests that the site was somewhere on the escarpment near either Everett or Barkman. Th ...

, opposite of an Upper Nasoni village. They traded firearms, ammunition, metal tools, beads, clothing, and accessories for hides and horses.Sturtevant, 619 The Upper Nasoni allied with the French from 1719 to 1762. In 1716, Spanish monks founded the San José de los Nazones Mission to serve the

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 ...

and the Lower Nasoni tribes. The Lower Nasoni allied with the Spanish during the 18th century. By 1880, their population had been so ravaged by disease, that it is believed they assimilated into the Nadaco tribe. Today, Nasoni people are enrolled in the Caddo Nation, headquartered in

Binger, Oklahoma Binger is a town in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 672 at the 2010 census. It is the headquarters of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, who were settled in the area during the 1870s.

Synonymy

Hernando De Soto referred to the tribe as the Nassohone. The Lower Nasoni were called Nasaya, Nasayaha, Nasayaya, Nasoui, Nassoni, Nassonite, Nazone, Nazoni.Sturtevant, 629 The Nasoni were also called Assony and Nisohoni.

Notes

References

* Bolton, Herbet E
''The Hasinais: Southern Caddoans As Seen by the Earliest Europeans.''
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002. . * Sturtevant, William C., general editor and Raymond D. Fogelson, volume editor. ''Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast''. Volume 14. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004. .

External links

Nasoni Indians
Handbook of Texas Online

from Access Genealogy {{authority control Caddoan peoples Native American tribes in Arkansas Native American tribes in Texas Native American history of Arkansas Native American history of Texas hr:Upper Nasoni