Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, Southeastern cultures, or Southeast Indians are an

ethnographic Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...

classification for Native Americans who have traditionally inhabited the area now part of the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

and the northeastern border of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, 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 p ...

. The concept of a southeastern cultural region was developed by anthropologists, beginning with

Otis Mason Otis Tufton Mason, Ph.D., LL.D. (April 10, 1838 – November 5, 1908) was an American ethnologist and Smithsonian Institution curator. Mason was born at Eastport, Maine, the son of John and Rachel Mason. In 1850, the Masons purchased Woodlawn ...

and

Frank Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the movements known as historical ...

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 The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

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 Powhatan ...

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 st ...

Tawakoni The Tawakoni (also Tahuacano and Tehuacana) are a Southern Plains Native American tribe, closely related to the Wichitas. They historically spoke a Wichita language of the Caddoan language family. Currently, they are enrolled in the Wichita a ...

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe indigenous to present-day Oklahoma. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the federally recognized Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. ...

Karankawa The Karankawa were an Indigenous people concentrated in southern Texas along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, largely in the lower Colorado River and Brazos River valleys."Karankawa." In ''Cassell's Peoples, Nations and Cultures,'' edited by John ...

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 Oh ...

, 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 Muskogean (also Muskhogean, Muskogee) is a Native American language family spoken in different areas of the Southeastern United States. Though the debate concerning their interrelationships is ongoing, the Muskogean languages are generally div ...

, 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 AIS may refer to: Medicine * Abbreviated Injury Scale, an anatomical-based coding system to classify and describe the severity of injuries * Acute ischemic stroke, the thromboembolic type of stroke * Androgen insensitivity syndrome, an intersex ...

, 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,B ...

, northwestern Florida * Atakapa (Attacapa), Louisiana west coast and Texas southeastern coast ** Akokisa, Texas southeast coast **

Bidai The Bidai were a tribe of Atakapa Native Americans in the United States, 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, western coastal Louisiana ** Orcoquiza, southeast Texas **

Patiri 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 ...

, eastern Texas ** Tlacopsel, southeast Texas * Avoyel ("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, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, TexasSturtevant, 617 ** Adai (Adaizan, Adaizi, Adaise, Adahi, Adaes, Adees, Atayos), Louisiana and Texas **

Cahinnio The Cahinnio were a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe that lived in Arkansas.Sturtevant, 617 The Cahinnio were part of the Caddo Confederacy, possibly affiliated with Kadohadacho. In 1687 French explorer René-Robert Cave ...

, 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 (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 of ...

, eastern Texas ** Hasinai, 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, 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 centuri ...

, 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, western Arkansas ** Yatasi, northwestern Louisiana * Calusa, southwestern Florida * Cape Fear Indians, 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 N ...

(Esaw, Usheree, Ushery, Yssa),Folgelson, ed. (2004), p. 315 North Carolina, South Carolina * Chacato, 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 (Chacato, Chactoo), west Florida * Chawasha (Washa), Louisiana * Cheraw (Chara, Charàh), North Carolina *

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

, 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 Chickamauga may refer to: Entertainment * "Chickamauga", an 1889 short story by American author Ambrose Bierce * "Chickamauga", a 1937 short story by Thomas Wolfe * "Chickamauga", a song by Uncle Tupelo from their 1993 album ''Anodyne'' * ''Chic ...

, 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 classif ...

, 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 Is ...

, 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 they ...

(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 st ...

, Louisiana * Choctaw, 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, 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 16t ...

(Cusabo, Iguaja, Ybaja), coastal Georgia * Guazoco, southwestern Florida coast * Houma, Louisiana and Mississippi *

Jaega The Jaega (also Jega, Xega, Jaece, Geiga) were Native Americans living in a chiefdom of the same name, which included the coastal parts of present-day Martin County and northern Palm Beach County, Florida at the time of initial European contac ...

(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 terri ...

), formerly eastern Tennessee, currently Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas *

Koroa The Koroa were one of the groups of indigenous people who lived in the Mississippi Valley prior to the European settlement of the region. They lived in the northwest of present-day Mississippi in the Yazoo River basin. Language The Koroa are bel ...

, Mississippi *

Luca The last universal common ancestor (LUCA) is the most recent population from which all organisms now living on Earth share common descent—the most recent common ancestor of all current life on Earth. This includes all cellular organisms; th ...

, 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 The Machapunga are a small Algonquian language-speaking Native American tribe from coastal northeastern North Carolina. They were part of the Secotan people. They were a group from the Powhatan Confederacy who migrated from present-day Virgini ...

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

Mayaimi The Mayaimi (also Maymi, Maimi) were Native American people who lived around Lake Mayaimi (now Lake Okeechobee) in the Belle Glade area of Florida from the beginning of the Common Era until the 17th or 18th century. In the languages of the Ma ...

(Mayami), interior Florida * Mayajuaca, Florida *

Mikasuki The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. They were part of the Seminole nation until the mid-20th century, when they organized as an independent tribe, receiving f ...

(Miccosukee), Florida *

Mobila Mabila (also spelled Mavila, Mavilla, Maubila, or Mauvilla, as influenced by Spanish or French transliterations) was a small fortress town known to the paramount chief Tuskaloosa in 1540, in a region of present-day central Alabama. The exact loca ...

(Mobile, Movila), northwestern Florida and southern Alabama * Mocoso, 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 The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsAbihka, 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 = 135,765 ...

, formerly Alabama, southwestern Tennessee, and northwestern Mississippi,Sturtevant and Fogelson, ix now Oklahoma and Texas *** Pakana (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, Georgia, later Oklahoma **

Hitchiti The Hitchiti ( ) were a historic indigenous tribe in the Southeast United States. They formerly resided chiefly in a town of the same name on the east bank of the Chattahoochee River, four miles below Chiaha, in western present-day Georgia. The n ...

, Creek Confederacy, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida *** Oconee, Georgia, Florida **

Kialegee Tribal Town 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 ...

, Alabama, later Oklahoma ** Osochee ( Osochi, Oswichee, Usachi, Oosécha), Creek Confederacy, Alabama ** Talapoosa, Creek Confederacy, Alabama **

Thlopthlocco Tribal Town 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 ...

, 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 Natchez may refer to: Places * Natchez, Alabama, United States * Natchez, Indiana, United States * Natchez, Louisiana, United States * Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States * Grand Village of the Natchez, a site o ...

, 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, Apalachee region, Florida, c. 12,000 BCE — 4500 BCE * Ofo ( Mosopelea), Arkansas and Mississippi, eastern Tennessee *

Okchai Okchai are a Muscogee tribe. They formed part of the former Creek (Muscogee) Confederacy in Alabama, prior to their removal during the 1830s to the Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally ...

(Ogchay), central Alabama *

Okelousa The Okelousa are Native Americans in the United States, Native American people originally from the Southern United States (Louisiana and Mississippi). The name is taken from the Chocktaw word for "black water" External links *Louisiana Tribe Index ...

, 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 were ...

, 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 P ...

, 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 ...

, 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 Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

, 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 wit ...

, 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, Florida *

Saponi The Saponi or Sappony are a Native American tribe historically based in the Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia.Raymond D. DeMaillie, "Tutelo and Neighboring Groups," pages 286–87. They spoke a Siouan language, related to the languages of ...

, North Carolina, VirginiaSturtevant and Fogelson 293 *

Saura Saura may refer to: * Saura (Hinduism), a Hindu denomination * Saura calendar, the Vedic and medieval Indian solar calendar People * Antonio Saura, Spanish surrealist artist * Carlos Saura, Spanish film director * Enrique Saura, Spanish footb ...

, North Carolina * Sawokli (Sawakola, Sabacola, Sabacôla, Savacola), southern Alabama and Florida panhandle * Saxapahaw (Sissipahua, Shacioes), North Carolina *

Secotan The Secotans were one of several groups of American Indians dominant in the Carolina sound region, between 1584 and 1590, with which English colonists had varying degrees of contact. Secotan villages included the Secotan, Aquascogoc, Dasamonguep ...

, North Carolina *

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

, Florida and Oklahoma * Sewee (Suye, Joye, Xoye, Soya), South Carolina coast * Shakori, North Carolina * Shoccoree (Haw), North Carolina, possibly Virginia * Sissipahaw, North Carolina *

Sugeree 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 n ...

(Sagarees, Sugaws, Sugar, Succa), North Carolina and South Carolina *

Surruque The Surruque people lived along the middle Atlantic coast of Florida during the 16th and 17th centuries. They may have spoken a dialect of the Timucua language, but were allied with the Ais. The Surruque became clients of the Spanish government ...

, 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 mean ...

, Mississippi *

Tawasa Tawasa is an extinct Native American language. Ostensibly the language of the Tawasa people of what is now Alabama, it is known exclusively through a word list attributed to a Tawasa named Lamhatty, collected in 1707. John Swanton studied the L ...

, Alabama *

Tequesta The Tequesta (also Tekesta, Tegesta, Chequesta, Vizcaynos) were a Native American tribe. At the time of first European contact they occupied an area along the southeastern Atlantic coast of Florida. They had infrequent contact with Europeans a ...

, southeastern coastal Florida * Timucua, Florida and Georgia ** Acuera, 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 Am ...

(or Agua Dulce or Freshwater), interior northeast Florida ** Arapaha, north central Florida and south central Georgia? ** Cascangue, coastal southeast Georgia ** Icafui (or Icafi), coastal southeast Georgia ** Mocama (or Tacatacuru), coastal northeast Florida and coastal southeast Georgia ** Northern Utina 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 m ...

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

Yui Yui may refer to: People * Yui (name), a Japanese name *Yui (singer) (born 1987), Japanese singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actress * Yui people or Ibi, a Timucuan-speaking people in what now is Georgia, United States Places * Yui, Sh ...

(Ibi), coastal southeast Georgia ** Yustaga, 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-da ...

, 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 Waccam ...

, South Carolina * Waccamaw Siouan, North Carolina * Wateree (Guatari, Watterees), North Carolina * Waxhaw (Waxsaws, Wisack, Wisacky, Weesock, Flathead), North Carolina and South Carolina * Westo, Virginia and South Carolina, extinct * Winyaw, South Carolina coast * Woccon, North Carolina *

Yamasee The Yamasees (also spelled Yamassees or Yemassees) were a multiethnic confederation of Native Americans who lived in the coastal region of present-day northern coastal Georgia near the Savannah River and later in northeastern Florida. The Yamas ...

, Florida, Georgia * Yazoo, southeastern tip of Arkansas, eastern Louisiana, Mississippi *

Yuchi The Yuchi people, also spelled Euchee and Uchee, are a Native American tribe based in Oklahoma. In the 16th century, Yuchi people lived in the eastern Tennessee River valley in Tennessee. In the late 17th century, they moved south to Alabama, G ...

( 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 The Catawba, also known as Issa, Essa or Iswä but most commonly ''Iswa'' (Catawba: '' Ye Iswąˀ'' – "people of the river"), are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans, known as the Catawba ...

# Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma # Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma # Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana #

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 The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana ( Coushatta: ''Kowassaatiha'') is one of three federally recognized tribes of Koasati people. They are located in Allen and Jefferson Davis Parishes, Louisiana. The tribe hosts an annual pow wow during the seco ...

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 # Kialegee Tribal Town, Oklahoma # Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida # Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Mississippi # Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Oklahoma # Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama #

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 ...

Seminole Nation of Oklahoma The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the largest of the three federally recognized Seminole governments, which include the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the M ...

# Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, Oklahoma #

Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe of Louisiana The Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe, ( tun, Yoroniku-Halayihku) formerly known as the Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe of Louisiana, is a List of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribe of primarily Tunica people, Tunica and Biloxi people, l ...

# 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, growing crops like

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

, 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 The Poverty Point culture is the archaeological culture of a prehistoric indigenous peoples who inhabited a portion of North America's lower Mississippi Valley and surrounding Gulf coast from about 1730 – 1350 BC. Archeologists have identified ...

inhabited portions of the state of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

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 Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

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 name ...

valleys. Vessels were made from

soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the ...

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. I ...

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 Li ...

, and

from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally. After adopting

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 mound Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

s. They refined their ceramic techniques and often used ground mussel shell as a tempering agent. Many were involved with the

Southeastern Ceremonial Complex 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 ado ...

, 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 ado ...

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

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

, conch shell gorgets 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 U ...

s. The Calusa 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 The Natchez (; Natchez pronunciation ) are a Native American people who originally lived in the Natchez Bluffs area in the Lower Mississippi Valley, near the present-day city of Natchez, Mississippi in the United States. They spoke a language ...

of Mississippi and Louisiana. Other tribes descended from Mississippian cultures include the

, Caddo, Choctaw, 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 The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

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 Frank Gouldsmith Speck (November 8, 1881 – February 6, 1950) was an American anthropologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in the Algonquian and Iroquoian peoples among the Eastern Woodland Native Americans of ...

identified several key cultural traits of Southeastern Woodlands peoples. Social traits included having a

matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...

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; 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 Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...

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 syst ...

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

Green Corn Ceremony The Green Corn Ceremony (Busk) is an annual ceremony practiced among various Native American peoples associated with the beginning of the yearly corn harvest. Busk is a term given to the ceremony by white traders, the word being a corruption of t ...

. Medicine people 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

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, are ...

(corn), and climbing beans (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 Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica ...

, 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, a ...

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 Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

to the

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

that benefits the other plants. Meanwhile, the squash spreads along the ground, blocking the sunlight to prevent

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

s 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