The Hasinai Confederacy (
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 ...
: ) was a large confederation of
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 ...
-speaking
Native Americans who occupied territory between the
Sabine
The Sabines (, , , ; ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome.
The Sabines divided int ...
and
Trinity
The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
s in eastern Texas. Today, their descendants 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, w ...
and the
Natchitoches Tribe of Louisiana.
Name
The name ''Hasinai'' means "our own people" in Caddoan. The Spanish knew the Hasinai as the ''Tejas'' or ''Texas'', from a form of greeting meaning "friend", which gave the state of Texas its name.
Variants of ''Hasinai'' include: ''Hasini'', ''Asenai'', ''Asinai'', ''Assoni'', ''Asenay'', ''Cenis'', ''Senis'', ''Sannaye'',
''Asinaiz'', ''Asinayes'', ''Assinais'', ''Azinais'', ''Azinays''.
Government
When the Spanish and the French encountered the Hasinai in the 1680s, they were a centrally organized chiefdom under the control of a religious leader, known as the Grand Xinesi. He lived in a secluded house and met with a council of elders.
The chieftainship consisted of several subdivisions, which have been designated "cantonments". Each was under the control of a Caddi. There were also men designated as Canahas and Chayas, who helped the Caddi run the system.
History
During the 17th century, the Hasinai traded with the
Jumano at the western Hasinai city of Nabedache. Some consider the residents of Nabedache to have been a distinct people designated by that name.
Historic populations
It is estimated that in 1520, the people who would become the Hasinai, the
Kadohadacho and the
Natchitoches, numbered about 250,000. Over the next 250 years, the population of these Caddoan-speaking peoples was severely reduced by epidemics of endemic diseases carried by Spanish and French colonists and spread through indigenous trading networks. Native Americans had no acquired immunity to the new diseases, and suffered high mortality.
In 1690, the Hasinai numbered in the vicinity of 10,000 people or a little more. By 1720, as a result of infectious diseases such as
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
, the Hasinai population had fallen to 2,000.
[Anderson, ''The Indian Southwest'', p. 57]
Closely related peoples
*
Arikara
The Arikara ( ), also known as Sahnish,
''Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation.'' (Retrieved Sep 29, 2011) ...
*
Chitimacha
*
Kadohadacho
*
Natchitoches
*
Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language:
* Pawnee people
* Pawnee language
Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States:
* Pawnee, Illinois
* Pawnee, Kansas
* Pawnee, Missouri
* Pawnee City, Nebraska
* ...
*
Tula
See also
*
Caddoan Mississippian culture
*
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 ...
*
Caddo language
Caddo (endonym: , ) is a Caddoan language indigenous to the Southern United States and the traditional language of the Caddo, Caddo Nation. It is critically endangered, with no exclusively Caddo-speaking community and as of 2023 only two speaker ...
*
Yowani Choctaw
The Yowani were a historical group of Choctaw people who lived in Texas.
Yowani was also the name of a Indian Removal, preremoval Choctaw village.
When this area became part of the United States under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, many of the r ...
*
El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail
Notes
References
* Edmonds, Randlett. ''Nusht'uhtiʔtiʔ Hasinay: Caddo Phrasebook''. Richardson, TX: Various Indian Peoples Publishing, 2003. .
External links
The Hasinai Society of the Caddo Nation
Tides.sfasu.ed−Texas Tides: Location of the Tribes of the Hasinai Confederacy in 1716Texasbeyondhistory.net: Life and Times of the Caddo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasinai
Caddoan peoples
Native American tribes in Oklahoma
Native American tribes in Texas
Native American history of Texas