In this Book
- The People of the River's Mouth: In Search of the Missouria Indians
- Book
- 2011
- Published by: University of Missouri Press
- Series: Missouri Heritage Readers
The Missouria people were the first American Indians encountered by European explorers venturing up the Pekitanoui River—the waterway we know as the Missouri. This Indian nation called itself the Nyut^achi, which translates to “People of the River Mouth,” and had been a dominant force in the Louisiana Territory of the pre-colonial era. When first described by the Europeans in 1673, they numbered in the thousands. But by 1804, when William Clark referred to them as “once the most powerful nation on the Missouri River,” fewer than 400 Missouria remained. The state and Missouri River are namesakes of these historic Indians, but little of the tribe’s history is known today. Michael Dickey tells the story of these indigenous Americans in The People of the River’s Mouth.
Accessible to general readers, this book recovers the lost history of an important people. The People of the River’s Mouth sheds light on an overlooked aspect of Missouri’s past and pieces together the history of these influential Native Americans in an engaging, readable volume.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xiii-xvi
- Introduction
- pp. 1-7
- 3. Early French and Spanish Contacts
- pp. 55-84
- 4. Turmoil in Upper Louisiana
- pp. 85-111
- 5. The Americans: Rapid and Dramatic Change
- pp. 112-127
- 6. The End of the Missouria Homeland
- pp. 128-138
- Epilogue: Allotment and a New Beginning
- pp. 139-144
- For Further Reading and Research
- pp. 145-150
- About the Author
- p. 176
Additional Information
Copyright
2011