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TRIBES OF THE ILLINOIS CONFEDERACY
- University of Iowa Press
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TRIBES OF THE ILLINOIS CONFEDERACY Name means: Original meaning unknown, possibly “Men” Other names: Illinois, Illini, or Illiniwek was used as the name for a related group of Algonquian tribes, including the Moingwena, Peoria, and Coiraconetanon They call themselves: Moca (meaning unknown) Language spoken/language family: Illinois/Algonkian Residence in Iowa: 1667 to 1680 Location today: Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma near Miami, Oklahoma The Illinois lived in Iowa for only about thirteen years, but they are important in the state’s history because they were the first Indians noted in Iowa by white people, the French exploration party led by Marquette down the Mississippi River in 1673. The currently accepted view is that Marquette met the Peouarea or Peoria at the mouth of the Des Moines River on the Mississippi, in northeast Missouri. While he noted on a map that the Moingwena lived to the west on the Des Moines, he did not actually visit their village. The Moingwena or Moingona gave their name to the river because of the location of their village near its mouth. Illinois groups associated with eastern Iowa during that limited period included the Coiraconetanon, Moingwena , Peoria, and Tapuaro. Unlike many tribes, the Illinois fared well when it came to keeping their own tribal name. Because they were closely involved with the French, the French got their name right for posterity. Illini was the singular form of Illiniwek; Illini means “man” and Illiniwek means “men.” The word “Illinois” is the French adaptation of Illiniwek. The Illinois were actually not a single tribe but a loose confeder- Tribes of the Illinois Confederacy 69 acy of Algonquian-speaking tribes, including the Kaskaskia, Peoria, Michigamea, Moingwena, Cahokia, Tamaroa, Tapuaro, and Coiracoentanon (some believe the Michigamea may have originally been Siouan). The Peoria and the Tapuaro lived for a short time on the mouth of the Iowa River. The Coiracoentanon and the Moingwena lived on the Des Moines River. Originally from the Great Lakes and the Illinois area, these tribes were devastated in a series of wars with the Iroquois and others and retreated to Iowa around 1667. By the late 1670s, they had returned to Illinois and lived along both sides of the Mississippi River as far south as the mouth of the Des Moines River. The Moingwena lived in the village of Moingona, at the mouth of the Des Moines. The Des Moines River (Rivière de Moingona) was named after this village, and later on Fort Des Moines took the name of the river. The city of Des Moines was named after the fort. The Illinois were seriously affected by disease and by intertribal wars, especially with the Iroquois, Winnebago, Meskwaki, and Dakota . Their fortunes rose and fell with those of their French allies in the Mississippi River Valley. After successive moves to different states, including Missouri and Kansas, they were reorganized and the Peoria group took the lead. In 1868, the Peoria and other remnant Illinois groups (like the Kaskaskias), as well as some Weas and Piankashaws, were incorporated as the Confederated Peoria. Their status as a federally recognized tribe ended in 1959 as part of a federal experimental policy called termination, but their status was reinstated in 1978. Termination was intended to end the existence of Indian tribes as well as the obligations that the United States had agreed to as part of the treaty process. Traditional Culture Traditional Illinois culture was greatly changed early on because of their close contact with the French in the present-day state of Illinois; early French chroniclers recorded some elements. The Illinois seem 70 Tribes of the Illinois Confederacy to have shared the same way of life as other Central Algonquians, like the Meskwaki, and the Prairie Siouans, like the Ioway. Evidence is scarce, but there seems to have been a clan system, reported to include the Crane, Bear, Deer, and Turtle clans. Warfare with the tribes in Iowa and farther west often included raids searching for captives to sell as slaves to their French allies. Famous Illinois In 1769 a Peoria Indian named Black Dog was sent to assassinate Chief Pontiac, an Ottawa, and he did so by stabbing him in the back. Man-Who-Tracks was a Peoria chief depicted by the painter George Catlin in the 1830s. ...