Extending across most of northern New England into the southern part of the Canadian Maritimes, the Abenaki called their homeland Ndakinna meaning 'our land'. The Abenaki called themselves Alnanbal meaning 'men'. The name "Abenaki" originated from a Montagnais (Algonquin) word meaning 'people of the dawn' or 'Easterners'. Since they relied on agriculture (corn, beans, and squash) for a large part of their diet, villages were usually located on the fertile flood plains of rivers. Depending on location and population, some of their cultivated fields were extensive. Agriculture was supplemented by hunting, fishing, and the gathering of wild foods. For most of the year, the Abenaki lived in scattered bands of extended families, each of which occupied separate hunting territories inherited through the father. In spring and summer, bands would gather at fixed locations near rivers, or the seacoast, for planting and fishing. Most Abenaki villages were fairly small, averaging about 100 persons.

Abenaki Home Page
Much of this site is devoted to Abenaki related links divided in the following categories: Abenaki history, Abenaki people, links, maps.

Alnombak's Home Page
Link page with links to Abenaki, Wabanaki sites, genealogy sites, and Native Lore.

The homeland of the Algonquin lies in the Ottawa River Valley which is the present border between Ontario and Quebec. Among themselves, the Algonquin differentiated between bands who stayed in the upper Ottawa Valley year-round and bands who moved near the St. Lawrence in summer. Too far north for agriculture, the Algonquin were loosely organized into small, semi-nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers. In this, they resembled the closely related Ojibwe, although the Algonquin were somewhat outside the wild rice region which provided an important part of the diet for tribes in the northern Great Lakes. This forced the Algonquin to rely more heavily on hunting which made them skilled hunters and trappers. The climate was harsh, with starvation not uncommon. For this reason, the Algonquin could not afford for someone to become a burden, and they were known to kill their crippled and badly wounded.

The Beothuk inhabited all of the island of Newfoundland except for the northernmost peninsula. Around 1500 there were about 2,000 Beothuk people living here, but by 1768 there were only 400 of them left, and by 1829 the entire tribe was extinct. For the most part the Beothuk kept to themselves and avoided contact with Europeans, so very little is known about them. One thing that is known about the Beothuk was their love of the color red. While the use of red ochre was common among Native Americans, no other tribe used it as extensively as the Beothuk. They literally covered everything - their bodies, faces, hair, clothing, personal possessions, and tools - with a red paint made from powdered ochre mixed with either fish oil or animal grease. The growing-season in Newfoundland is much too short for maize agriculture, and as a result, the Beothuk did not farm. They were semi-nomadic hunter/gatherers organized into small independent bands of extended families. The Beothuk were skilled canoeists who speared seals with harpoons, fished for salmon, and collected shellfish. Before the arrival of the Europeans, most Beothuk bands moved seasonally between the coast during summer and interior in the winter, but several groups are known to have remained at coastal villages year-around and sent hunting parties a short distance inland during the colder months.

Publications of the Newfoundland Museum - The Beothuks

The Beothuks or Red Indians
Lots of historical info on the Beothuks.

The Blackfoot Confederacy consists of the Piikani and Kainaiwa of southern Alberta and the Siksika, Tsuu T'ina and Stoney in the State of Montana. Acknowledged as one of the most powerful tribes in the American northwest, the Blackfeet are a confederacy of three independent tribes presently living in Montana and Alberta, Canada. The name "Blackfeet" originates from the distinctive black hue of their moccasins, either painted that color or perhaps darkened by prairie fires. The Blackfeet had a nomadic type of existence in the northern plains; plentiful buffalo assured them of a strong future. A shaman or medicine man aided the hunt through the powerful use of the talisman to help lure the buffalo to the fall. Undoubtedly, the greatest devastation to the Indian people was the near extinction of the buffalo by the white settlers. Their main food source gone and not having yet taken up the concept of farming, the Blackfeet were forced with total dependence upon the Indian Agency for food.

Home Page
The official web site of the Blackfeet Nation. Page has a lot of potential but is still under construction.

Walks in Two Worlds and Sings for Hawks Lodge
Personal homepage of Rick, Walks in Two Worlds, a Blackfeet Native American.

Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition
The Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition assists Tribes in the protection of their rights to the use of Missouri River water, tributaries, and groundwater located on, near, and under their respective reservations. Page offers no info on the Blackfeet Indians.

Catawba means 'river people', and only came into common use in the Carolinas after 1715. The name used by themselves was Iyeye (people) or Nieye (real people). The original homeland of the Catawba before contact with the Europeans is uncertain. In any event, the Catawba were definitely established along the Catawba River at the North/South Carolina border in 1650. Agriculture, for which men and women both shared responsibility, provided at least two crops each year and was heavily supplemented by hunting and fishing. The Iroquois called the Catawba 'flatheads' because they, as well as many of the other Siouan-speaking tribes of the area, practiced forehead flattening of males infants. Catawba warriors had a fearsome reputation and an appearance to match: ponytail hairstyle with a distinctive war paint pattern of one eye in a black circle, the other in a white circle and remainder of the face painted black. Coupled with their flattened foreheads, some of their enemies must have died from sheer fright.

The original Cherokee word for themselves is Ani-Yunwiya, meaning 'the people'. The Cherokee were a settled, agricultural people living in fairly, large villages. Agriculture relied heavily on the 'three sisters' (corn, beans, and squash), supplemented by hunting and the gathering of wild plants. Cherokee villages were largely independent in daily matters, with the whole tribe only coming together for ceremonies or times of war.

The Cherokee Indians of North Carolina
Little info on the Eastern band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina.

The Cherokee Nation
Information about the Cherokee Tribal Council, traveling in the Cherokee Nation, historical facts and the Cherokee National Historical Society.

History of the Cherokee
Much Cherokee history, images and maps, genealogy links, books and newspapers, Cherokee and Native American links.

Tsalagi Site
Cherokee Literature, Native American links, Cherokee language and syllabary.

Cherokees of California
Homepage of The Cherokees of California, Inc., a non-profit tribal organization. Contents: Cherokee Greeting, Cherokee Cookbook, Cherokee History, Cherokee Hymns, Cherokee Language, Traditional Ceremonies, Cherokee Mythology, Cherokee Research, Words Of Wisdom, Sacred Colors, Walking The Red Road, Cherokee Blessing.

The Georgia Tribe Of Eastern Cherokees Official Home Page
The Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee, Echota Fire, U.K.B. is a State Recognized Tribe, awaiting Federal Recognition. This site offers various information on this tribe.

United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians WWW
Page has a little to offer because it's still under construction.

Cherokee Messenger
Cherokee links.

The Cheyenne Native American tribe of North America were historically nomadic buffalo hunters of the Great Plains in the nineteenth century who prospered with the introduction of the horse and for also having one of the most highly organized Native American governments. Renowned for their warriors, their spiritual ways, and for their values and ethics (including the chastity of the women), the Cheyenne became an icon of Native America.

Chickasaw Historical Research Page
Historical material like Tribal Rolls & Census, Letters, Government Records, Bible Entries and Other Relevant Data.

The Chicora Indians were the aboriginal dwellers of South Carolina. They were the natives who, in the early 1520's gathered in large numbers on the beach near what is today Pawley's Island to observe strange, heavily bearded Spaniards coming ashore. Not knowing that their hospitality would be rewarded with cruelty.

Choctaw tribal profile
History and achievements of the Choctaw Indians.

Choctaw Nation Home Page
Unofficial Choctaw Nation Homepage. Little info about the Choctaw Nation.

Comanches are believed to have been the first native people on the plains to utilize the horse extensively, and as such, they were the source for other plains tribes of the horses that made the buffalo culture possible, even their enemies. The area they controlled became known as Comancheria and extended south from the Arkansas River across central Texas to the vicinity of San Antonio including the entire Edwards Plateau west to the Pecos River and then north again following the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the Arkansas. The name Comanche has become synonymous with the stereotypical image of the 'wild Indian'. In some ways their reputation is deserved. Comanches stole just about every horse and mule in New Mexico and northern Mexico and put a good dent in the available supply in Texas. Comanches fought virtually every tribe on the plains: Crow, Pueblo, Arikara, Lakota, Kansa, Pawnee, Navaho, Apache, Ute, Wichita, Waco, Tonkawa, Osage, Sauk, Fox, Kickapoo, Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Seminole, and Chickasaw. A very long list, but it should be remembered that most of these wars began with the theft of Comanche horses.

About The Comanche Tribe
Information about the Comanche Tribe.

The name 'Delaware' was given to the natives who occupied the Delaware River Valley during the colonial occupation of English Governor Lord de la Warr. In their language they are 'Lenape' (len-ah'-pay) which means 'The People' and belong to the Algonquian linguistic group. They were among the first Indians to come in contact with Europeans (Dutch, English and Swedish) as early as 1600. They were considered a 'Grandfather' tribe whose power, position, and spiritual presence served to settle disputes among rival tribes. The Lenape have been described as a warm and hospitable people. Their natural instinct was to be accommodating and peaceful, but this masked a temper which, if provoked, could react with terrible violence. Known also for their fierceness and tenacity as warriors they are recorded, however, as choosing a path of accommodation with the Europeans. Men did the hunting and fishing, but most of the Lenape's diet came from farming which was solely the responsibility of the women. Corn, squash, beans, sweet potatoes, and tobacco were grown, and fields often covered more than 200 acres. Through war and peace the Lenape continued to give up their lands and moved westward.

Delaware (Lenape) Tribe of Indians: Homage
The Lenape Tribe of Indians.

From time immemorial the Dineh Indians have dwelt their aboriginal homeland of Black Mesa, Arizona. All of Black Mesa is sacred to the Dineh, which is within the Four Sacred Mountains they call DinehTah.

They were originally calledKusso - Natchez, but have been referred to as Edisto Indians most likely due to the fact that they have always lived near the Edisto River. There has been much confusion over the years as to the name of these people. To reduce confusion in legal, business, and governmental matters, these Native Americans have (in 1975) officially adopted the name, Edisto.

Erie is a short form of the Iroquian word 'Erielhonan' meaning literally 'long tail', and referring to the panther (cougar or mountain lion). With French contact limited to one brief meeting, very little is known for certain about the Erie except they were important, and they were there. The Dutch and Swedes also heard about them through their trade with the Susquehannock, but never actually met the Erie. Like other Iroquian peoples in the area, the Erie were an agricultural people. They were traditional enemies of the Iroquois, and there had been many wars between them before the Europeans. The Iroquois, who always mentioned the Erie were great warriors, have verified the long-term hostility, and also add that the Erie frequently used poisoned arrows in war.

Hopi Way - Cloud Dancing
Hopi Messages, Prophecy Related Information, Spiritual Growth & Ceremonies, Pictures, Touch The Earth Foundation, Other Interests.

In most ways, the Huron life-style closely resembled that of the Iroquois. Beginning around 1100, the Iroquian people in this region began large-scale agriculture. A dramatic increase in population followed which, unfortunately, was accompanied by a similar increase in organized warfare. The Huron diet relied heavily on agriculture (corn at first, with beans, squash, and tobacco added later). It was supplemented by hunting, fishing and gathering. Villages had to be relocated every 20 years or so as the fertility of local soil declined. One critical difference between the Iroquois and Huron was the birch bark canoe. Iroquois constructed their canoes from elm-wood (which made them heavy), and as a result, they usually preferred to travel on foot, but the Huron, surrounded by a network of rivers and lakes, used their canoes to travel great distances and trade their agricultural surplus with other tribes, including the Iroquois.

Illinois is the French version of their own name Illiniwek meaning 'men' or 'people' which is sometimes shortened to Illini. The Illini life-style in 1670 was a woodland culture similar to neighboring tribes. Their larger villages were gathering points for socializing and trade with the different bands coming and going without a fixed pattern. The locations chosen, however, were almost always in river valleys because of the richer soil for agriculture. After planting, the Illini usually separated to hunting villages and returned in the fall for harvest. More than their neighbors, the Illini depended on the large buffalo herds found on the northern Illinois prairies as a food source. Annual buffalo hunts by the Illini were a large affairs involving up to 300 people. Without horses, the usual methods were the 'surround' or firing the prairies to trap the huge animals. Although there were many rivers in their homeland, the Illini were not especially fond of fish. Their only allies, besides the French, were themselves, and the French were little help to them after 1763. With a shrinking population to defend a homeland coveted by their neighbors, the result was predictable. The destruction of the Illini after contact is one of the great tragedies in North American history. By the time American settlement reached them during the early 1800s, the Illini were nearly extinct and replaced by other tribes.

THE ILLINI: LORDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY
The Confederation, The Illini Country, Demographics, Culture and Customs, Illini Legends, The Illini at War, Illini Links, Native American Sites.

Simply put, the Iroquois were the most important native group in North American history. Culturally, however, there was little to distinguish them from their Iroquian speaking neighbors. The individual Iroquois tribes were divided into three clans; turtle, bear, and wolf - each headed by the clan mother. Agriculture provided most of the Iroquois diet. Corn, beans, and squash were known as 'deohako' or 'life supporters'. Their importance to the Iroquois was clearly demonstrated by the six annual agricultural festivals held with prayers of gratitude for their harvests. The women owned and tended the fields under the supervision of the clan mother. Men usually left the village in the fall for the annual hunt and returned about midwinter. Spring was fishing season. Other than clearing fields and building villages, the primary occupation of the men was warfare. Warriors wore their hair in a distinctive scalp lock (Mohawk of course), although other styles became common later. While the men carefully removed all facial and body hair, women wore theirs long. Tattoos were common for both sexes. Torture and ritual cannibalism were some of the ugly traits of the Iroquois, but these were shared with several other tribes east of the Mississippi.

The Iroquois Confederacy
The Following information has been stockpiled here for peoples benefit to learn more about Iroquois people: Music, Articles, Iroquois Treaties, Iroquois Stories.

In a tradition shared by both tribes, Kickapoo and Shawnee believe they were once part of the same tribe which divided following an argument over a bear paw. Typical of other Great Lakes Algonquin, both lived in fixed villages of mid-sized longhouses during summer. After the harvest and a communal buffalo hunt in the fall, the Kickapoo separated to winter hunting camps. The Kickapoo were skilled farmers and used hunting and gathering to supplement their basic diet of corn, squash and beans. Before most of the other tribes in the area, the Kickapoo were using horses to hunt buffalo on the prairies of northern Illinois. The most distinctive characteristic of the Kickapoo was their stubborn resistance to acculturation, and it is difficult to think of any other tribe which has gone to such lengths to avoid this. Years after the eastern tribes with famous names had given up the fight, the Kickapoo were still in the midst of the struggle to preserve Native America.

The Lumbees take their name from the Lumbee River in North Carolina, known as the Lumber river today, which flows through their homeland. The Lumbee are the ninth largest tribe in the country and the second largest tribe east of the Mississippi. The present day Lumbee tribe is descended from an Indian community composed largely of Cheraw Indians and related Siouan speaking people who were known to have inhabited the area of what is now Robeson County since European settlers first arrived in the early 1700's.

The Official Home Page of the Lumbee Tribe
History of the Lumbee Indians, Lumbee links, Lumbee events calendar, Miss Lumbee, Lumbee publications and vids, and a list of agencies serving the Lumbee tribe.

The original Mahican homeland was the Hudson River Valley from the Catskill Mountains north to the southern end of Lake Champlain. When James Fenimore Cooper wrote 'Last of the Mohicans' in 1826, he made the Mahican famous. Unfortunately, he also made them extinct in the minds of many people and also confused their name and history with the Mohegan from eastern Connecticut. Both Mahican and Mohican are correct, but NOT Mohegan, a different tribe in eastern Connecticut who were related to the Pequot. In their own language, the Mahican referred to themselves collectively as the 'Muhhekunneuw', 'people of the great river'. Today the Mahican are very much alive and living in Wisconsin under an assumed name ... Stockbridge Indians. Although culturally similar to other woodland Algonquin, the Mahican were shaped by their constant warfare with the neighboring Iroquois. Politically, the Mahican were a confederacy of five tribes with as many 40 villages. Agriculture provided most of their diet but was supplemented by game, fish, and wild foods.

The Maidu people lived in the area of Northern California. The Maidu did not have a name for themselves. The name Maidu was first used by Stephen Powers in 1877 in 'Tribes of California', a name he arbitrarily applied to these Indians since the word meant 'Indian' or 'man' in the Maidu language. The discovery of gold by the whites in 1848 brought more grief to California Indians - especially the Maidu - than any other occurrence in California history; the Mechoopda would become slave laborers.

We have no idea what they called themselves. Mascouten apparently comes from a Fox word meaning 'little prairie people'. They never played a major role in the history of the Great Lakes, so little is known about them. Unfortunately they failed to continue as a tribal unit.

Their name is from an Algonquin word meaning 'at the range of hills'. The Massachuset disappeared as an organized tribe before much could be recorded about them. They farmed extensively (corn, beans, squash, and tobacco) but relied heavily on fish and shellfish during the summer. This was supplemented by hunting during the colder months. They moved with the seasons between fixed locations to exploit the available resources. Summer villages were located near the coast.

Mattabesic is the name of a single village along the Connecticut River near Middletown, and its use to describe this group of independent tribes is entirely arbitrary. The Mattabesic were not a tribe within the usual meaning of the word but instead a collection of a dozen, or so, small tribes which shared a common language, culture, and geographic area. They usually managed to live in peace with one another and had therefor little need for any complex political structures required by warfare. They grew corn, beans and squash in the river valleys during the summer and moved in a fixed pattern with the seasons to other locations for hunting and fishing. The Mattabesic also manufactured a superior type of wampum which was traded with other tribes.

The name Menominee is from their own language meaning 'good seed' or 'wild-rice people'. A most noteworthy characteristic of the Menominee was their amazing ability to survive as an independent tribe in the midst of large and powerful neighbors: Dakota, Ojibwe, and Winnebago. The Menominee were one of the original tribes of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. The relatively stable conditions in northern Wisconsin were altered by outside forces. Driven from their homelands in the eastern Great Lakes by the Iroquois, thousands of refugees (Huron, Tionontati, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Mascouten, Fox, Sauk, and Kickapoo) fled west and relocated to northern Wisconsin and upper Michigan. The Menominee traditionally had what was classified as an Eastern Woodland Culture which in manner and dress resembled the neighboring Ojibwe. Because they were too far north for reliable corn cultivation the Menominee provided for themselves through a combination of hunting, fishing, and gathering (particularly wild rice which was a staple of their diet). After they had spread south into areas with better soil and longer growing seasons, they practiced a limited amount of agriculture.

Menominee Treaty Rights
Web site that wants to serve as a source of information to educate Menominee, state and other global citizens about the legal basis of treaty rights. Also info about the Menominee history.

Metoac is a geographic, rather than political, grouping of the tribes of Long Island. The Metoac are frequently called the Montauk, the name of the largest tribe. The population of all of the Metoac tribes in 1600 was probably somewhere around 10,000, but the combined effects of warfare and epidemic during the next 60 years were devastating. By 1659 less than 500 Metoac remained on Long Island. The Metoac were an agricultural people who supplemented their diet with fishing and hunting. Although they lived in villages, there was regular seasonal movement in a fixed pattern to take advantage of the resources. By far, the most distinctive characteristic of the Metoac was their important role in native trade.

The original Miami homeland is Northern Indiana and the adjacent areas of Illinois and Ohio. In both language and culture, the Miami closely resembled the Illinois. Most of their diet came from agriculture, but the Miami were noted for a unique variety of white corn which was generally regarded as superior to that of other tribes. Their summer villages, located in river valleys for the fertile soil, consisted of framed longhouses covered with rush mats. After the harvest, the village moved to the nearby prairies for a communal buffalo hunt, then separated into winter hunting camps. Among other tribes in the region, the Miami had the reputation of being slow-spoken and polite but had an inclination towards fancy dress, especially their chiefs. Tattooing was common to both sexes, and like the neighboring Illinois, there were harsh penalties for female adulterers who were either killed or had their noses cut off.

Miami Nations Homepage
Miami Leaders-Treaties, The Language of the Miami, The Western Path, The Eastern Path, RealAudio clips.

The Micmac closely resembled the Abenaki of northern New England. The main difference in their life-styles was that the Abenaki were able to place greater emphasis on agriculture due to their more southerly location. The Micmac did very little farming, because for the most part, they lived too far north for reliable agriculture. They were, however, skilled hunters and gatherers with a heavy emphasis on fishing and sea mammals. For this reason, the Micmac were famous for their skill with a canoe. The Micmac were semi-nomadic in the sense they routinely moved between summer fishing villages near the coast to inland locations for winter hunting. The single-family winter camps were scattered, but during the spring and summer, Micmac families joined others to form villages. Together with the Beothuk on Newfoundland, the Micmac were probably the first Native Americans to have regular contact with Europeans.

Religious Traditions of the Micmac of Newfoundland

1500s - THE MICMAC
Micmac history

Mi'kmaq Page
Community profiles, Organizations and Associations, History and Culture, Current Issues, Events Calendar, Links.

Mohegan means wolf. It is all too common for the Mohegan of the Thames River in eastern Connecticut to be confused with the Mahican from the middle Hudson Valley in New York. Even James Fenimore Cooper got confused when he wrote 'Last of the Mohicans' in 1826. Culturally, the Mohegan were identical to the Pequot - the only difference being their political allegiance. The Mohegan were English allies for almost a century after 1633, while the Pequot fought the colonists and were nearly destroyed in five years. From the perspective of the colonists and their descendants (who wrote the history of New England), Uncas and the Mohegan were the 'good Indians', while Sassacus and the Pequot were 'bad Indians'. Their ultimate fate however was the same ...impoverishment, loss of their land, and near-extinction.

Montagnais, meaning 'mountaineers', was the name given them by the French. All groups were hunter/gatherers, although their life-styles differed somewhat due to available resources. Poor soil and a short growing season in Quebec made agriculture too risky for the Montagnais. The Montagnais occupied the forest areas along the north shore of the St. Lawrence, Canada, and were a woodland people, shifting routinely between summer villages near the river and winter hunting camps in the interior. Diet relied heavily on the hunting of moose and seal but with a heavy reliance on fishing for salmon and eel. Montagnais considered porcupine a delicacy. So much so, they were sometimes referred to as the 'Porcupine Indians'.

The Narragansett farmed extensively with large fields of corn, beans, and squash. Expert with the canoe, their diet was supplemented by hunting - with fish and other seafood being an important staple. The Narragansett lost almost 20% of their population in a single battle with the English in December of 1675. Massacre and starvation soon killed most of the others. The Narragansett tribal rolls currently list over 2,400 members, most of whom still reside in Rhode Island.

Located on a landmark as obvious as Cape Cod, the Nauset had contact with Europeans at an early date, but these first meetings were not always friendly. The Nauset soon learned from sad experience that the white men from these strange ships frequently came ashore, not for trade, but to steal food and capture slaves. The Nauset were never numerous. The original population was probably around 1,500, the current population is about 1,100. Their way of life was similar to other southern New England Algonquin except for a heavier reliance on seafood.

Because they were neutral in the wars between the Huron and Iroquois, the French called this large Iroquian Confederacy the Neutre (Neutrals), but most Iroquian tribes in southern Ontario referred to themselves collectively as the Wendat 'dwellers on a peninsula'. Warlike and aggressive, the neutrality of the Neutrals applied only to wars between the Huron and Iroquois. Otherwise, this confederacy was anything but peaceful. For the most part, the Huron considered the Neutrals as hostile (but not enemies), and relations between them were usually tense, even when they visited each other's villages for trade. Their diet depended mostly on agriculture (corn, beans, squash, sunflowers, and tobacco) supplemented by hunting and fishing. Meat and fish constituted a relatively small portion of their diet, and as much as 80% of their calories came from agriculture and the gathering of wild fruits and vegetables. The Iroquian peoples of this region grew at least 15 varieties of corn, 60 types of beans, and six kinds of squash.

Sometimes rendered as Nehantic, their name means 'point of land'. Originally a single tribe, the Niantic were separated into eastern and western divisions by the Pequot/Mohegan invasion, the Eastern Niantic in southwest Rhode Island; and the Western Niantic in south-central Connecticut just east of the mouth of the Connecticut River. Western Niantic were almost destroyed in 1637 during the Pequot War. Only about a hundred survived and were placed under the control of the Mohegan. The Eastern Niantic were Narragansett allies and continued as a separate tribe until after the King Philip's War (1675-76). Their way of life closely resembled the neighboring Narragansett, Pequot, and Mohegan.

The Nipissing were too far north for reliable corn agriculture and, like most of the other tribes in the region, were primarily hunter-gatherers. As a rule the Nipissing were friends with both the Huron and Algonquin and, because of their location, had been active in trade for a long time before the arrival of the Europeans. Probably their most interesting feature was their reputation among other tribes for the spiritual power of their shamans. Unfortunately, some of their neighbors were also prone to accusing them of sorcery as a result.

Their name originated from the Algonquin word 'nipnet' meaning literally 'small pond place' and is sometimes translated as 'fresh water people'. Nipmuc is a geographical classification given to the native peoples who lived in central Massachusetts and the adjoining parts of southern New England. Massomuck, Monashackotoog, and Quinnebaug were Nipmuc, but they were subject to the Pequot before 1637. The Nipmuc generally lived along rivers or on the shores of small lakes and seem to have occupied the area for as far back as can be told. Like other New England Algonquin, the Nipmuc were agricultural. They changed locations according to the seasons, but always remained within the bounds of their own territory. Part of their diet came from hunting, fishing, and gathering of wild food, but as a rule they did not live as well as the coastal tribes who had the luxury of seafood.

The Nipmuc Indian Association of Connecticut
Purposes, community calendar, activities, membership, publications.

The Ojibwe call themselves 'Anishinabe' meaning 'original men'. Ottawa and Potawatomi also call themselves Anishinabe, and at some time in the past, the three tribes were a single tribe. Ojibwe comes from the Algonquin word 'otchipwa' (to pucker) and refers to the distinctive puckered seam of Ojibwe moccasins. The Ojibwe were the largest and most powerful Great Lakes tribe; perhaps the most powerful east of the Mississippi; and quite possibly the most powerful in North America. The Lakota (Sioux) and Apache have gotten better press, but it was the Ojibwe who defeated the Iroquois and forced the Sioux to leave Minnesota.

Ottawa comes from the Algonquin word 'Adawe' meaning 'to trade' and originates from their role as traders even before contact. A trading tribe even before contact with the Europeans, the Ottawa were businessmen before they ever met a European, so they immediately recognized the opportunity presented by the fur trade and attached themselves to it and the French. Paddling their birchbark canoes for great distances, the Ottawa became the 'French connection' to other Algonquin in the Great Lakes and brought the furs they collected to the Huron villages where the French were.

Pennacook comes from the Abenaki word 'penakuk' meaning 'at the bottom of the hill'. Some classifications consider the Pennacook to be the southernmost group of the Abenaki, but in 1620 the Pennacook were a large, independent confederacy which tended to view their Abenaki relatives to the north as enemies. Encroachment and war with the Massachusetts colonists however had made the Pennacook and Abenaki eventually one and the same.

Both the Pequot and the Mohegan were originally a single tribe which migrated to eastern Connecticut from the upper Hudson River Valley in New York, probably the vicinity of Lake Champlain, sometime around 1500. Highly-organized, aggressive and warlike, the Pequot dominated Connecticut before 1637, a pattern continued later by the closely related Mohegan. As were their neighbors, the Pequot were an agricultural people who raised corn, beans, squash, and tobacco. Hunting, with an emphasis on fish and seafood because of their coastal location, provided the remainder of their diet. Clothing and housing were also similar - buckskin and semi-permanent villages of medium-sized longhouses and wigwams.

Like other New England Algonquin, the Pocumtuc were an agriculture people who lived in one of the most fertile farming areas in New England. Their homeland also abounded with game, and during the spring they were able to take advantage of large fish runs up the Connecticut and its tributaries. Due to frequent warfare with the neighboring Mohawk, most of their larger villages were heavily fortified, and for mutual protection, the Pocumtuc tribes were politically organized under a loose confederation. Although still available for hunting, by 1630 the Berkshire Mountains immediately west of the Pocumtuc villages were mostly uninhabited due to constant war.

The Potawatomi name is a translation of the Ojibwe "potawatomink" meaning "people of the place of fire." Similar renderings of this are: Fire Nation, Keepers of the Sacred Fire, and People of the Fireplace - all of which refer to the role of the Potawatomi as the keeper of the council fire in an earlier alliance with the Ojibwe and Ottawa. The Potawatomi originally provided for themselves as hunter/gatherers because they were too far north for reliable agriculture. Like the closely-related Ojibwe and Ottawa, their diet came from wild game, fish, wild rice, red oak acorns, and maple syrup, but the Potawatomi were adaptive. After being forced by the Beaver Wars (1630-1700) to relocate to Wisconsin, they learned farming from the Sauk, Fox, Kickapoo, and Winnebago.

Oral history tells the tribe originated near the Saint Lawrence Seaway in Canada. Following the settlement and invasion of Europeans on the east coast, which also resulted in pressures from other Native nations, the Sauk moved from near Saginaw Bay in Michigan to Green Bay, Wisconsin, to Saukenuk located at the convergence of the Rock and Mississippi Rivers, and then forcibly removed to Iowa and Kansas. The fight to keep the homeland at Saukenuk resulted in a war forced on Black Hawk. This was the last war which Native American fought for their homelands east of the Mississippi. Originally, the Sac and Fox were governed by a clan system. Clans which continue are: Fish, Ocean, Thunder, Bear, Fox, Bear Potato, Deer, Beaver, Snow and Wolf. This traditional manner of selecting chiefs and governing themselves was forcibly replaced by United States appointees and an constitution patterned after the American form.

The Sac and Fox Nation
Little information about the Sauk (Sac) and Fox tribe.

Shawnee comes from the Algonquin word "shawun" (shawunogi) meaning "southerner." However, this referred to their original location in the Ohio Valley relative to other Great Lakes Algonquin rather than a homeland in the American southeast. Shawnee usually prefer to call themselves the Shawano - sometimes given as Shawanoe or Shawanese. The Shawnee considered the Delaware as their "grandfathers" and the source of all Algonquin tribes. They also shared an oral tradition with the Kickapoo that they were once members of the same tribe. the Shawnee acquired a some cultural characteristics from the Creek and Cherokee, but, for the most part, they were fairly typical Great Lakes Algonquin. During the summer the Shawnee gathered into large villages of bark-covered long houses, with each village usually having a large council house for meetings and religious ceremonies. In the fall they separated to small hunting camps of extended families. Men were warriors who did the hunting and fishing. Care of their corn fields was the responsibility of the women.

• Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
• Crow Creek Sioux Tribe
• Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe
• Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
• Oglala Sioux Tribe
• Rosebud Sioux Tribe
• Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Nation
• Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
• Yankton Sioux Tribe

The Susquehannock lived near the Susquehanna River and its branches from the the north end of Chesapeake Bay in Maryland across Pennsylvania into southern New York. Susquehannock appears to have been an Algonquin name meaning the "people of the Muddy River" (Susquehanna). Almost completely forgotten today, the Susquehannock were one of the most formidable tribes of mid-Atlantic region at the time of European contact and dominated the large region between the Potomac River in northern Virginia to southern New York. Little is known about them, since they lived some distance inland from the coast, and Europeans did not often visit their villages before they had been destroyed by epidemic and wars with the Iroquois in 1675.

In almost every way, including language, the culture and lifestyles of the Tionontati were identical with that of the Huron who lived just to the east of them. Despite these similarities, the Tionontati always maintained their political autonomy and never became members of the Huron Confederacy, only trading partners and military allies. Their previous cooperation in trade and war made it fairly easy after 1649 for the Tionontati and Huron refugees to re-organize as a single tribe, the Wyandot. Of the two original groups that formed the Wyandot, the Tionontati were by the far the largest, and their descendents have constituted the majority of the Wyandot ever since.

The Waccamaw-Siouan Tribe of 1,800 members is located in the southeastern counties of Bladen and Columbus. The Waccamaw-Siouan call themselves the "People of the Fallen Star," recalling an old legend which tells of a ball of fire falling to earth and creating Lake Waccamaw.

Wampanoag means "eastern people." The Wampanoag were a horticultural people who supplemented their agriculture with hunting and fishing. Villages were concentrated near the coast during the summer to take advantage of the fishing and seafood, but after the harvest, the Wampanoag moved inland and separated into winter hunting camps of extended families.

New Bedford Ethnic Groups - Wampanoag
Historical and cultural information about the Wampanoag Indians.

Mention is sometimes made of a Wappinger tribe or confederation, but it took a major war with the Dutch to unite these seven small tribes into a single unit. Like most of the eastern Algonquin groups, the Wappinger were organized into sachemships. Besides their villages, most of the Wappinger had at least two "castles," or forts, where they could retreat when threatened. Like other tribes in the region, the Wappinger relied heavily on an agriculture of corn, beans, squash. Tobacco was also grown for ceremonial purposes. Diet was supplemented by fishing in the spring and summer and hunting during the colder months.

Wenro is a short form of their Huron name, Wenrohronon, meaning "the people of the place of floating scum." The name derived from the location of their main village near the site of the famous oil spring at Cuba, New York. What little is known about them has come to us from the Huron, since there was no direct contact between the Wenro and Europeans until after a large group of Wenro refugees came to the Huron villages in 1639. It can safely be presumed that the Wenro lived in a manner very much like their other Iroquian neighbors.

Like many other tribes, the Winnebago's name is not what they called themselves. It comes from a Fox word "Ouinipegouek" meaning "people of the stinking water." No insult was intended. Instead, the name referred to algae-rich waters of the Fox River and Lake Winnebago where the Winnebago originally lived. Although the Winnebago spoke a Siouan language, they were very much a woodland tribe whose lifestyle and dress closely resembled their Algonquin neighbors in the upper Great Lakes. Like other Siouan-speaking peoples, the Winnebago were taller than other natives (for that matter, taller than most Europeans).

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Pueblo Cultural Center This center offers historical and cultural information about 19 different Pueblo Indian tribes. There are links to background data on each tribe, as well as directions to the reservations, and a link to Pueblo Etiquette and Rules.

Compact Histories Good Site with histories of many Native American Indian tribes of the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

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Native American Lore Page Many stories of Native American Lore from several Tribes across Turtle Island.

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American Indian Tribal Directory Detailed list of U.S. Federally Recognized Tribes.

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WWW.aboriginalnet.com Web sites that deliver information and opportunities with Canada's aboriginal communities.

Chief Tom's Pow Wow 'This page is dedicated to all my Native Brothers and Sisters of all Nations'. This site contains lot of information concerning the Native American Indian.

Lenape's Home Many links about American Indians. Within each category there are many links that span a vast amount of what Indian life, culture, history and so forth.

Native Americans A collection of facts, fiction & myths, misconceptions, drawings, pictures & writings relative to the Native American culture.