Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico

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During the early exploration and settlement of North America, a multitude of Indian tribes were encountered, having diverse customs and languages. Lack of knowledge of the aborigines and of their languages led to many curious errors on the part of the early explorers and settlers: names were applied to the Indians that had no relation what ever to their aboriginal names; sometimes nicknames were bestowed, owing perhaps to personal characteristics, fancied or real; sometimes tribes came to be known by names given by other tribes, which were often opprobrious; frequently the designation by which a tribal group was known to itself was employed, and as such names are oftentimes unpronounceable by alien tongues and unrepresentable by civilized alphabets, the result was a sorry corruption, varying according as the sounds were impressed on Spanish, English, French, Dutch, German, Russian, or Swedish ears. Sometimes, again, bands of a single tribe were given distinctive tribal names, while clans and gentes were often regarded as independent autonomous groups to which separate tribal designations likewise were applied. Consequently, in the literature relating to the American Indians, which is practically coextensive with the literature of the first three centuries of the New World, thousands of such names are recorded, the significance and application of which are to be understood only after much study.  Read more...

Some Abbreviations used in this book
r = river, L = Lake, c = Creek, co = County, Ind.T. = Indian Territory,
S = South, n = North, e = East, w = West

• Preface
• Bureau of American Ethnology
• Indian Tribes of the United States
  • Indian Bands, Gens, Clans
  • Indian Villages, Towns, Pueblos, and Settlements
• Indian Tribes of Canada
  • Canadian Indian Bands, Gens, Clans
  • Indian Villages, Towns, Pueblos, and Settlements
• Indian Tribes of Mexico
  • Mexican Indian Bands, Gens, Clans
  • Indian Villages, Towns, Pueblos, and Settlements
• Indian Facts or Fallacies
• Indian Chiefs and Leaders
• Indian History
• Indian Reservations, 1908

Indian Genealogy

This site includes some historical materials that may imply negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. These items are presented as part of the historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that the WebMasters in any way endorse the stereotypes implied .

Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, Frederick Webb Hodge, 1906