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North American Indian Tribes
From the date of its first appearance in 1891 the Powell
map of "Linguistic Families of American Indians North of Mexico" has
proved of the widest utility. It has been reissued several times and
copied into numerous publications. There has, however, been almost equal
need of a map giving the location of the tribes under the several
families.
To one familiar from his readings in early American history with the
names and locations of our prominent eastern "tribes," such as the
Delaware, Iroquois, Cherokee, and Choctaw, the preparation of a tribal
map would seem to be simple, and it would indeed be so if all Indians
had been grouped into bodies as clearly marked as those mentioned. But
even in the eastern United States the term "tribe" is quickly found to
have no uniform application. The Creeks were a confederation of a few
dominant tribes and a number of subordinate bodies, each formerly
independent. The name "Delaware" is commonly said to have covered three
tribes or sub-tribes, but while two of these seem never to have been
independent of each other, the third, the Munsee, is often treated as if
it were entirely separate. The name "Powhatan" was applied to about 30
tribes or sub-tribes which had been brought together by conquest only a
few years before Virginia was settled, and the term "Chippewa," or
"Ojibwa," is used for a multitude of small bands with little claim to
any sort of governmental unity. In the case of the Iroquois, on the
other hand, the tribe was only a part of the governmental unit, the
Iroquois Confederation, or Longhouse.
Read Introduction
Northeast
Includes the following States
Connecticut |
Delaware |
District of Columbia |
Maine |
Maryland | Massachusetts
New Hampshire |
New Jersey |
New York |
Pennsylvania |
Rhode Island |
Vermont
Includes the following Indian Tribes
Upper Eastern
Includes the Following States
Indiana |
Kentucky |
North Carolina |
Tennessee
Virginia | West Virginia
Includes the Following Native American Tribes
Southeast
Includes the Following States
Alabama |
Florida | Georgia |
Mississippi |
South Carolina
Includes the Following Indian Tribes
Upper Mid-West
Includes the following States
Illinois |
Michigan | Ohio |
Wisconsin
Includes the Following Native American Tribes
Upper Plains
Includes the Following States
Iowa |
Kansas | Minnesota |
Missouri |
Nebraska
North Dakota |
South Dakota
Includes the Following Indian Tribes
Lower Plains
Includes the Following States
Arkansas |
Louisiana | Oklahoma |
Texas
Includes the Following Native American Tribes
Mountain
Includes the Following States
Colorado |
Idaho | Montana |
Utah | Wyoming
Includes the Following Indian Tribes
Southwest
Includes the Following States
Arizona | Nevada |
New Mexico
Includes the Following Native American Tribes
Northwest
Includes the Following States
Oregon |
Washington
Includes the Following Indian Tribes
California
California
Includes the Following Native American Tribes
Some
Canadian Tribes
Includes the Following Indian Tribes
Indian Genealogy
Notes About the Book:
Source: The Indian Tribes of North America, by John R. Swanton, 1953, Bureau
of American Ethnology, Bulletin 145, US Government Printing Office, Washington
DC.
Online Publication: The manuscript was scanned and
then ocr'd. Minimal editing has been done, and readers can and should expect
some errors in the textual output.
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. |
