Language Groups and Tribes

A tribe is made up of Indians having a common language, culture, and, in some cases, government. It is not possible, however, to compile a list of all Indian tribes. Some historic tribes were actually confederacies of minor tribes. Some villages had no relationship with others apparently of the same people. A few tribes included people who spoke different languages.

A language group (linguistic family) includes Indians speaking the same language and its dialects, or different but related languages. At one time about 60 language groups were recognized in the United States and Canada. Later studies showed fewer groups. Some of the historically important language groups are:

This was the largest group both in numbers and in territory, and the first met by English colonists. They lived along the Atlantic Coast from Virginia northward, stretching westward to the Mississippi River, and north and west of the Great Lakes to the Rocky Mountains.

This language family is named for the Iroquois Confederation, or Five Nations, which included the Cayugas, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, and Senecas. Later they were joined by the Tuscaroras, making Six Nations. They lived along the Mohawk Valley and westward to Lake Erie.

Other Iroquoian peoples were the Hurons, or Wyandots, of the St. Lawrence Valley; the Erie, who lived south of Lake Erie; and, between the Hurons and Eries, Indians of the Neutral Nation.

The Susquehannas, or Conestogas, lived along the Susquehanna River. The Cherokees lived at the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains. A Cherokee alphabet was invented by Sequoya.

This language family is named for the Muskogees, or Creeks, and includes also the Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles. They lived in the southeastern part of the United States. When removed in the 1830's to the Indian Territory that became Oklahoma, they were known, with the Cherokees, as the Five Civilized Tribes.

Other Muskhogean tribes included Apalachee, Pensacola, Natchez, and Yamasee.

This was the largest language family north of Mexico except for the Algonquian. Its peoples lived largely between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, north of the Arkansas River. The group is named for the Sioux.

This language family, named for the Caddo confederacy of Louisiana, included the Kichais (also Keechis or Keeckes), Wichitas, the Pawnee confederacy of the Platte Valley, and the Arikaras of North Dakota.

The Shoshonean is one of the largest language families and, in turn, is part of an even larger group called the Uto-Aztecan linguistic stock. This group includes the ancient Aztec and other Mexican tribes of the Nahuatlan, or Aztecoidan, family, and the Piman family consisting of Arizona's Pima, Papago, and Quahatika.

The Shoshonis, for whom the family or division is named, lived on the Northern Plains. The Comanches broke away from the Shoshonis at about the time they acquired horses. The Utes and Bannocks were closely related.

The Shoshonean group includes peoples of widely diverse ways of life. The Hopi Indians are a highly developed Pueblo tribe, famed for their snake dance. In the Great Basin were tribes for whom edible roots, dug from the ground, were an important food source; these tribes were sometimes disparagingly referred to as “Diggers.” Among these tribes were the Paiute, Gosiute, and Chemehuevi.

Also Shoshonean were two small tribes in Oregon, and a dozen in California. Among them are the Cahuillas, the people of Helen Hunt Jackson's novel Ramona.

Various Shoshonean tribes were known as Snake Indians.

The most widely distributed of North American language families is named for the Athabascas of northern Canada. It includes two important peoples of the United States Southwest, the Navajos and the Apaches.

In northwestern Canada were the Chipewyan, and the Etchaottine, or Slaves. The Kutchin group includes nine tribes in Canada and Alaska. More than 30 small Athapascan tribes live in Alaska, Canada, Washington, Oregon, and California.

The Skittagetan linguistic family consists of the Haidas, natives of Alaska and the Queen Charlotte Islands, notable for their totem poles and other carvings. The Tlingits, of a separate linguistic stock, lived along the Alaskan coast and islands, especially around Sitka. Haida and Tlingit are related languages and are sometimes classed as a branch of the Athapascan family.

This language family is named for the Salish, or Flatheads, of Montana and Idaho. Its languages at one time were spoken by nearly 50 tribes, mostly in Washington and Oregon; most of the tribes were small. The Chimakuan family, including the Chimakun, Quileute, and Hoh, is probably related to the Salishan.

This linguistic stock includes several language families, the most important of which is the Yuman, named for the Yuma of Arizona. The Yuman family includes the Havasupai of Grand Canyon, Maricopa, Mojave, Walapai, Yavapai, and nine small tribes of Arizona and California. The Shastan family, named for the Shasta, includes four more California tribes. The Hokan group also includes seven more California tribes, some of which formerly were considered separate linguistic stocks.

This linguistic stock also has branches. The Shahaptian division includes the Nez Percés, who revolted in 1877 under the leadership of Chief Joseph. Others were the Klickitat, Palouse, Wallawalla, Umatilla, Yakima, and seven more tribes of the Northwest. The Waiilatpuan branch includes the Cayuse, whose name was used for the Indian pony, and the Molala. The Lutuamian branch includes the Modoc and the Klamath.

Chinookan is the language family of a dozen tribes of Washington and Oregon. The Chinook language was also the basis for a trade jargon, spoken along the Pacific Coast. The Yakonian, Kusan, Kalapooian, Takilman, Wakashan, Yukian, Penutian, Ritwan, and Wintun families include 32 Pacific Coast tribes.

The Kiowa, allies of the Comanche in wars and raiding, formerly were considered a separate language family. Now they are linked with the Tanoan family of Pueblo peoples, including Jemez, Manso, Piro, Tewa, and Tiwa.

Zuñi Pueblo is a separate language family. The remaining Pueblo peoples (except for the Hopi) are of the Keresan family, its eastern group including Cochiti, San Felipe, Santa Ana, Santo Domingo, and Zia, and its western group Acoma and Laguna.

The Karankawan and Tonkawan groups of tribes of Texas form separate language families. The Chitimacha and Atakapa groups of the Gulf Coast are considered a family of Tunican stock.