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Information about Illiniwek

For the former mascot/symbol of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, see Chief Illiniwek.


The Illiniwek (also known as the Illini, Illinois, Illinois Confederacy) were a group of six Native American tribes in the upper Mississippi River valley of North America. The tribes were the Kaskaskia, the Cahokia, the Peoria, the Tamaroa, Moingwena and the Michigamea.

History

When French explorers first journeyed to the region from Canada in the early 17th century, they found the area inhabited by a vigorous, populous Algonquian nation. What we know today about the Illiniwek comes to us mainly from the Jesuit Relations. The Relations were the reports which these missionaries who lived among the various native nations sent back to their superiors in France.

The name 'Iliniwek' is an Ojibwe word borrowed into French, and means 'those who speak in the ordinary way, regular way'. In turn, this word was borrowed by Ojibwe from the Illinois language, from an original verb irenweewaki, which means 'they speak in the regular way, speak Illinois'. The Illinois Tribes' name for themselves was 'Inoka', as documented in the French Jesuit dictionaries of Illinois. The Illinois themselves spoke various subdialects of the Miami-Illinois language, a member of the Algonquian language family.

In the seventeenth century, the Illiniwek suffered from a combination of European diseases and the expansion of the Iroquois into the eastern Great Lakes region. The Iroquois had hunted out their traditional lands and sought more productive hunting and trapping areas. They needed these furs to purchase European trade goods, upon which they had grown dependent.

According to a story recorded by historian Francis Parkman in The Conspiracy of Pontiac (1851), a terrible war of retaliation against the Illiniwek resulted from the 1769 murder of the Ottawa war chief Pontiac by a Peoria warrior. According to the tale, the Peorias were practically wiped out as a result at what is now Starved Rock State Park. This legend was debunked by historian Howard Peckham in 1947, although it is still sometimes repeated in non-scholarly sources. There is no evidence that there were any reprisals for Pontiac's murder.

Present day

As a consequence of the Indian Removal Act, the descendants of the Illiniwek are now found in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, as the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma.

References

Costa, David J. 2000. Miami-Illinois Tribe Names. In John Nichols, ed., Papers of the Thirty-first Algonquian Conference 30-53. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba.

External links

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, or simply Illinois), is the oldest, largest, and most prestigious campus in the University of Illinois system.
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Chief Illiniwek was the mascot and official symbol of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign associated with the University's intercollegiate athletic programs from 1926 to February 212007.
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American Indian and Alaska Native
One race: 2.5 million[1]
In combination with one or more other races: 1.6 million[2]
Regions with significant populations  United States

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This article is about the social structure.

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Mississippi River

Mississippi River in New Orleans.


Country | United States
States |
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North America is a continent [1] in the Earth's northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west
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The Kaskaskia were one of the several cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation. Their first contact with Europeans reportedly occurred near present-day Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1667 at a Jesuit mission station.
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The Peoria tribe was one of the Native American tribes that formed the Illiniwek tribal group in what is now the Midwest of the United States of America. The Peoria were one of the many tribes encountered by the exploreres Marquete and Jolliet.
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The Tamaroa were a Native American tribe in the upper Mississippi River valley of North America, and a member of the Illiniwek tribal group.

An Algonquian speaking group, like the rest of the Illiniwek, they lived on both sides of the Mississippi River, in the area where the
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Mitchigamea or Michigamea were a tribe in the Illinois Confederation. Not much is known about them and their origin is uncertain. Originally they were said to be from the Lake Michigan, perhaps the Chicago area.
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French colonization of the Americas began in the 16th century, and continued in the following centuries as France established a colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere.
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Canada was the name of the French colony that once stretched along the St. Lawrence River; the other colonies of New France were Acadia, Louisiana and Newfoundland. Canada, the most developed colony of New France, was divided in three districts named Québec,
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As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th Century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700 in the Gregorian calendar.

The 17th Century falls into the Early Modern period of Europe and was characterized by the Baroque cultural movement and the beginning of
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Algonquian (also Algonquin) languages are a subfamily of Native American languages that includes most of the languages in the Algic language family (the two Algic languages that are not Algonquian are Wiyot and Yurok of northwestern California).
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Relations des Jésuites de la Nouvelle-France, commonly abbreviated as the Jesuit Relations, are the annual reports which were issued by the superior of the Jesuit missions in New France to the Jesuit overseer in France between the years of 1632 and 1673.
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Ojibwa, Anishinaabe, or Chippewa (also Ojibwe, Ojibway, Chippeway, Aanishanabe, or Anishinabek) is the largest group of Native Americans-First Nations north of Mexico, including Métis.
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French (français, pronounced [fʁɑ̃ˈsɛ]) is a Romance language originally spoken in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, and today by about 300 million people around the world as either
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The Miami-Illinois language is a Native American language formerly spoken in the United States, primarily in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, and adjacent areas along the Mississippi River by the tribes of the Inoca or Illinois Confederacy, including the Kaskaskia, Peoria,
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Algonquian (also Algonquin) languages are a subfamily of Native American languages that includes most of the languages in the Algic language family (the two Algic languages that are not Algonquian are Wiyot and Yurok of northwestern California).
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125,000
(80,000 in the U.S.
45,000 in Canada)
Regions with significant populations
 Canada
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Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes in North America on or near the Canada–United States border. They are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth. The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence system is the largest freshwater system in the world.
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Francis Parkman (September 16, 1823 – November 8, 1893) was an American historian, best known as author of and his monumental seven volume France and England in North America.
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Ottawa (also Odawa, or Odaawaa), meaning "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. They lived near the northern shores of Lake Huron.
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Pontiac or Obwandiyag (c. 1720 – April 20, 1769), was an Ottawa leader who became famous for his role in Pontiac's Rebellion (1763–1766), an American Indian struggle against the British military occupation of the Great Lakes region following the British victory
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Location LaSalle County, Illinois, USA
Nearest city Utica, Illinois
Coordinates
Area 2,630 acres (0 km)
Established 1911

Governing body
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The Indian Removal Act, part of a U.S. government policy known as Indian Removal, was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830. It's considered by many modern observers to be a very shameful moment in American History.
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Ottawa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 33,194. Its county seat is Miami6.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,255 km² (485 mi²).
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The Peoria tribe was one of the Native American tribes that formed the Illiniwek tribal group in what is now the Midwest of the United States of America. The Peoria were one of the many tribes encountered by the exploreres Marquete and Jolliet.
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Not to be confused with New Catholic Encyclopedia.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia Press.
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