Missouri (tribe)
The Missouri tribe, historically located along the Missouri River in present-day northwest Saline County, Missouri, is part of the broader cultural and linguistic group that includes the Winnebagos, Otos, and Iowas. Originating from the Great Lakes region, the Missouri adopted a semisedentary lifestyle, balancing hunting, gathering, and agriculture, particularly during the spring and fall seasons. Their society was marked by communal living in villages where they engaged in various activities such as woodworking and pottery.
Following European contact in the late 17th century, the Missouri tribe interacted with French traders and faced numerous challenges, including tribal conflicts and devastating epidemics. By the early 19th century, they began to consolidate with the Oto tribe, forming the Oto-Missouri tribe. Although they ceded most of their lands to the U.S. government by 1855, the descendants of the Missouri, now known as the Otoe-Missouria tribe, continue to thrive on a reservation in Oklahoma, governed by an elected Tribal Council. Today, the tribe provides vital social services, including healthcare and education, to support its members and uphold its cultural heritage.
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Missouri (tribe)
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Plains
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Siouan
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Oklahoma
- POPULATION SIZE: 3,000 (2024, The Otoe-Missouria Tribe)
The Missouri occupied villages on the Missouri River near present-day northwest Saline County, Missouri. They were related linguistically to the Winnebago, Oto, and Iowa. Their semisedentary lifestyle combined hunting and gathering with horticultural activities. When not hunting large game such as deer and buffalo, they inhabited settlements—especially in the spring and fall—to tend to agricultural duties, woodworking, and pottery. While once a strong Indigenous American group, they were gradually weakened with their westward movement because of divisions and wars.
Oral traditions trace the origins of the Missouri to the area of the Great Lakes near Green Bay, Wisconsin. Before the period of European contact in this area, there lived a group of Indigenous Americans called the Hotonga, or “fish eaters.” The Hotonga divided at Green Bay, and the group that remained there became known as the Winnebago. The ones who left went to the confluence of the Mississippi and Iowa rivers. Here, a further division took place: the Iowa remained there, and those who continued on to the confluence of the Missouri and Grand rivers became the Missouri. A final split produced the Oto, who traveled farther up the Missouri River. The Missouri, after a war with the Osage, separated again; a part went to live with the Iowa, and another group followed the Oto.
The Missouri were first known to have been in contact with French fur traders in 1673 when they were contacted by Jacques Marquette. Thereafter, they made treaties, traded, and intermarried with the French from Detroit to St. Louis until the 1820s, the time of Missouri statehood. They made a peace treaty with the United States on June 24, 1817. Between the time of contact and statehood, the Missouri suffered devastating attacks by the Sauk and Fox as well as a series of epidemics. The remaining Missouri had combined with the Oto by 1829, forming the Oto-Missouri Tribe. All of their lands, except for the reservation at Big Blue River, Nebraska, were ceded to the government by 1855. In the twenty-first century, the descendants of this group, known as the Otoe-Missouria Tribe, continue to exist on reservation land in Oklahoma and are governed by a progressive Tribal Council consisting of elected members. The Otoe-Missouria Tribe offers extensive public and social services to its members, including healthcare, housing, education, legal, and environmental services.
Bibliography
Dickey, Michael. The People of the River's Mouth: In Search of the Missouria Indians. Columbia, University of Missouri Press, 2011.
Fowler, Loretta. The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Great Plains. Columbia University Press, 2003.
"History." The Otoe-Missouria Tribe, www.omtribe.org/who-we-are/history. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
May, Jon D. "Otoe-Missouria." The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=OT001. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
Johansen, Bruce E., and Barry Pritzker. Encyclopedia of American Indian History. ABC-CLIO, 2008.
Perdue, Theda, and Michael D. Green. North American Indians: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2010.
“Th’isjida Way Back When.” The Otoe-Missouria Tribe, www.omtribe.org/who-we-are/way-back-when. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.