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Concept
Missouria
Summary
The Missouria or Missouri (in their own language, Niúachi, also spelled Niutachi) are a Native American tribe that originated in the Great Lakes region of what is now the United States before European contact. The tribe belongs to the Chiwere division of the Siouan language family, together with the Iowa and Otoe.
Historically, the tribe lived in bands near the mouth of the Grand River at its confluence with the Missouri River; the mouth of the Missouri at its confluence with the Mississippi River, and in present-day Saline County, Missouri. Since Indian removal, today they live primarily in Oklahoma. They are federally recognized as the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, based in Red Rock, Oklahoma.
French colonists adapted a form of the Illinois language-name for the people: Wimihsoorita. Their name means "One who has dugout canoes". In their own Siouan language, the Missouri call themselves Niúachi, also spelled Niutachi, meaning "People of the River Mouth." The Osage called them the Waçux¢a, and the Quapaw called them the Wa-ju'-xd¢ǎ.
The state of Missouri and the Missouri River are named for the tribe.
The tribe's oral history tells that they once lived north of the Great Lakes. They began migrating south in the 16th century. By 1600, the Missouria lived near the confluence of the Grand and Missouri rivers, where they settled through the 18th century. Their tradition says that they split from the Otoe tribe, which belongs to the same Chiwere branch of the Siouan language, because of a love affair between the children of two tribal chiefs.
The 17th century brought hardships to the Missouria. The Sauk and Fox frequently attacked them. Their society was even more disrupted by the high fatalities from epidemics of smallpox and other Eurasian infectious diseases that accompanied contact with Europeans. The French explorer Jacques Marquette contacted the tribe in 1673 and paved the way for trade with the French.
The Missouria migrated west of the Missouri River into Osage territory. During this time, they acquired horses and hunted bison.
Official source
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