Illinois Transatlantic Slave Trade Commission

Native Americans of Illinois
& Their Relationship with African-Americans
By Toni Costonie with the assistance of Zada Johnson

“One of the longest unwritten chapters in the history of the United States is that
treating of the relations of the Negroes and the Indians.”
Carter G. Woodson
1920

Archaeological evidence proves that Native Americans have lived in Illinois for at least the last 12,000 years.  In fact the American state of Illinois got its name from a confederation of tribes known as the Illini. They originally inhabited areas in the present day Illinois, and on both sides of the Mississippi south to the Arkansas River. The name Illinois is the French version of the name. Illiniwek means ‘men’ or ‘people.’ The Illini were divided into various sub-tribes or bands including the Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Michigamea, Moingwena, Peoria and the Tamaroa.
United by language and culture the Illini spoke a derivation of the Algonquin language that was similar to that used by the Miami Indians. The Illini were a confederation of tribes that at its strongest numbered twelve tribes. They were woodland Indians who, as typical of the tribes of the region, would divide their year in accordance with the seasons between farming and hunting. They would locate their villages in river valleys to take advantage of the soil conditions that would aid in their agricultural pursuits. The Illini farmed maize, squash, tobacco, and other crops. After planting was completed, they would divide into smaller bands and head off to their hunting camps. They would hunt primarily the Bison, which was so plentiful on the Illinois Plains in the 17th Century. Illini men were the hunters of the village, while the women were the farmers and gathered food from the surrounding forest land.  Women played important roles in the religious and organizational life commonly working as Shamans, or spiritual guides to the people.
De Soto was the first European known to have visited Illinois.  In his search for gold and riches he and his men marched from Florida to the shores of Lake Michigan believing, at first, that they had reached the Pacific Ocean.  De Soto and his men murdered, raped robbed, and pillaged their way northwest. He arrived in or around the Chicago area in 1540.  By then the Indians knew that he was coming and that he was a cruel and ruthless murderer and a thief.  Consequently the Illini had begun steering De Soto’s group into the wilderness with every village De Soto’s men approached empty except for a messenger that was left behind.  The messenger would tell De Soto that they had no gold but he was sure there was some in the next village.  After being deluded by the Indians De Soto died in Arkansas.  His surviving soldiers built a raft and escaped down the Mississippi River. They lived to tell the story.  De Soto and his men, the 600 pigs that marched with them for food, the horses, and other animals the Spanish brought with them all introduced  germs to which the Indians had no resistance.  In recent years it has been concluded that the epidemics and pandemics, caused by De Soto and other Europeans, killed up to 96% of the Native Americans.
At the time of the arrival of the French in the 1600’s there were as many as sixty Illini villages. The numbers of Illini reported in the mid 1650’s varied considerably from 2,000 to as many as 20,000. This was no doubt due to the fact that the various bands were constantly migrating. The best estimates for that time appear to be around the 12,000 mark. From the 1650’s onward, however, there was a rapid decline in numbers among these people. By 1768 there were only about 1,800 Illini. When this band was attacked by tribal enemies their numbers were reduced to a paltry 600. By 1854, there were just 84 Illini left. At this time they united with the Wea and Piankashaw and became the United Peoria Tribe.
Cahokia Indians
Cahokia Mounds, located 20 miles east of East St. Louis, is the largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico. It was occupied primarily during the Mississippian period (800–1400), when it covered nearly 1,600 acres and included some 120 earthen mounds.  These were the largest earthen mounds on the North American continent. Many of the mounds were destroyed by early European settlers including East St. Louis which is built right on top of a whole group of mounds.  Today the remains of the Cahokia Indian’s civilization is a state historic site, a museum, and a United Nations World Heritage Site.
For 500 years, Cahokia was the major center of a culture that, at its peak, stretched from Red Wing, Minnesota to Key Marco, Florida and across the southeast. Cahokia is the largest prehistoric site in North America, north of Central Mexico.  It is home to the largest man made earthen mounds in North America.
The city once covered nearly six square miles and had a population of up to 20,000. Houses were arranged in rows and around open plazas. The main agricultural fields lay outside the city. Cahokia was a planned city with elaborate public buildings and perhaps elite residences at its core. The construction of these features required an organized cooperative labor force as well as organized leadership. Astronomical, mathematical and engineering knowledge were necessary skills in the planning and construction of the site.
The city of Cahokia is the focal point of what is known as the American Bottoms, the broad alluvial valley of the Mississippi River just south of the confluence of the Missouri, Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. This area is considered to be one of the most fertile agricultural zones in North America. The rivers that joined within this area not only furnished the transportation needs (trade) of the city but through seasonal flooding it constantly replenished the fertility of the soil.
In many cases French settlers built their “settlements” rights on top of the Cahokia mounds.  During the 1720s the French brought enslaved African-Americans into the area to work in logging, mining, construction, agriculture, and other industries.

Kaskaskia
Kaskaskia, which became the first capital of Illinois, was an Indian village with houses and plowed fields. Again, the French moved in slowly and took an already developed community. The Church of the Immaculate Conception in Kaskaskia contains records of African-American and Indian marriages. 
 Peoria, also the site of early European settlement was also an established Indian development.  This is believed to be the site of DuSable’s first settlement…illustrating the black and Indian alliances that formed in Illinois.

 

Indians of Illinois

Illini Federation of Algonquins

Kaskaskia

Cahokia

Peoria

Tamaroa

Michigamea

Taporouas

Moingwenas

Chinkoa

Omouahoa

Coiraconetanon

Chepoussa

Miami Federation

Wea

Piankwshaw

Others

Sauk

Foxes

Potawatomi

Kickapoo

Shawnee

Chippewa

Delaware

Wyandot