Native Americans in Missouri
Long before the first white man stepped foot in the area that we know as Missouri, it had been home to many Native American cultures. Some 20,000 to 30,000 years ago, humans were dwelling in the regions that we now call home. In the early 1970s an area near Shriver’s Mill at Gallatin was excavated as part of the Interstate 35 construction. Evidence was found of tools and other artifacts that could predate Clovis man to around 12,000 B.C.
Paleo-Indians:
The period from 12,000 B.C. to 8,000 B.C. is known as the Paleo-Indian period. A nomadic people, the Paleo-Indians traveled in search of big game. The opening photo on the geography page of this website shows a cave at Graham Cave State Park in Montgomery County Missouri. Evidence has been found at this site of humans using it as shelter as early as 10,000 years ago. Albert C. Koch discovered mastodon remains in Gasconade County along the Bourbeuse River in 1838. He found more remains in Benton county along the Pomme de Terre River in 1840. The Paleo-Indians hunted mastodon for meat and the giant ground sloth for fur. They also hunted prehistoric bison. Mastodon State Historic Site located south of St. Louis on Interstate 55 is the home of the Kimmswick Bone Bed with a great amount of mastodon fossils and evidence of the Clovis culture from 10,000 to 14,000 years ago. For years, the earliest humans in the United States were considered to be the Clovis culture, named for the significant archaeological discoveries found at Clovis, New Mexico. Recent studies give strong evidence to humans before the Clovis culture.
The Paleo-Indians camped and hunted around the Ozark rivers, using fluted points on their weapons. Many of the “Clovis points” have been found throughout Missouri with a predominance in the St. Louis area. Some have even been found in northeast Missouri in the area of the South Fabius and Salt Rivers, and in Lewis and Shelby Counties. These stone-tipped spears would be used to kill the large game after they were frightened into a panic and then perhaps chased into a marshy bog where they would get stuck. Can you imagine trying to kill a ten-ton mammoth roaring toward you with simply a spear? The Paleo-Indians also made needles for making clothing, hand-woven nets for fishing, and mortars for crunching seeds. The large mammals that had been hunted began to die out with the last Ice Age happening in this era, approximately 8,000 B.C. This led to the people having to hunt smaller game and rely on gathering and foraging. Fishing also became an important part of their diet.
The flooding that occurred with the Ice Age is generally attributed to the disappearance of many of these large game animals, but some scientists see the Paleo-Indians as “Superpredators” that caused the demise of the beasts. Being nomadic hunters, the Paleo-Indians traveled in pursuit of the animals and when one area was void of large game they would move one to another place. Since 1967, at least once scientist has claimed “man, and man alone, was responsible” for the extinctions of these animals. It would appear that the Paleo-Indians were simply users of their surroundings with little concern for the aftermath. This might parallel the white settlers of the early 19th century as they continued to push the Native American tribes of that time farther and farther west while the settlers wished to acquire more and more of the land.
Paleo-Indians traveled in small tribes, between 20 and 50 people. They did not have pack animals, carrying their belongings on their backs. They used animal skin and plants for clothing and possibly traded with various tribes. As the changes occurred in their diets with the demise of the large animals, more of these peoples began to gather nuts and berries and grain. They began to stay longer in one place since they didn’t have to chase the herds of big game. They would begin to become the group known as hunter-gatherers.
Paleo-Indians:
The period from 12,000 B.C. to 8,000 B.C. is known as the Paleo-Indian period. A nomadic people, the Paleo-Indians traveled in search of big game. The opening photo on the geography page of this website shows a cave at Graham Cave State Park in Montgomery County Missouri. Evidence has been found at this site of humans using it as shelter as early as 10,000 years ago. Albert C. Koch discovered mastodon remains in Gasconade County along the Bourbeuse River in 1838. He found more remains in Benton county along the Pomme de Terre River in 1840. The Paleo-Indians hunted mastodon for meat and the giant ground sloth for fur. They also hunted prehistoric bison. Mastodon State Historic Site located south of St. Louis on Interstate 55 is the home of the Kimmswick Bone Bed with a great amount of mastodon fossils and evidence of the Clovis culture from 10,000 to 14,000 years ago. For years, the earliest humans in the United States were considered to be the Clovis culture, named for the significant archaeological discoveries found at Clovis, New Mexico. Recent studies give strong evidence to humans before the Clovis culture.
The Paleo-Indians camped and hunted around the Ozark rivers, using fluted points on their weapons. Many of the “Clovis points” have been found throughout Missouri with a predominance in the St. Louis area. Some have even been found in northeast Missouri in the area of the South Fabius and Salt Rivers, and in Lewis and Shelby Counties. These stone-tipped spears would be used to kill the large game after they were frightened into a panic and then perhaps chased into a marshy bog where they would get stuck. Can you imagine trying to kill a ten-ton mammoth roaring toward you with simply a spear? The Paleo-Indians also made needles for making clothing, hand-woven nets for fishing, and mortars for crunching seeds. The large mammals that had been hunted began to die out with the last Ice Age happening in this era, approximately 8,000 B.C. This led to the people having to hunt smaller game and rely on gathering and foraging. Fishing also became an important part of their diet.
The flooding that occurred with the Ice Age is generally attributed to the disappearance of many of these large game animals, but some scientists see the Paleo-Indians as “Superpredators” that caused the demise of the beasts. Being nomadic hunters, the Paleo-Indians traveled in pursuit of the animals and when one area was void of large game they would move one to another place. Since 1967, at least once scientist has claimed “man, and man alone, was responsible” for the extinctions of these animals. It would appear that the Paleo-Indians were simply users of their surroundings with little concern for the aftermath. This might parallel the white settlers of the early 19th century as they continued to push the Native American tribes of that time farther and farther west while the settlers wished to acquire more and more of the land.
Paleo-Indians traveled in small tribes, between 20 and 50 people. They did not have pack animals, carrying their belongings on their backs. They used animal skin and plants for clothing and possibly traded with various tribes. As the changes occurred in their diets with the demise of the large animals, more of these peoples began to gather nuts and berries and grain. They began to stay longer in one place since they didn’t have to chase the herds of big game. They would begin to become the group known as hunter-gatherers.
Archaic Period:
The Archaic Period occurred from around 8000 B.C. to 500 B.C. Missouri, specifically south of the Missouri River, was dominated by the Dalton Culture at this time. They produced the Dalton type spearpoint, scrapers and grinding stones. These people were hunter-gatherers with a more advanced culture. They did hunt smaller game but meat did not have the dominance it did during the earlier period. Deer, turkey, and raccoon were more the standard for hunting now instead of the great predatory animals of the past. Fishing provided much of the meat substance in their diets. Hunter-gatherers lived in caves and crafted tools for hunting, sewing and cooking.
The Archaic Period occurred from around 8000 B.C. to 500 B.C. Missouri, specifically south of the Missouri River, was dominated by the Dalton Culture at this time. They produced the Dalton type spearpoint, scrapers and grinding stones. These people were hunter-gatherers with a more advanced culture. They did hunt smaller game but meat did not have the dominance it did during the earlier period. Deer, turkey, and raccoon were more the standard for hunting now instead of the great predatory animals of the past. Fishing provided much of the meat substance in their diets. Hunter-gatherers lived in caves and crafted tools for hunting, sewing and cooking.
The local environment was changing during this period. What once had been a forest of pine, spruce, and fir was transitioning into hardwoods such as oak and hickory. More humans entered the region and greater interaction between bands took place. Trading and inter-marriage were quite common during the middle and late Archaic periods. In the Late Archaic period, the development of pottery, cultivation of gardens and growing of domesticated plants happened. The people of this time were closely tied to the rivers and they adapted their tools and living situations to the locations where they lived.
Woodland Period:
The Woodland Period occurred from around 1000 B.C. to 900 A.D. As the cultural period changed from the Archaic to the Woodland period, so did the people. Pottery was more prominent with the use of clay dishes and pots. They stored food and water in these containers. Some began to move away from the major rivers. Trade occurred with tribes as far away as the Gulf of Mexico. People from the area of what is now Ohio and Illinois migrated to Missouri. These tribes were known as the Hopewell people. They could also be found in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The name Hopewell comes from the name of an Ohio family whose farm was where archaeologists first excavated their settlement. In Missouri, these people settled around the Missouri River in an area from Saline County to modern day Kansas City.
The Woodland Period occurred from around 1000 B.C. to 900 A.D. As the cultural period changed from the Archaic to the Woodland period, so did the people. Pottery was more prominent with the use of clay dishes and pots. They stored food and water in these containers. Some began to move away from the major rivers. Trade occurred with tribes as far away as the Gulf of Mexico. People from the area of what is now Ohio and Illinois migrated to Missouri. These tribes were known as the Hopewell people. They could also be found in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The name Hopewell comes from the name of an Ohio family whose farm was where archaeologists first excavated their settlement. In Missouri, these people settled around the Missouri River in an area from Saline County to modern day Kansas City.
At Van Meter State Park in Saline County, remnants of the Missouria Indian village have been preserved. Other artifacts, such as a hand-dug earthwork and several burial mounds can be seen at the park as well. The Hopewell people were mound builders. They buried their dead in many of these mounds that they would shape in half-moons, squares, large circles, and other shapes. One early mound that dates back to the Late Archaic period is located in eastern Monroe County. The “Hatten Mound” is on the South Fork of the Salt River is the oldest documented burial mound in the state.
The Hopewell people stayed in the same locations for long periods of time. They are considered to be Missouri’s first real farmers, raising corn and other crops, such as beans and squash. In some areas, they raised sunflowers, and barley. They traded corn with other tribes in other parts of North America for copper and seashells. Copper from the Great Lakes area, quartz and mica from Appalachia, obsidian from the Rocky Mountains, and seas shells from the Gulf of Mexico have all been found in archaeological sites in Missouri. They made clay pipes, bowls, and pottery figurines depicting humans. The pipes would be carved with animal and bird effigies. They made jewelry and other decorative ornamentations, such as pottery rings, copper headpieces and ear spools of copper and stone. The ear spools would resemble modern ear “gauges” wore by some of the current rock musicians. There was evidence of a class structure and a division of labor with metal workers, artists, traders, hierarchy, and a strong religious system.
The Hopewell period transitioned from the Woodland Period into the Mississippian Period, or from about 500 B.C. to 900 A.D. There were four different groups of Hopewell Native Americans in Missouri: the Havana Hopewell, Kansas City Hopewell, Crab Culture Hopewell, and Cooper Hopewell. Those that lived in eastern Missouri were part of the Havana Hopewell culture, ancestors to the Mississippian culture and the Mound Builders of the era. The Kansas City Hopewell lived around the mouth of the Kansas River where it merges into the Missouri River. Thirty Hopewell sites have been recorded in this area. The Crab Orchard Culture was located in the southeast area, where Cape Girardeau and New Madrid are located. In the far western limits of this culture was the O’byams Fort site, a rather substantial tuning-fork shaped earthwork like those found in Ohio. The Cooper Culture region is in the southwest part of the state and it is limited in archaeological sites.
Weaponry changed during the late Woodland period with the use of bows and arrows instead of spears. The bow and arrow were more successful at hunting game animals. During the years from 400 A.D. and 700 A.D. the Hopewell culture began to decline. No one really knows for certain what happened, but there is some speculation that they were conquered by the Mississippi Indians and taken to live with them. Similarities between the two cultures could give credence to this idea, but with the many various groups of Hopewell we can’t give confirmation to that. With the disappearance of the Hopewell came the transition from the Woodland Period to the Mississippi Period.
Mississippi Period:
A new culture moved up the Mississippi River Valley around 900 A.D. and lasted to the 16th century. This culture is known as the Mississippian culture due to its close association to the river as far north as Wisconsin. But the Mississippian culture did not stay strictly along that waterway, they also travelled into the area of current Nebraska and Oklahoma. The center of the culture was east of present-day St. Louis at Cahokia in what is now Illinois. Cahokia was the largest settlement of the culture and was home to nearly twenty thousand people at its heyday. This time period provides large permanent villages where people focused more on their own cultivation of corn for their diet. It’s the first time in the area’s history that humans became more dependent on their agricultural production than any other source of food. They produced a substantial variety of jars, bowls, bean pots, juice presses, water bottles, and pans for everyday use and ceremonial purposes. Some of these pots had human heads, frogs, birds, fish and even human deformities like hunchbacks. They have left petroglyphs, hieroglyphs and other examples of their lives. Some of these petroglyphs can be found at Washington State Park. Petroglyphs can also be found at Thousand Hills States Park in Kirksville. These symbols are believed to have been created sometime between 1100 A.D. and 1600 A.D.
Adair County was also a site of several smaller mounds, perhaps numbering near three hundred, according to Violette. Many of these mounds were located in the vicinity of the Chariton River on the eastern bank of the river. They tended to be between ten and thirty feet in diameter and were circular in shape. Some contained human bones, evidence of their use for burial. On the Collett family farm, between Novinger and Kirksville, two mounds contained the remains of two Native Americans from a time prior to white settlement in the area.
Human remains are not the only things found in the Adair County mounds. Tools, such as axes, arrowheads, knives, spear points, and more were extracted from these mounds. Pottery shards and pipes were also found. Amazingly, some artifacts were found near the surface or even laying on the ground in some places. While most of the Native Americans inhabiting the area had relocated to lands in Iowa, these remains give evidence to the theory that hunting parties and marauders would make their way into our area for several years afterward.
A new culture moved up the Mississippi River Valley around 900 A.D. and lasted to the 16th century. This culture is known as the Mississippian culture due to its close association to the river as far north as Wisconsin. But the Mississippian culture did not stay strictly along that waterway, they also travelled into the area of current Nebraska and Oklahoma. The center of the culture was east of present-day St. Louis at Cahokia in what is now Illinois. Cahokia was the largest settlement of the culture and was home to nearly twenty thousand people at its heyday. This time period provides large permanent villages where people focused more on their own cultivation of corn for their diet. It’s the first time in the area’s history that humans became more dependent on their agricultural production than any other source of food. They produced a substantial variety of jars, bowls, bean pots, juice presses, water bottles, and pans for everyday use and ceremonial purposes. Some of these pots had human heads, frogs, birds, fish and even human deformities like hunchbacks. They have left petroglyphs, hieroglyphs and other examples of their lives. Some of these petroglyphs can be found at Washington State Park. Petroglyphs can also be found at Thousand Hills States Park in Kirksville. These symbols are believed to have been created sometime between 1100 A.D. and 1600 A.D.
Adair County was also a site of several smaller mounds, perhaps numbering near three hundred, according to Violette. Many of these mounds were located in the vicinity of the Chariton River on the eastern bank of the river. They tended to be between ten and thirty feet in diameter and were circular in shape. Some contained human bones, evidence of their use for burial. On the Collett family farm, between Novinger and Kirksville, two mounds contained the remains of two Native Americans from a time prior to white settlement in the area.
Human remains are not the only things found in the Adair County mounds. Tools, such as axes, arrowheads, knives, spear points, and more were extracted from these mounds. Pottery shards and pipes were also found. Amazingly, some artifacts were found near the surface or even laying on the ground in some places. While most of the Native Americans inhabiting the area had relocated to lands in Iowa, these remains give evidence to the theory that hunting parties and marauders would make their way into our area for several years afterward.
The Mississippians continued the practice of mound building. There once were over 120 mounds on the six square miles containing the settlement of Cahokia. More than 100 mounds were on the west side of the river in the area of St. Louis and many more throughout the state when Auguste Chouteau lay out the plans for the community. Approximately 30 of these Missouri mounds were in the vicinity of what is now considered downtown St. Louis. One of the earliest nicknames for the community was “Mound City” because of their prevalence. By the 20th century, it would be hard to find any of these mounds remaining. One rather large mound, 319 feet long, 158 feet wide and 34 feet high was located at today’s North Broadway and Mound Street. Big Mound, as it was called, provided a great view looking out over the river and was a landmark for steamboat pilots. But as the old saying goes, “you can’t stand in the way of progress.”
In 1833, the city hollowed out one mound at Third and O’Fallon to use as a water reservoir. Some people had already built homes on other mounds. In 1844, a lumber company built a two-story reception hall on Big Mound but their plans failed and the building burned four years later. A three-layer mound, Falling Garden would also be gone by this time. City workers dug away part of Big Mound after 1850 and it would be gone by 1869. The dirt from Big Mound would be used to build the North Missouri Railroad along the river. The workers did find evidence of graves and artifacts but due to foolishness and tom-foolery these things are as absent as Big Mound. There is a large boulder placed near that site now as a historic landmark of this sad affair. Sixteen mounds would be destroyed in preparation of the 1904 World’s Fair. As the city grew and advanced, these echoes of an early culture were just speedbumps along that journey.
There is only one fully documented mound remaining in the city limits today. Named “Sugarloaf Mound” because it resembled a hard loaf of sugar in the past, it is located on Ohio Street, near Interstate 55 in the southern part of the city. Sugarloaf Mound has not been immune to damage. A quarry nearly destroyed it 200 years ago and the building of the Interstate caused more harm in the 1960s.
But perhaps one of the most noticeable scars to Sugarloaf Mound came in 1928. That was when a house was built on one end of the mound. The house was in the hands of the same owner from 1962 to 2009. The owners had retired to California but hoped to see what remained of the mound to be saved. That was where the new owners came in. The Osage Nation bought the property from the previous owners and they have some hopes of removing the 900 square foot dwelling and reconstructing that part of the mound including an education center. The previous owners had always welcomed the curious and the academic to the area, but the Osage Nation have no plans of making the mound an archaeological site.
The mound was not built by Osage, but they do believe some of their ancestors did engage in mound building. “We want to preserve it. We consider it a sacred site,” states Deidre Bigheart, executive director for governmental affairs for the Osage Nation. An archaeology professor at Washington University proposes that the site was originally a burial mound, but the Osage say it was more likely the site of a chief’s home or the location for ceremonies. Hopefully, they will be successful in their preservation of the last known mound on this side of the river in the St. Louis boundaries. Too often historic sites have fallen to the sledgehammer, the wrecking ball, and the greenback dollar. To quote Wendy Ponca, a member of the Osage Nation, “That this is the only remaining mound and others weren’t preserved? Shame on us, the American nation.”
The Cahokians encountered de Soto when he reached the Mississippi River Lowlands in 1541. The Spaniards reported how these people had busy markets, organized governments, and many huge dugout canoes for traveling on the rivers. By the time that Marquette and Joliet came down the same river from Canada about a century later, there were very few Cahokians left. The last known Cahokian settlement was in the Bootheel.
Post-Mississippian Period:
The early days were known as the Protohistoric Period (400 B.C.-200 B.C.) and brought the arrival of the Oneonta culture to Missouri. The later tribes of the Osage, Kansa, Omaha, Ponca, and Quapaw all derived from the Oneonta culture. The Oneonta culture fashioned new pottery designs, stone tools, arrow straighteners and smoothers, bone counters, and other artifacts.
The early days were known as the Protohistoric Period (400 B.C.-200 B.C.) and brought the arrival of the Oneonta culture to Missouri. The later tribes of the Osage, Kansa, Omaha, Ponca, and Quapaw all derived from the Oneonta culture. The Oneonta culture fashioned new pottery designs, stone tools, arrow straighteners and smoothers, bone counters, and other artifacts.
The Quapaws settled in the lower Arkansas River Valley and suffered greatly from European disease after coming into contact with Hernando de Soto’s expedition of 1540 A.D. The Osage settled near the mouth of the Grand River in central Missouri where it met the Missouri. The Kansa tribe would travel as far as the mouth of the Kansas River before they would find their niche. The Omahas made their home at the mouth of the Platte River. Those that were left that had not established their homes would travel to the mouth of the Niobrara River and be known as the Poncas.
In northern Missouri people of the Siouan-speaking tradition would migrate from the north. They had been related to the Winnebago people who lived in the western Great Lakes region and had traveled south along the Mississippi. The Otoe and Missouria were tribes that came from this group. The Otoe would settle in the Nemaha Valley in southeastern Nebraska. The Missouria stopped near the mouth of the Grand River near the Osage. From that point, the Osage would be the predominant culture in Missouri.
Osage Indians:
The Osage were a religious people. Their religion had its basis in Wah-kon-tah, the great mystery spirit or power. In the Osage Bear Clan version of creation, there were four winds gathering flood waters of the earth and draining it into the great rivers that is today the junction of the Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Wabash, Arkansas, and Illinois drainage systems. The place was called Ni-U-Kon-Ska, or the “Middle Waters.” The Osage used this as their name, the People of the Middle Waters.
The Osage were a religious people. Their religion had its basis in Wah-kon-tah, the great mystery spirit or power. In the Osage Bear Clan version of creation, there were four winds gathering flood waters of the earth and draining it into the great rivers that is today the junction of the Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Wabash, Arkansas, and Illinois drainage systems. The place was called Ni-U-Kon-Ska, or the “Middle Waters.” The Osage used this as their name, the People of the Middle Waters.
Osage people were tall and strong. The men shaved their head except for a little “knob” of hair. This was called a “scalplock.” They painted their faces and were hunters and warriors. They used horses that had originally come from the Spaniards in Mexico. They adapted well to being equestrian and became excellent riders. They hunted from horseback, using bows and arrows. Osage children learned early on how to ride.
Osage men went on three hunting trips each year. They would hunt bear and beaver in the Ozarks during springtime. The women were farmers and the men returned home when it was time for the women to plant the crops. Some of the crops raised by the Osage were corn, beans, pumpkins, and squash. Once the crops were in, the men would spend their summers hunting deer, buffalo, and elk. Winter would cause the Osage to find sheltered wooded areas to dwell and find deer, small game, and firewood. Hunting was a corporate affair. Men would while and the women would prepare the kills. Even the children would engage in various chores related to the hunt. Women removed the skins and cleaned and tanned them. The meat would be cut up and put on racks high above the ground to dry and be safe from animals getting it. The skins would later be fashioned into clothing by the women.
Osage women had several tasks that many of ancestors might have considered male oriented. They were the builders of their homes. Osage lodges ran about one hundred feet long; suffice the term “long houses.” The structures were covered with animal skins, bark, and grass mats. They were dark and smoky inside. Ten to fifteen people lived in each of the long houses. For housing during the hunts, the hunters would use temporary wigwams, small mat and animal skin covered “teepee” structures that could easily be taken down and moved during the hunt. Because of the smallness of the wigwams they were easier to keep warm in the winter. The Osage would live in wigwams during this season.
A dozen Osage men and two boys arrived in Washington D.C. in July 1804. They were the first Indian delegation to visit President Thomas Jefferson in the nation’s capital. Pierre Cadet Chouteau, grandson to Pierre Laclede and prominent St. Louis businessman, brought the men to Washington perhaps to build relations between the two nations. Chouteau was the first agent to the Osage for the United States. Much of his family business was related to fur trading with the Osage. In a letter to his Secretary of the Navy, Jefferson stated of the Osage that “They are the finest men we have ever seen.” In addressing the Osage, Jefferson said “We are all now of one family, born in the same land and bound to live as brothers.” Jefferson focused on the economic connections of their relationship, “You have furs and peltries which we want, and we have clothes and other useful things which you want. Let us employ ourselves then in mutually accommodating each other.” Chouteau would bring two other groups of Native Americans east to visit the President. Sometimes the native leaders would see the speeches simply as words, but these efforts would influence the interaction between the two peoples. It would also lead to struggles that would occur between both.
The Osage had originally come to Missouri from the area that is now Ohio. They were pushed westward by the advancing settlement of whites. They were not alone in being forced from their eastern homes westward. Native Americans, such as the Delaware, the Shawnee, Kickapoo, and Peoria were also pushed into living in Missouri. Most of the Native American people in Missouri were either part of the Siouan family or the Algonquin. They may have had common religious, cultural, or physical features that allowed them to be categorized in such a way. The Algonquin family included the Sauk, Fox, and the Illinois tribes in Missouri. The Siouan family were the Sioux, Oto, Ioway, Quapaw, and the Kansa. The Osage and their close relatives, the Missouria (or Missouri) were also Siouan.
The Missouria were descendants of the Winnebago tribe. We have little information about them due to the fact that they did not have a written language. The Missouria soon disappeared when the first Europeans showed on the scene. One of the possible answers to their disappearance is that they were defeated by the Sauk and Fox Indians and went to live with the Oto.
The name that we use to describe the Missouria peoples came from the Fox group. The Fox saw those that lived along the river as the “Big Canoe People.” The Fox word for this is “Missouri” and the river itself would receive that name. Eventually, this would be used as the name for the territory first and later the state. The French in the region were the first to use the name Missouri on a map. Ironically, the Fox were enemies of the Missouria people. They would nearly destroy the entire culture of the Missouria tribe.
We know that the Missouria lived in wigwams covered with reed mats. Dogs were a part of their culture, used to alert of enemies and to pull small sleds. Dogs were also used for food when meat was scarce. The Missouria lived on the Missouri River in Saline County. Van Meter State Park is located in the vicinity of where they lived.
Most of the tribes in Missouri got along well with the French settlers. The French were not as interested in possessing land as they were in trade. Attitudes changed when the American settlers came to the area. They had settling and possessing land as their goal. Because of the actions of the American settlers, the Eco structure of the Native Americans changed. The wild animals were decreased. Forests were cut down to make room for the farms of the settlers. Finding food became difficult for the Native Americans. The Native Americans were angry at how the whites dominated the land. Hostilities occurred between the two groups.
Although there are few Native Americans remaining in Missouri, they had a great influence on life today. They were the source of many of the foods we find common today. Corn, potatoes, squash, pumpkin, beans, and tomatoes were all crops first raised by Native Americans. So were hominy, succotash, and corn bread. Canoes, hammocks, and smoking pipes all came from Native Americans. Some of our clothing styles were influenced by the Native American cultures. Words in the English language also came from the Native Americans. Some of the names given to towns and counties in the state derived from Native American words. Kansas City, Neosho, Osceola, Mississippi, Osage, Meramec, and Missouri are all names that originated with Native Americans.
Below are Student-created Power-Point Presentations for various Native American groups who have existed in Missouri at various points. These are the products of students and not intended to be immune of errors.
Sources used:
Mostateparks.com/park/van-meter-state-park
Mostateparks.com/park/mastodon-state-historic-site
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/271480/Hopewell-culture
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/last-native-american-mound-in-st-louis-is-visited-by/article_c1e2c579-9709-52da-af69-ed82b0906571.html
http://www.romeofthewest.com/2008/11/sugarloaf-mound.html
http://www.distilledhistory.com/category/st-louis-history/indian-mounds/
http://www.distilledhistory.com/category/st-louis-history/indian-mounds/
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/look-back/a-look-back-big-mound-in-st-louis-legacy-of/article_3b006339-444d-575f-91c5-8b4f96fa08cd.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/look-back/a-look-back-big-mound-in-st-louis-legacy-of/article_3b006339-444d-575f-91c5-8b4f96fa08cd.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopewell_tradition#Crab_Orchard_culture
http://www.factualworld.com/article/Hopewell_tradition
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/il-cahokia.html
http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/shriver.html
http://cahokiamounds.org/learn/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahokia
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMHE85_Thousand_Hills_State_Park_Petroglyphs_Archeological_Site_Kirksville_Missouri
http://www.examiner.com/article/saint-louis-mounds-the-ancient-architecture-of-missouri
http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2008/todays-news/last-indian-mound-in-st.html
http://www.snipview.com/q/Havana%20Hopewell%20culture
http://www.snipview.com/q/Hopewellian_peoples
http://www.snipview.com/q/Kansas_City_Hopewell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_Hopewell_culture
http://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Hopewell_Culture?rec=1283
http://associations.missouristate.edu/mas/archaeologyinmo.html
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/17/946075/-Ancient-America-Hopewell#
O’Brien, Michael John (1998). “The Prehistory of Missouri.” Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press.
Murphree, Daniel S. ed. (2012) “Native America: A State-by-State Historical Encyclopedia. Volume One.” Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Violette, E. M. (1911). (reprint 1977). "History of Adair County." originally published by The Denslow History Company. Kirksville, MO: Journal Printing Company.
Mostateparks.com/park/van-meter-state-park
Mostateparks.com/park/mastodon-state-historic-site
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/271480/Hopewell-culture
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/last-native-american-mound-in-st-louis-is-visited-by/article_c1e2c579-9709-52da-af69-ed82b0906571.html
http://www.romeofthewest.com/2008/11/sugarloaf-mound.html
http://www.distilledhistory.com/category/st-louis-history/indian-mounds/
http://www.distilledhistory.com/category/st-louis-history/indian-mounds/
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/look-back/a-look-back-big-mound-in-st-louis-legacy-of/article_3b006339-444d-575f-91c5-8b4f96fa08cd.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/look-back/a-look-back-big-mound-in-st-louis-legacy-of/article_3b006339-444d-575f-91c5-8b4f96fa08cd.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopewell_tradition#Crab_Orchard_culture
http://www.factualworld.com/article/Hopewell_tradition
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/il-cahokia.html
http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/shriver.html
http://cahokiamounds.org/learn/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahokia
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMHE85_Thousand_Hills_State_Park_Petroglyphs_Archeological_Site_Kirksville_Missouri
http://www.examiner.com/article/saint-louis-mounds-the-ancient-architecture-of-missouri
http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2008/todays-news/last-indian-mound-in-st.html
http://www.snipview.com/q/Havana%20Hopewell%20culture
http://www.snipview.com/q/Hopewellian_peoples
http://www.snipview.com/q/Kansas_City_Hopewell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_Hopewell_culture
http://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Hopewell_Culture?rec=1283
http://associations.missouristate.edu/mas/archaeologyinmo.html
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/17/946075/-Ancient-America-Hopewell#
O’Brien, Michael John (1998). “The Prehistory of Missouri.” Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press.
Murphree, Daniel S. ed. (2012) “Native America: A State-by-State Historical Encyclopedia. Volume One.” Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Violette, E. M. (1911). (reprint 1977). "History of Adair County." originally published by The Denslow History Company. Kirksville, MO: Journal Printing Company.