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Native American Tribes of Mississippi


Did you know the name "Mississippi" is an Algonkian Indian word? It comes from words meaning "big river" in Ojibway and other northern Algonquian languages. The Mississippi River begins in northern Minnesota, where the Ojibway people live, and that is where the name of the river came from. There were never any Ojibway people in the state of Mississippi.


The original inhabitants of the area that is now Mississippi included:

  
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 *The Biloxi tribe
*The Chickasaw tribe
*The Choctaw tribe
*The Houma tribe
*The Natchez tribe
*The Quapaw tribe
*The Tunica tribe

See also our new Chickasaw, Choctaw, Houma, Natchez, Quapaw, and Tunica Facts for Kids pages!

Most Native Americans were forced to leave Mississippi during the Indian Removals of the 1800's. These tribes are not extinct, but except for the descendants of Mississippi Indians who escaped from Removal, they do not live in Mississippi anymore. They were moved to Indian reservations in Oklahoma and Texas instead. If you click on the link for each tribe, you can find more information about them.

There is one federally recognized Indian tribe in Mississippi today:

*Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians:
101 Industrial Road
Choctaw, MS 39350
http://www.choctaw.org/

Other Indian tribes, bands and communities remaining in Mississippi today include:

*Grand Village Natchez Indian Tribe:
400 Jefferson Davis Boulevard
Natchez, MS 39120

Other resources about American Indian history, culture and society in Mississippi state:

*Chickasaws: The Unconquerable People: Article on the Chickasaw tribe of Mississippi.
*Choctaw Indians in the 21st Century : Article on the Choctaw tribe of Mississippi.
*The Natchez Indians: Article on the Natchez tribe of Mississippi.

Recommended books about Mississippi Native Americans:

*Mississippi Indians: Introducing Mississippi's Native American history and culture to kids.
*Native Land: Mississippi 1540-1798: An absorbing history book on the American Indian tribes of Mississippi.
*History of the Choctaw, Chickasaw and Natchez Indians: Interesting 1800's attempt to tell the history of
Mississippi's Indian tribes from their own perspective.
*Splendid Land, Splendid People: Detailed ethnography of the Chickasaw tribe.
*Choctaw Tales: A good collection of Choctaw legends.



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