The Indigenous peoples of Central Illinois

Central Illinois, very loosely, was home to the following indigenous peoples. To discover the indigenous people who lived in your area visit Native-land.ca 

1. Peoria -peewaareewa (modern pronunciation peewaalia) 

• Part of the loose Illinois Confederation of tribes
• Spoke a dialect of the Miami-Illinois language, a Central Algonquian language 

2.  Ochethi Sakowin 

• The Oceti Sakowin Oyate (People of Seven Council Fires, known to some as the Sioux Nation) are linguistically related peoples who speak three different dialects - Dakota , Nakota , and Lakota - of the same language. 

3.  Myaamia  (mee ah mia) 

• The Miami (Miami-Illinois: Myaamiaki) originally one of speakers of the Algonquian languages.  
• Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes 
• They occupied territory that is now identified as North-central Indiana, southwest Michigan, and western Ohio. 

4.  Kiikaapoi 

•  Algonquian-speaking Native American and Indigenous Mexican tribe 
• Originating in the region south of the Great Lakes 
• Today, three federally recognized Kickapoo tribes are in the United States: the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, and the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas. 

5.  Kaskaskia  

• The Kaskaskia are a tribe that is no longer extant.  
• They were once a part of the Illinois, a group of approximately twelve Algonquian-speaking tribes who shared the same culture. 
• The Kaskaskia lived mainly in Illinois and eastern Missouri when Europeans began to settle in North America.  
• They were closely related to the Miami natives, and were one of many groups making up the Illiniwek or Illinois Confederation 

6.  Bodwewadmi (Potawatomi) 

• Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains.  
• They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquin family.  
• The Potawatomi call themselves Neshnabé, a cognate of the word Anishinaabe. 

The Illinois Confederation, also referred to as the Illiniwek or Illini 

• Made up of 12 to 13 tribes who lived in the Mississippi River Valley  
• Eventually member tribes occupied an area reaching from Lake Michicigao (Michigan) to Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas 
• The five main tribes were the Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Michigamea, Peoria, and Tamaroa.  
• The name of the confederation was derived from the transliteration by French explorers of iliniwe to Illinois, more in keeping with the sounds of their own language. 
• The tribes are estimated to have had tens of thousands of members, before the advancement of European contact in the 17th century that inhibited their growth and resulted in a marked decline in population.  

Peoria Confederation 

• In 1849, remnant members of the Kaskaskia, Peoria, Piankeshaw, and Wea tribes formed a confederacy under the Peoria name.  
• The confederation included the last members and descendants of the Cahokia, Moingwena, Michigamea and Tamaroa tribes, who had assimilated with the Peoria many year before.