Cahokia people

The Cahokia were an Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe and member of the Illinois Confederation. As a member of the Illinois Confederation, the Cahokia were likely similar to other Illinois groups in culture, economy, and technology. At the time of European contact with the Illini, they were located in what would become the states of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Arkansas. When Europeans first encountered the Cahokia Mounds in southern Illinois they named the site after the Cahokia Tribe which was present in the vicinity. French missionaries built several missions as part of proselytizing efforts of the Cahokia: the Tamaroa/Cahokia mission in 1699 CE and the River L’Abbe mission in 1735 CE.[1][2] These multiple missions imply the Cahokia was a large enough tribe for the French Seminary of Foreign Missions to justify their construction and operation. The size of the Cahokia decreased in the 18th century likely due to a number of factors, including warfare, disease, and cultural changes, such as Christianization.[3]

The Cahokia, along with the Michigamea, were eventually absorbed by the Kaskaskia and finally the Peoria people. The Tamaroa were closely related to the Cahokia. After the U.S. government implemented its policy of Indian removal, they were forcefully relocated to Kansas Territory, and finally to present-day Oklahoma. Five Cahokia chiefs and headmen joined those of other Illinois tribes at the 1818 Treaty of Edwardsville (Illinois) in ceding to the United States half of the present state of Illinois.[4] Although the Cahokia tribe is no longer a distinct polity, its cultural traditions continue through the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma.[4][5]