The Nechaui were a Native American tribe from eastern Texas.[1] Their name is thought to be derived from Nachawi, the Caddo language word for Osage orange.[2]

History

The Nechaui were part of the Hasinai branch of the Caddo Confederacy. During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, their principal village was located on the Neches River, in present-day Cherokee County, Texas.[2]

In the late 17th century, Spanish explorer, Francisco Casañas de Jesús María encountered the tribe and wrote, "Toward the north, where the above-mentioned Necha tribe ends, is that called the Nacachau."[3] The Nechaui settled near the Nacono and Neche tribes.[4] In 1716, another Spanish explorer, Domingo Ramón wrote that Franciscan friars established a mission to convert the Nechaui and neighboring Hasinai tribes.[3]

Ultimately, they assimilated into other Hasinai tribes in the 18th century,[2] and are enrolled in the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma today.

Synonymy

The tribe is also known as the Nechavi.[5]

Notes

  1. ↑ Sturtevant, 617
  2. 1 2 3 Nechaui Indians. Handbook of Texas Online. (retrieved 9 Sept 2009)
  3. 1 2 The Nacachau, Nechaui and Nacono Tribes. Access Genealogy. (retrieved 9 Sept 2009)
  4. ↑ Bolton, 34
  5. ↑ Sturtevant, 629

References

  • Bolton, Herbet E. The Hasinais: Southern Caddoans As Seen by the Earliest Europeans. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0-8061-3441-3.
  • Sturtevant, William C., general editor and Raymond D. Fogelson, volume editor. Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast. Volume 14. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004. ISBN 0-16-072300-0.



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