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PRESERVING THE PAST FOR THE FUTURE
Historic Indians in Arkansas
Recorded history in Arkansas begins with De Soto. De Soto, his men, horses, and pigs, crossed the Mississippi River into what is now Arkansas in the spring of 1541. The accounts of his journey provide some tantalizing descriptions of the Indians that De Soto saw. But since we are still not sure exactly where De Soto was, and since the names for the Indian groups in his accounts differ from those recorded later by the French, it is hard to say what tribes'De Soto actually visited. It was 132 years before other Europeans reached Arkansas.
In 1673, Marquette and Joliet came down the Mississippi River and they describe four Quapaw villages located near the mouth of the Arkansas River.
Were these Indians the descendents of the ones De Soto saw? It is possible, but we don't really know—although archeological research may help answer this question.
Once Arkansas Post was established in 1686, there are more frequent accounts of Indians, so that we can say that at the time of first permanent contact between Europeans and Indians in Arkansas, there were three different Indian grotops here—the Quapaw, the Caddo, and the Osage.
The Quapaw lived along the Arkansas River, east of where Little Rock is now. They had a major village near Arkansas Post (indeed, that may have been one reason the Post was located there). The Quapaw were farmers and hunters, but as far as we know now, they did not build mounds.	*
The Osage actually had their principal villages in southwest Missouri, and only used northern Arkansas for hunting territory. At least that is what the European records indicate, for the Commandant at Arkansas Post was constantly complaining that bands of Osage were roaming south as far' as the Arkansas River and disturbing the villages of the Caddo and the Quapaw.
The Caddo lived not only in southwestern Arkansas, but also in parts of the three adjoining states as well. They also were farmers, generally living in small scattered hamlets or farmsteads along the major streams, and gathering together periodically in centers where ceremonies were held. We can recognize these ceremonial centers now because of the mounds they built on which to place their religious temples.
Once Indians began to be pushed from the east coast, other groups not native to Arkansas lived here for short periods of time. The Cherokee were given a reservation in northcentral Arkansas for 10 years (1817-1828), and a few Delaware, Shawnee, and Choctaw also moved through Arkansas. But by the 1840's all major Indian tribes had been moved out of Arkansas to Indian Territory.
ARKANSAS ARCHEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Coordinating Office
P.O. Box 1249
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72702-1249