Illinois Confederation

Illinois Confederation

Illiniwek
Engraving from drawing by General Georges-Henri-Victor Collot (1796)
Successor	Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
Formation	5
Type	Tribal alliance
Location	United States
Origins	Mississippi River Valley
Membership	Kaskaskia Cahokia Peoria Tamaroa Moingwena Michigamea Chepoussa Chinkoa Coiracoentanon Espeminkia Maroa Tapouara
Official language	Miami–Illinois language
Main organ	Great Chief and lower peace chiefs and war chiefs

The Illinois Confederation, also referred to as the Illiniwek or Illini, were 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.^[1] The spelling Illinois was derived from the transliteration by French explorers of iliniwe to the orthography of their own language.^[2][3] 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.^[3]

The Illinois, like many Native American groups, sustained themselves through agriculture, hunting, and fishing.^[4] A partially nomadic group, the Illinois often lived in longhouses and wigwams, according to the season and resources that were available to them in the surrounding land. While the men usually hunted, traded, or participated in war, the women cultivated and processed their crops, created tools and clothing from game, and preserved food in various ways for storage and travel.^[5] Not officially a Confederation, the villages were led by one Great Chief. The villages had several chiefs who led each individual clan.^[6] The Illinois people eventually declined because of losses to infectious disease and war, mostly brought through the arrival of French colonists.^[7][4]

Eventually, they reorganized under the name of the Confederated Peoria. They are now known as the federally recognized "Peoria Tribe of Indians" and reside in present-day Oklahoma.^[8]