Description
The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in the Great Lakes region. Their first contact with Europeans reportedly occurred near present-day Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1667 at a Jesuit mission station. The Kaskaskia moved from Kansas to Indian Territory (present Oklahoma) as members of the Confederated Peoria in 1867. Today their descendants are counted among the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. Beginning in 1795 the Kaskaskia were involved in fifteen treaties with the United States.
Language
The Myaamia (Miami) language was spoken by the Illinois and Kaskaskia peoples in Illinois, the Miami, Wea, and Piankashaw peoples in Indiana, and the Peoria people in Eastern Oklahoma.
Culture
They subsisted on agriculture, hunting, fishing, and gathering. Birds, especially to warriors, were representations of supernatural power. The Kaskaskia practiced polygyny and maintained patrilineal clans. Men married after proving their hunting ability and paying a bride price. Both sexes buried their dead, painting the body's face and hair red. After burial, survivors engaged in the deceased's favorite activities to ensure his or her spirit's entry into the afterworld.