Description
The Neche were a Native American tribe from eastern Texas. The Neche were part of the Hasinai branch of the Caddo Confederacy. During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, they settled along the Neches River, in present-day Houston and Cherokee Counties. Their lands were directly northwest of the Nacono tribe. In 1779 Spanish explorer Athanase de Mezieres Mezieres recorded seeing several mounds in Neches territory. In 1855 the Neches were forced with other Hasinai onto the Brazos Indian Reservation, located in Young County, Texas. In 1859 they were all removed to Indian Territory. They are enrolled in the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma today.
Language
Caddoan-speaking tribe of the Hasinai confederation
Culture
The land along the Neches still furnished food in the form of deer, bears, opossums, raccoons, and squirrels. The Neche followed their traditional religion and maintained a major fire temple and a lesser temple in their territory. At first these groups were on the move, hunting wild game and gathering food. Then around A.D. 800, people started planting corn near the Mississippi River and settled there permanently. Their peaceful culture thrived for hundreds of years in this plentiful area.