Description
The Peoria are a Native American people. They are enrolled in the federally recognized Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma headquartered in Miami, Oklahoma. The Peoria people are descendants of the Illinois Confederation. The Peoria Tribe were located east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River. In the colonial period, they traded with French colonists in that territory. The Peoria are related to, and partially descended from, the Cahokia people, not to be confused with Cahokia Mounds. The Peoria were one of the many Illinois tribes encountered by early French explorers, Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet. French Jesuit missionaries converted tribal members to Roman Catholicism.
Language
Peoria spoke a dialect of the Miami-Illinois language
Culture
Peorias accepted other cultures and people into the tribe. They adopted white children as well as those from their own tribe, intermarried with Anglo-Americans and other Indian peoples, and welcomed ex-slaves. The Peoria practiced a nature-centered religion. Their history includes being descendants of the great mound civilization, used for burial rituals, created nearly 3,000 years ago.