Arkansas's First People Resources

American Indian Nations

Historic Arkansas Indians
The Caddo Nation, Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma and the Osage Nation lived in Arkansas prior to their forced removal by the United States government.

Caddo Nation – www.caddonation-nsn.gov
Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma – www.quapawtribe.com
Osage Nation – www.osagetribe.com

Prior to the Trail of Tears
The first official migration westward by the Cherokee and the subsequent negotiations resulted in the assignment of a territory in Arkansas to the Western Cherokee in the form of a Treaty with the United States in 1817.

SOURCE: United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians Official Web site
www.keetoowahcherokee.org

United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians – www.keetoowahcherokee.org

Trail of Tears
During the decade after passage of the federal Indian Removal Act in 1830, an estimated 60,000 Indians, African slaves, white spouses, and Christian missionaries traveled through Arkansas. The estimate includes 21,000 Creek (whose descendents prefer to be called Muscogee), 16,000 Cherokee, 12,500 Choctaw, 6,000 Chickasaw, 4,200 Florida Indians now collectively identified as Seminole, and an unknown number of emigrants from various smaller tribes.

SOURCE: The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture “Trail of Tears”
http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2294

Chickasaw Nation – www.chickasaw.net
Cherokee Nation – www.cherokee.org
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma – www.choctawnation.org
Muscogee (Creek) Nation – www.muscogeenation-nsn.gov
Seminole Nation of Oklahoma – www.seminolenation.com

Arkansas Agencies and Organizations

Arkansas state and national agencies and non-profit organizations have committed themselves to restoring and maintaining the heritage of Arkansas’s First People.

American Indian Center for Arkansas – http://www.arindianctr.org/
Arkansas Archeological Survey – www.uark.edu/campus-resources/archinfo
Arkansas Department of Heritage – www.arkansasheritage.com
Arkansas State Parks – www.arkansasstateparks.com
Arkansas Tech University Museum – www.atu.edu/museum
Historic Arkansas Museum – www.arkansashistory.com
Sequoyah Research Center – http://anpa.ualr.edu

National Agencies

These national agencies are curators of many of our national treasures that portray the history of Native Peoples.

National Archives & Records Administration – http://archives.gov
National Museum of the American Indian – www.nmai.si.edu
National Park Service – www.nps.gov