Early indigenous peoples in what is today known as Arkansas were responsible for the building of monumental mounds that abound across the state. Around the time of European arrival the Caddo, the Quapaw, and the Osage inhabited the region. 

• The Caddo were mentioned as early as the 1500s in Hernando de Soto’s chronicles of Spanish incursions into the region. Groups of mounds served as ceremonial centers where the chenesi, a spiritual leader, lived and communicated with the Ayo-Caddi-Amay, “The Great Leader Above.” In 1835 Caddo leaders were coerced into signing a treaty that ceded all land in the newly organized Arkansas Territory.  Though the governmental home of the Caddo today is in Oklahoma, many Caddo continue to return to Arkansas to keep the memory of their culture and heritage alive. Caddo Nation listing in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Caddo Nation Website.

• The Quapaw, O-ga-xpa Ma-zhoⁿ, were led to the Arkansas region by Chief Pa he kah around 1650 and it was along the Arkansas River that French explorers visited five villages in 1673. Two divisions of the tribe – Earth and Sky – lived among each other in these villages. All members of the tribe “shared responsibility for the calumet, the sacred pipe that connected the people to Wakondah, the powerful, sacred force that blessed all things with life.”  The tribe’s population was decreased dramatically following a 1698 smallpox outbreak. In 1824 Quapaw leaders were pressured to sign a treaty cede the land they had been promised in an 1811 treaty along the Arkansas River. They were moved to an area in Caddo territory but a quarter of the tribe returned to Arkansas in 1826 under the leadership of Sarasin and by 1830 all of the Quapaw returned to Arkansas. The Quapaw later signed the Treaty of 1833 and were designated lands in the northeastern corner of Indian Territory, but many Quapaw refused to relocate. Quapaw listing in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Quapaw Nation Website.

• Osage, 𐓏𐒰𐓓𐒰𐓓𐒷 𐒼𐓂𐓊𐒻 𐓆𐒻𐒿𐒷 𐓀𐒰^𐓓𐒰^, territory stretched from what is today southeastern Colorado to the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania and from northern Missouri down to central Louisiana. Northwestern Arkansas was part of the Osage’s traditional hunting grounds and their political power greatly influenced the area. Like the Quapaw, the belief in Wakondah guided Osage spiritual practices and their social structure was also informed by the creation story that divided the universe between Earth and Sky. The Osage grew crops in their main villages and seasonally moved throughout their territories to hunt before returning to the main village to harvest and store crops, process the spoils of traditional buffalo hunts, and craft traditional tools, materials, clothing, and furnishings. Treaties in 1808, 1818, 1811, and 1825 pushed the Osage further and further away from their traditional lands into regions of Eastern Oklahoma where they clashed with Cherokees who were increasingly settling along the Arkansas River. Osage listing in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Osage Nation Website.Northwest Arkansas is on the forcible removal trail commonly known as the ‘Trail of Tears.’ Starvation, cold exposure, and disease killed over four thousand people during the forced relocation. In addition to the Caddo, Quapaw, and Osage tribes, many indigenous people were brought through and/or forcibly resettled in this region including those belong to the nations of Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), Chickasaw, Seminole, as well as Woodland peoples without any tribal affiliation.

• The information included here has been sourced from the websites listed below and Monica Kumar, Inclusion Strategist.