Eyeish

Historical Native American tribe in Texas

The Eyeish were a Native American tribe from present-day eastern Texas.[1]

## History[edit]

The Eyeish were part of the Caddo Confederacy,[2] although their relationship to other Caddo tribes was ambiguous, and they were often hostile to the Hasinai.[3] They historically lived on the Eyeish Creek, located between the Neches and Sabine Rivers.[4]

Spanish explorers encountered the tribe in 1542 and reported large herds of buffalo in the area. The tribe was not on the best terms with tribes located west of the Trinity River or those to the north near the Red River.[4]

Francisco monks who traveled on Domingo Ramón's 1716–17 expedition through Texas founded Mission Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de los Ais;[5] however, the Eyeish were not generally accepting of Spanish missionary efforts. After 50 years, the mission only recorded eleven baptisms, seven burials, and three marriages.[4]

In the 18th century, the tribe contracted European diseases such as smallpox and measles from the French and Spanish explorers in the region. The populations decreased but rebounded, from a low of 20 tribal members recorded by John Sibley in 1805, to 160 families recorded in 1828. By then, they lived between the Brazos and Colorado Rivers.[4]

Ultimately, they joined the Wichita[4] and Caddo tribes in Indian Territory.

## Synonymy[edit]

The tribe is also known as the A'-ish, Aiaichi, Aliche, Aliches, Aiche, Ayays, Hais,[2] Ays, or Ahijitos.[4] The group known as Hauydix may also have been the Eyeish.

They are not, however, considered to be the same tribe as the Aijados encountered by the Mendoza Expedition of 1683–84,[6] nor are they the same as the Ais tribe from Florida.

## Language[edit]

Eyeish

Region| Texas
Extinct| 19th century

Language family

unclassified (Adai?)

Language codes
ISO 639-3| None (`mis`)

Linguist List

| `07l`
Glottolog| None

Although the Eyeish people were clearly connected to the Caddo people politically, it is not clear what language they spoke nor how that language relates genealogically to other known languages. Explorer John Sibley wrote that the Eyeish language was one of three unique languages spoken by the Eyeish, the Adai and the Yatasi and Natchitoches people and that Eyeish was spoken by no other group: ‘[it] differs from all other, and is so difficult to speak or understand, that no nation can speak ten words of it.’ He collected a wordlist in 1807 for Thomas Jefferson, but this was lost when a thief stole Jefferson's linguistic papers as they were being moved from Washington DC to Monticello in Jefferson's second term. Sibley also reported that the Eyeish and Adai were bilingual in Caddo, which was used as a contact language. However, according to informant Caddo Jake's[who?] report to John R. Swanton, Eyeish was mutually intelligible with the Adai language. There is not sufficient evidence to conclusively relate Adai to Caddoan languages, the only documentation being a list of 275 words compiled by Sibley. Allan Taylor and Alexander Lesser and Gene Weltfish have speculated that Adai belonged to the Caddoan language family and was possibly a dialect of Caddo.[7]

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ Sturtevant, 617
2. ^ a b Sturtevant, 616
3. ^ Bolton, 32
4. ^ a b c d e f Eyeish Indian History. Access Genealogy. (retrieved 6 Sept 2009)
5. ^ Heard, Joseph Norman (1987). Handbook of the American Frontier: Four Centuries of Indian-White Relationships Volume I: S. Scarecrow Press. p. 150\. ISBN 0-8108-1931-7.
6. ^ Bolton, 55
7. ^ Sturtevant, 616–7

## References[edit]

* Bolton, Herbet E. The Hasinais: Southern Caddoans As Seen by the Earliest Europeans. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0-8061-3441-3.
* Sturtevant, William C., general editor and Raymond D. Fogelson, volume editor. Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast. Volume 14. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004. ISBN 0-16-072300-0.

## External links[edit]

* Eyeish Indian History, from Access Genealogy

* v
* t
* e

Caddo Confederacy

Hasinai|

* Hainai
* Nabedache
* Nabiti
* Nacogdoche
* Nacono
* Nadaco
* Nasoni (Lower)
* Nechaui
* Neche

Kadohadacho|

* Kadohadacho
* Nanatsoho
* Nasoni (Upper)
* Natchitoches (Upper)

Natchitoches|

* Doustioni
* Natchitoches (Lower)

Other groups|

* Adai
* Cahinnio
* Eyeish
* Ouachita
* Tula
* Yatasi

* Related topics
* Caddo language
* Caddoan Mississippian culture
* Caddoan village bundle
* Dush-toh
* Spiro Mounds
* Turkey dance

* v
* t
* e

Native American tribes in Texas

Federally recognized
tribes

* Alabama–Coushatta
* Kickapoo Traditional Tribe
* Ysleta del Sur Pueblo

Indigenous languages

* Araname†
* Atacapan†
* Borrado†
* Caddo
* Coahuiltecan†
* Cotoname†
* Garzan†
* Pakawan†
* Solano†
* Tamaulipecan
* Tanpachoan†
* Tiwa
* Tonkawan†
* Wichita†

Historical Indigenous
peoples of Texas
(Several are in
Oklahoma today)|

* Adai≠
* Anxau≠
* Apache (Lipan Apache°, Querecho >< )
* Aranama≠
* Atakapa≠ (Akokna, Akokisa, Bidai, Deadose)
* Caddo* (Eyeish, Hasinai, Hainai, Kadohadacho, Nabedache, Nabiti, Nacogdoche, Nacono, Nadaco, Nanatsoho, Lower Nasoni, Neche, Nechaui)
* Cherokee, Texas°*
* Coahuiltecan≠ (Ervipiame, Pajalat, Payaya, Sijame, Xarames)
* Comanche*
* Decose≠
* Emet≠
* Jumanos≠
* Karankawa≠ (Copano≠)
* Kohani≠
* Mayeye≠
* Pachal≠
* Pacoa≠
* Paguame≠
* Pampopa≠
* Papanac≠
* Pastia≠
* Pasxa≠
* Patiri≠
* Pulacuam≠
* Sana≠
* Saracuam≠
* Semonam≠
* Tamique≠
* Teyas°
* Tilijae
* Tomoacas
* Tonkawa*
* Wichita and Affiliated Tribes* (Kichai, Taovaya, Tawakoni, Waco, Wichita proper)
* Yojuane≠

Related topics|

* Sam Houston and Native American relations

† extinct language / ≠ extinct tribe /  >< early, obsolete name of Indigenous tribe / ° people absorbed into other tribe(s) / * headquartered in Oklahoma today

* v
* t
* e

Mississippian and related cultures

* List of Mississippian sites
* Timeline of Mississippi valley

Middle
Mississippian|

| American Bottom
and Upper Mississippi|

* Aztalan
* Big Eddy
* Cahokia
* Monks Mound
* Mound 34
* Mound 72
* Ramey state
* Woodhenge
* Cloverdale
* Dickson Mounds
* Emerald Acropolis
* Emmons Cemetery
* Horseshoe Lake
* John Chapman
* Kuhn Station
* Larson
* Lunsford-Pulcher
* McCune
* Mitchell
* Orendorf
* Sleeth
* Starr
* Steed-Kisker culture
* Sugarloaf Mound

|

Lower Ohio River and
Confluence area|

* Adams site
* Dogtooth Bend Mounds
* Kincaid Mounds
* Marshall Site
* Millstone Bluff
* Orr-Herl
* Rowlandton Mound
* Towosahgy
* Turk Site
* Twin Mounds
* Ware Mounds
* Wickliffe Mounds

Middle Ohio River|

* Angel Mounds
* Angel phase
* Annis Mound
* Bone Bank
* Caborn-Welborn culture
* Ellerbusch
* Hovey Lake-Klein
* Hovey Lake District
* Murphy
* Prather
* Slack Farm
* Tolu
* Welborn Village
* Yankeetown

Tennessee and
Cumberland|

* Backusburg
* Beasley Mounds
* Brentwood Library
* Brick Church
* Castalian Springs
* Dunbar Cave
* Fewkes Group
* Hiwassee Island
* Link Farm
* Mound Bottom
* Riverview
* Sellars
* Obion
* Old Town
* Swallow Bluff

Central and Lower
Mississippi|

* Belle Meade
* Boone's
* Boyd
* Campbell
* Carson
* Chucalissa
* Denmark
* Eaker
* Janet's
* Menard-Hodges
* Murphy
* Nodena
* Nodena phase
* Owl Creek
* Parkin
* Quigualtam
* Tipton phase
* Tunica
* Koroa
* Yazoo
* Walls phase

South Appalachian
Mississippian|

* Adamson
* Avery
* Beaverdam Creek
* Bell Field Mound
* Bessemer
* Blair
* Bussell Island
* Chauga
* Chiaha
* Chota
* Citico
* Coosa
* Dallas phase
* Dyar
* Etowah
* Garden Creek
* Hoojah Branch
* Irene
* Jere Shine
* Joara
* Joe Bell
* King
* Lamar
* Lamar phase
* Liddell
* Little Egypt
* Long Swamp
* Mabila
* Mandeville
* McMahan
* Moccasin Bend
* Moundville
* Mouse Creek phase
* Mulberry
* Muscogee (Creek)
* Nacoochee
* Nikwasi
* Ocmulgee
* Park Mound
* Pisgah phase
* Punk Rock Shelter
* Rembert
* Roods Landing
* Rucker's Bottom
* Savannah
* Shiloh
* Sixtoe
* Summerour
* Taskigi
* Tomotley
* Toqua
* Town Creek
* Waddells Mill Pond
* Wilbanks

Fort Walton culture|

* Anhaica
* Apalachee
* Apalachee Province
* Cayson
* Corbin–Tucker
* Fort Walton Mound
* Lake Jackson
* Leon-Jefferson culture
* Letchworth
* Velda
* Yon

Pensacola culture|

* Bottle Creek
* Dauphin Island
* Fort Walton
* Hickory Ridge Cemetery
* Naval Live Oaks Cemetery
* Pensacola people

Plaquemine
Mississippian|

* Anna
* Atchafalaya Basin
* Emerald
* Fitzhugh
* Flowery
* Fosters
* Ghost
* Glass
* Grand Village of the Natchez
* Holly Bluff
* Jaketown
* Jordan
* Julice
* Mangum
* Mazique
* Medora
* Mott
* Natchez
* Taensa
* Pocahontas
* Routh
* Scott Place
* Sims
* Transylvania
* Venable
* Winterville

Caddoan
Mississippian|

* Battle
* Belcher
* Blue Spring Shelter
* Bluffton
* Caddo
* Caddoan Mounds
* Gahagan
* Hughes
* Ka-Do-Ha Indian Village
* Keller
* Spiro

Upper Mississippian
cultures|

| Oneota|

* Anker
* Beattie Park
* Blood Run
* Carcajou Point
* Fifield
* Fisher Mound Group
* Gentleman Farm
* Grand Village of the Illinois
* Griesmer
* Hartley Fort
* Hotel Plaza
* Hoxie Farm
* Huber
* Juntunen
* Knoll Spring
* Mero site
* Moccasin Bluff
* Oak Forest
* Palos
* Plum Island
* Roche-a-Cri Petroglyphs
* Schwerdt
* Summer Island

|

Fort Ancient culture|

* Alligator Effigy Mound
* Clover
* Dodge
* Leo Petroglyph
* Serpent Mound
* SunWatch Indian Village

Culture|

| Agriculture|

* Beans
* Chenopodium
* Little barley
* Maize
* Marshelder
* Pumpkin
* Squash
* Sunflower
* Three Sisters
* Tobacco

|

Artwork|

* Emmons mask
* Copper plates
* Rogan plates
* Spiro plates
* Wulfing cache
* Duck River cache
* Long-nosed god maskette
* Mill Creek chert
* Pottery
* Shell gorget
* Stone statuary

Languages|

* Caddoan
* Central Algonquian
* Cherokee
* Mobilian Jargon
* Muskogean
* Natchez
* Taensa
* Siouan
* Timucuan
* Tunican
* Yuchi

Religion|

* Ballgame (Southeastern)
* Northern
* Black drink
* Burial mound
* Ceremonial pipe
* Chanunpa
* Chunkey
* Earth/fertility cult
* Green Corn Ceremony
* Horned Serpent
* Platform mound
* Red Horn
* Sacred bundle
* Village bundle
* Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
* Stone box grave
* Thunderbird
* Underwater panther

Related topics
Chevron bead
Clarksdale bell
Mound Builders
de Soto Expedition

* v
* t
* e

Pre-Columbian North America

Periods
Lithic
Archaic
Formative
Classic
Post-Classic

Archaeological
cultures|

* Adena
* Alachua
* Ancient Beringian
* Ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi)
* Baytown
* Belle Glade
* Buttermilk Creek complex
* Caborn-Welborn
* Cades Pond
* Calf Creek
* Caloosahatchee
* Clovis
* Coles Creek
* Comondú
* Deptford
* Folsom
* Fort Ancient
* Fort Walton
* Fremont
* Glacial Kame
* Glades
* Hohokam
* Hopewell
* List of Hopewell sites
* La Jolla
* Las Palmas
* Maritime Archaic
* Mississippian
* List of Mississippian sites
* Mogollon
* Monongahela
* Old Cordilleran
* Oneota
* Paleo-Arctic
* Paleo-Indians
* Patayan
* Plano
* Plaquemine
* Poverty Point
* Red Ocher
* Safety Harbor
* Santa Rosa-Swift Creek
* St. Johns
* Steed-Kisker
* Suwannee Valley
* Tchefuncte
* Troyville
* Weeden Island

Archaeological
sites|

* Angel Mounds
* Anzick site
* Bandelier National Monument
* Bastian
* Benson
* Blue Spring Shelter
* Bluefish Caves
* The Bluff Point Stoneworks
* Brewster
* Cahokia
* Candelaria Cave
* Casa Grande
* Chaco Canyon
* Coso Rock Art District
* Crystal River
* Cuarenta Casas
* Cueva de la Olla
* Cutler
* Eaker
* El Fin del Mundo
* El Vallecito
* Effigy Mounds
* Etowah Indian Mounds
* Eva
* Folsom
* Fort Ancient
* Fort Center
* Fort Juelson
* Four Mounds
* Gila Cliff Dwellings
* Glenwood
* Grimes Point
* Helen Blazes
* Holly Bluff
* Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
* Horr's Island
* Huápoca
* Key Marco
* Kimball Village
* Kincaid Mounds
* Kolomoki Mounds
* Lake Jackson Mounds
* Lehner Mammoth-Kill Site
* L'Anse aux Meadows
* Lynch Quarry Site
* Marksville
* Marmes Rockshelter
* Meadowcroft Rockshelter
* Mesa Verde
* Moaning Cavern
* Moorehead Circle
* Morrison Mounds
* Moundville
* Mummy Cave
* Nodena site
* Ocmulgee Mounds
* Old Stone Fort
* Orwell site
* Paquime
* Parkin Park
* Pinson Mounds
* Plum Bayou Mounds
* Portsmouth Earthworks
* Poverty Point
* Pueblo Bonito
* Recapture Canyon
* River Styx
* Roberts Island
* Rock Eagle
* Rock Hawk
* Rosenstock Village
* Russell Cave
* Salmon Ruins
* Serpent Mound
* Sierra de San Francisco
* Shell ring sites
* Spiro Mounds
* Stallings Island
* SunWatch
* Taos Pueblo
* Town Creek Indian Mound
* Turkey River Mounds
* Upward Sun River
* Velda Mound
* West Oak Forest Earthlodge
* Wickiup Hill
* Windover
* Winterville
* Wupatki

Human
remains|

* Anzick-1
* Arlington Springs Man
* Buhl Woman
* Kennewick Man
* La Brea Woman
* Leanderthal Lady
* Melbourne Man
* Minnesota Woman
* Peñon woman
* Spirit Cave mummy
* Vero man

Miscellaneous|

* Aridoamerica
* Black drink
* Ceremonial pipe
* Chanunpa
* Chunkey
* Clovis point
* Container Revolution
* Eastern Agricultural Complex
* Eden point
* Effigy mound
* Falcon dancer
* Folsom point
* Green Corn Ceremony
* Horned Serpent
* Kiva
* Medicine wheel
* Metallurgy
* Mi'kmaq hieroglyphic writing
* Mound Builders
* N.A.G.P.R.A.
* Norse colonization of North America
* Oasisamerica
* Piasa
* Projectile point
* Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
* Stickball
* Three Sisters agriculture
* Thunderbird
* Transoceanic contact
* Underwater panther
* Water glyphs

Related
Genetic history
Pre-Columbian era
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