Mississippi Native Peoples & European Encounter Lecture

Vocabulary flashcards covering indigenous cultures, European contact, major tribes, key events, and important terms related to Mississippi’s early history.

Early Mississippians

Indigenous culture (c. 700 CE) that farmed maize, beans, and squash, hunted big game, fished, and built communities around earthen mounds.

Mound-building

Construction of large earthen structures for religious, political, or burial purposes; spread as far north as present-day Missouri and Illinois.

Oral Tradition

A vital, unwritten system for preserving and transferring a people’s history, values, and knowledge from one generation to the next.

Choctaw

Second-largest Southeastern tribe (≈20,000); peaceful farmers called “Long Hairs” or “Flat Heads,” allied with the French, played stickball, later forced west.

Chickasaw

Proud warrior nation (~10,000) known for hunting and trading; allied with Britain and the Natchez, opposed French expansion, eventually removed westward.

Natchez

Mound-building tribe ruled by the Great Sun, practiced ceremonial human sacrifice; initially traded with Europeans but became rivals of the French.

Great Sun

Hereditary leader of the Natchez people who lived atop the tribe’s ceremonial mounds and held semi-divine status.

Minor Mississippi Tribes

Smaller groups such as Biloxi, Tunica, and Yazoo that merged with neighbors or migrated, contributing to the region’s cultural blend.

Biloxi Tribe

Coastal group that relocated several times and eventually merged with the Pascagoula to form the Biloxi-Pascagoula (Capinan) people.

Tunica Tribe

Salt-trading people who moved to Louisiana after conflicts; today known as the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe.

Yazoo Tribe

Group attacked by the Choctaw; its later fate is largely unknown, illustrating the volatility of tribal relations.

Hernando de Soto (1541)

Spanish explorer whose expedition into Mississippi began European claims on native lands and disrupted indigenous societies.

Fort Rosalie

French post (later Fort Panmure) built in Natchez territory, sparking conflict that culminated in the 1729 Natchez Revolt.

1729 Natchez Revolt

Uprising in which the Natchez and allied smaller tribes temporarily expelled the French from Fort Rosalie.

Choctaw Counterattack (1730)

Action in which Choctaw warriors aided the French in nearly destroying the Natchez following the revolt.

Chickasaw Refuge

Role played by the Chickasaw in sheltering surviving Natchez after the French-Choctaw assault.

Mississippi River

Critical transportation and trade artery coveted by Native nations and European powers competing for North American territory.

France, Spain, Great Britain

The three European nations whose rivalry shaped Mississippi’s path from colony to U.S. territory and statehood.

Code Noir

French “Black Code” regulating slavery, adopted in Mississippi after Caribbean slaves were imported by French settlers.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Agreement ending the French & Indian War; ceded French holdings east of the Mississippi River, including Mississippi, to Spain and Britain.

Fort Panmure

British name for Fort Rosalie, valued for its fertile surrounding soil and strategic river position.

European Inland Expansion

Process in which French, Spanish, and English colonists moved from coastal settlements, claimed overlapping lands, formed rivalries, and allied with Native traders.

Native-European Trade Items

Most coveted exchanges included horses, pigs, and new ideas/technologies, creating indigenous dependence on Europeans.

Indian Slave Trade

Commercial system, especially involving the Chickasaw and British, that captured and sold Native Americans in the Southeast.

Stickball

Traditional Choctaw ball game used for recreation, diplomacy, and occasionally to settle disputes without war.

Flat-Head/Long-Hair Custom

Choctaw practice of flattening infants’ foreheads and wearing long hair, distinguishing them culturally from neighboring tribes.

Human Sacrifice (Natchez)

Ceremonial practice in which retainers were killed to accompany a deceased Great Sun into the afterlife.

Merging Tribes

Survival strategy wherein smaller Mississippi tribes combined with others or relocated to avoid European encroachment.

Fortified River Settlements

French-built posts along waterways that increased regional population and competition for Natchez homelands.

Columbian Exchange Entry

1492 voyage of Christopher Columbus that opened the Americas to Europeans, Africans, and eventually Asians, reshaping Mississippi’s demographic future.