Resource Guide
The Quapaw Tribe in Arkansas
February 12 & 13, 2017
www.ClintonFoundation.org/Fusion
The Quapaw Tribe in Arkansas
The Quapaw people lived in four large villages made up of smaller communities at the
confluence of the Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers; each village had a tribal chief and
represented a band of the tribe. The tribe annually planted and harvested crops, as well as
hunted buffalo according to the seasons. The Quapaw traded pottery, painted hides, and
other goods through an extensive trade route based along the rivers. The Quapaw people
were particularly known for pottery which was often painted; swirls being a distinctive
pattern of the tribe.
In the late 1600s, as French explorers set foot in what is now Arkansas, they encountered
the Quapaw, whom they called the “Akansea,” or Arkansas, and subsequently named the
river and region after them. The Quapaw quickly made allies with the explorers and settlers
that would follow. The Arkansas Post, near modern day Gillett, was a particularly important
site for this alliance.
Following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States entered into its first treaty
with the Quapaw in 1818. One of the major provisions of this treaty was the ceding of the
majority of Quapaw territory, which included thirty million acres south of the Arkansas River
and to the west. One million acres between the Arkansas and Ouachita rivers was reserved
in this treaty for the Quapaw. Not long after signing this treaty, under pressure from
settlers, the United States pushed for another treaty in 1824 which ceded this reservation
and moved the Quapaw to the Red River in northwestern Louisiana alongside the Caddo.
Upon arrival, the Quapaw were met with terrible conditions and starvation killed many in
the tribe. Eventually, they returned to their land in Arkansas, but they were then considered
squatters in their own homeland and were unable to establish a land base for their people.
This dire situation resulted in yet another treaty in 1833, wherein they agreed to a new
reservation in Indian Territory, in what would become the northeastern corner of Oklahoma.
After removal, many factors influenced bands of the tribe to settle in different areas. This
resulted in separation of the tribe. The American Civil War temporarily displaced the tribe,
but also served to reunite many of the tribal bands. The Quapaw fought on the Union side
with a company in the 2nd Regiment of the Indian Home Guard. Following the Civil War, the
tribe began to rebuild. However, various government initiatives, such as the allotment of
tribal land in the 1890s and Indian boarding schools designed to “civilize” Native Americans,
disrupted tribal life. After allotment, lead and zinc deposits were found and subsequently
mined. The mines generated wealth for a segment of tribal members, yet also created
many adverse effects, such as the Tar Creek Superfund Site.
Prior to the Quapaw’s current form of government, the tribe was governed by decisions
made in council meetings and by tribal chiefs, and did not have an expressly written form of
government. In 1956, the General Council of the Quapaw Tribe passed a resolution known
as the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma Governing Resolution. This resolution established and
delegated authority to an administrative body that would represent, speak, and act for the
individual members of the Quapaw Tribe on matters affecting the properties and general
business of the tribe. This body would be known as the Quapaw Tribal Business Committee,
and it is still the governing body of the Quapaw Tribe today. The Business Committee
operates a variety of public services and manages many different business ventures, which
improve the lives of tribal members and the community and support the continuation of
tribal traditions.
Native pottery was made by
hand. Potters dug clay from local
deposits and then mixed it with
a temper that consisted of small
particles of sand, shell, animal
bone, pulverized stone, ground
potsherds, or some combination of
these materials.
With the start of the Mississippi
Period about 1,000 years ago,
pottery-making became more
complex. The sophistication of
some containers indicates that
some individuals and families may
have been ceramic specialists who
produced very special items only
for an elite clientele.
Mississippi Period pottery was an
important element in several social
settings. Some pottery was used
in daily life to make, store, and
serve food. Containers were also
used during rituals, as gifts for the
deceased, and in political events.
- Ann M. Early
Encyclopedia of Arkansas
Kneeling female effigy bottle
Mississippi Plain
Yell County, Arkansas
c. 1350 - 1600
Courtesy of the University of Arkansas Museum Collections
1600 – 1673
Migration and First Encounter with the French
According to oral traditions, the Quapaw and their Dhegiha
Sioux kinsmen lived in the Ohio Valley and, sometime after
1600, slowly migrated westward toward the Mississippi
River. When they reached the Mississippi, a fog separated
the group and the Quapaw Tribe traveled in a southerly,
downstream direction. The first Frenchmen in the area,
Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet, arrived at the
confluence of the Mississippi and the Arkansas Rivers,
where they were greeted by the Quapaws. An Illinois
Indian identified the Quapaws for Father Marquette as the
“Akansea,” an Algonquin word. Marquette and Jolliet called
the Quapaws the “Akansea” and later named the river and
the land, now the State of Arkansas, after the Quapaw’s
Algonquian name.
Quapaw village drawing.
Alliances were made with the French by
means of the calumet ceremony. The
calumet, or “peace pipe,” ceremony was
a very elaborate affair, involving feasting,
dancing, gift exchanges, and passing the
calumet for all the participants to smoke.
1686
The four Quapaw villages
located near the confluence
of the Mississippi and
Arkansas Rivers.
Arrival of Henri de Tonti
Henri de Tonti, an early explorer,
established Arkansas Post, a fur trading
post at the Quapaw village of Osotouy on
the north side of the Arkansas River. The
French and the Quapaw maintained a strong
alliance and the painted hides that were
given to the French illustrates the history
and mutual trust between the two nations.
1818
Treaty of 1818
The Quapaws are
forced to cede thirty
million acres south
of the Arkansas River
and to the west. One
million acres between
the Arkansas and
Ouachita rivers was
reserved in this treaty.
This painted buffalo hide
depicts the colonial history
of Arkansas, featuring
two feathered calumets,
four Indian villages, a
French village or fort, and
representations of the sun
and moon.
1824
Treaty of 1824
The Quapaws
are forced to
cede additional
lands along the
Arkansas River.
The Quapaw Treaty, 1824, Territorial Arkansas Collection, Arkansas State Archives
1833
1836
The Quapaws sign
a third treaty with
the United States
that grants them
150 square miles
of land in Indian
Territory, present day
Oklahoma.
Surveyors determined
the boundaries of a new
reserve. Three years later,
the government directed
yet another removal,
insisting the Quapaws live
in scattered individual
homesteads rather than in
traditional villages.
Treaty of 1833
Further Relocation
Map of Indian tribal
reservations in Indian
Territory, present day
Oklahoma.
Bowl
‘Teapot’ bottle
Mississippi Plain
Pulaski County, Arkansas
c. 1700 – 1750
Old Town Red
Yell County, Arkansas
c. 1350 – 1600
Courtesy of the Arkansas Archeological Survey
Courtesy of the University of Arkansas Museum Collections
1890 – 1895
Tribal Land Allotment
Solomon Quapaw allotment
signed by President Grover
Cleveland and Secretary of the
Interior, Lucius Q. C. Lamar.
The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 proposed to
allot Indian land of 80 acres per person, with
the remainder of Indian lands to be opened to
homesteaders or sold. In a move unprecedented
by any other tribe, the Quapaws voted to allot their
land among themselves before the government
did it arbitrarily. The entire reservation was allotted
after an official tribal roll was established between
1890 – 1893. Each enrolled member was allotted
240 acres. The move was ratified by Congress in
1895, and 236 fee patents to the land were issued
in 1897.
Solomon Quapaw
Benjamin Quapaw
Meh-het-ta Clabber
1894 – 1927
St. Mary’s of the Quapaws
Father William Ketcham
established St. Mary’s of
the Quapaws, a Catholic
church and boarding school
complex that resulted in the
conversion of many Quapaws
to Catholicism during the 20th
century.
The St. Mary’s School
building.
St. Mary’s School students.
1895
Native American Church
Religious leader John
“Moonhead” Wilson introduced
the Quapaws to his version of
peyote religion, which had long
been practiced by southern
Plains tribes including Apaches,
Kiowas, and Comanches.
Wilson’s religion combined
elements of traditional Indian
beliefs with elements of
Christianity, organized around
the sacramental use of a “Big
Moon” alter.
Benjamin Quapaw
stands
in front of a sweat
lodge frame. Religious
ceremonies would take
place inside of a sweat
lodge.
Quapaw men pose
for a photo before
a peyote meeting.
Quapaw Man
Charles Banks Wilson
(1918 – 2013)
Courtesy of the Quapaw Tribal Museum
“Through research, I discovered that no
authentic pictures exist of the early Quapaw,
a tribe very important in the establishment
of the Arkansas Territory. Ed Quapaw, a true
Quapaw, posed for this figure holding two
calumets as sacred peace symbols. I added
body decorations that I found represented
on a Quapaw effigy pot unearthed from the
Carden Bottom site, in Yell County, Arkansas.
The design is often referred to as the Quapaw
swirl.”
– Charles Banks Wilson
1904
Lead and Zinc Mining
Discovery of lead and zinc deposits
on Quapaw lands prompted the
passage in 1897 of legislation
enabling landowners to lease
their property for mining without
government approval. This brought
considerable wealth but also cases of
swindling elderly Quapaws. Additional
legislation conferred protections by
making Quapaw landowners “wards”
of the U.S. Government.
Skelton mining operation.
Blackhawk mining operation.
1956
Governing Resolution Passed
In 1956, the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma
Governing Resolution established
the Quapaw Business Council, which
succeeded the traditional leadership of
chiefs as the tribal government. Elected
by tribal members, the seven-member
council is the administrative body of the
Quapaw Tribe.
Fusion: Arts + Humanities Arkansas is a new educational program
designed to enrich the teaching of our state’s heritage and
culture and celebrate our human achievement through programs
in history, literature, philosophy, civics, and other disciplines. To
achieve these goals, the Clinton Presidential Center will convene
cultural institutions, historians, and community organizations to
plan and execute an annual Fusion program featuring a series
of events highlighting one theme from Arkansas’s history and
culture.
This year, the inaugural Fusion: Arts + Humanities Arkansas
program is focused on the Quapaw Tribe – Arkansas’s namesake.
The program will feature symposia, professional development
workshops, performances and demonstrations, as well as an
exhibition, with the goal of bringing forth new perspectives and
insight into Native American history and culture.
We have developed this Fusion Resource Guide to provide an
overview of the topics and historic milestones presented in
the 2017 Fusion program and exhibition, which display the rich
cultural history of the Quapaw Tribe in Arkansas.
Thank you to the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma for their support of
Fusion: Arts + Humanities Arkansas.