The Nasoni are a Native American tribe from eastern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and southwestern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

History

The Nasoni were divided into two bands. The Upper Nasoni, who lived along the Red River in the southwestern corner of Arkansas.Nasoni Indians.
''Handbook of Texas Online.'' (retrieved 7 Sept 2009) They were affiliated with the Kadohadacho branch of the

Caddo Confederacy The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who ...

. The Lower Nasoni, who lived between the

Sabine The Sabines (, , , ; ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divided int ...

and

Angelina River The Angelina River is formed by the confluence of Barnhardt and Shawnee creeks northwest of Laneville in southwest central Rusk County, Texas, United States. A tributary of the Neches River, the river flows southeast for and forms the bou ...

s in present-day

Rusk County, Texas Rusk County is a county located in Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 52,214. Its county seat is Henderson. The county is named after Thomas Jefferson Rusk, a secretary of war of the Republic of Texas. Rusk County is part of ...

. They were part of the branch of the Caddo Confederacy.

Hernando De Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, ...

encountered the Lower Nasoni in 1541. During

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (; November 22, 1643 – March 19, 1687), was a 17th-century French explorer and North American fur trade, fur trader in North America. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada ...

's 1686 expedition, members of his party were greeted by the Lower Nasoni and carried into their town for welcoming festivities. During the 17th through 19th centuries, European diseases, particularly smallpox, wreaked havoc upon Nasoni and other Caddo groups, forcing them to consolidate for survival. In 1719, French explorers established a fort and trading post on the Red River, Le Poste des Cadodaquious, opposite of an Upper Nasoni village. They traded firearms, ammunition, metal tools, beads, clothing, and accessories for hides and horses.Sturtevant, 619 The Upper Nasoni allied with the French from 1719 to 1762. In 1716, Spanish monks founded the San José de los Nazones Mission to serve the Nadaco and the Lower Nasoni tribes. The Lower Nasoni allied with the Spanish during the 18th century. By 1880, their population had been so ravaged by disease, that it is believed they assimilated into the Nadaco tribe. Today, Nasoni people are enrolled in the Caddo Nation, headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma.

Synonymy

Hernando De Soto referred to the tribe as the Nassohone. The Lower Nasoni were called Nasaya, Nasayaha, Nasayaya, Nasoui, Nassoni, Nassonite, Nazone, Nazoni.Sturtevant, 629 The Nasoni were also called Assony and Nisohoni.

Notes

References

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

External links

Nasoni Indians
Handbook of Texas Online

from Access Genealogy {{authority control Caddoan peoples Native American tribes in Arkansas Native American tribes in Texas Native American history of Arkansas Native American history of Texas hr:Upper Nasoni