The Neche were a Native American tribe from eastern Texas .
8-704: The Neche were part of the Hasinai branch of the Caddo Confederacy . During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, they settled along the Neches River , in present-day Houston and Cherokee Counties . Their lands were directly northwest of the Nacono tribe. In 1779 Spanish explorer Athanase de Mezieres Mezières recorded seeing several mounds in Neches territory. He wrote that the mounds were created by
16-571: A council of elders. The chieftainship consisted of several subdivisions, which have been designated "cantonments". Each was under the control of a Caddi. There were also men designated as Canahas and Chayas, who helped the Caddi run the system. During the 17th century, the Hasinai traded with the Jumano at the western Hasinai city of Nabedache. Some consider the residents of Nabedache to have been
24-562: A distinct people designated by that name. It is estimated that in 1520, the people who would become the Hasinai, the Kadohadacho and the Natchitoches , numbered about 250,000. Over the next 250 years, the population of these Caddoan-speaking peoples was severely reduced by epidemics of endemic diseases carried by Spanish and French colonists and spread through indigenous trading networks. Native Americans had no acquired immunity to
32-703: The 19th century. In 1855 the Neches were forced with other Hasinai onto the Brazos Indian Reservation, located in Young County, Texas . In 1859 they were all removed to Indian Territory . They are enrolled in the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma today. They would also hunt game. The Neches River was named for the tribe. The tribe is also known as the Neches, Nacha, Naesha, Nascha, Nesta, Nouista, Nacoche, Nechas, and Neitas. Hasinai The Hasinai Confederacy ( Caddo : Hasíinay )
40-607: The local Indians, "in order to build on its top a temple, which overlooked the pueblo nearby, and in which they worshiped their gods a monument rather to their great numbers than to the industry of their individuals." A larger mound and two smaller ones still stand in Cherokee County. Spanish Franciscan friars founded the San Francisco de los Neches Mission and accompanying presidio near the Neche in 1716. The mission
48-592: The state of Texas its name. Variants of Hasinai include: Hasini , Asenai , Asinai , Assoni , Asenay , Cenis , Senis , Sannaye , Asinaiz , Asinayes , Assinais , Azinais , Azinays . When the Spanish and the French encountered the Hasinai in the 1680s, they were a centrally organized chiefdom under the control of a religious leader, known as the Grand Xinesi. He lived in a secluded house and met with
56-655: Was a large confederation of Caddo -speaking Native Americans who occupied territory between the Sabine and Trinity rivers in eastern Texas. Today, their descendants are enrolled in the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma and the Natchitoches Tribe of Louisiana. The name Hasinai means "our own people" in Caddoan. The Spanish knew the Hasinai as the Tejas or Texas , from a form of greeting meaning "friend", which gave
64-467: Was temporarily abandoned in 1719 due to fears of French attacks, but when the Spanish returned in 1721, they presented the Neche chief, with a baston or token of authority and they provided clothing for 188 Neche men, women, and children. In 1730 the mission was closed. Meanwhile, the Neche followed their traditional religion and maintained a major fire temple and a lesser temple in their territory. Ultimately, they assimilated into other Hasinai tribes in
#225774