VILLAGES OF THE ALGONQUIAN, SIOUAN, AND CAD- 
DOAN TRIBES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 
By Davin I. BusHne tt, JR. 
THE TRIBES AND THEIR HABITAT. 
The country occupied by the tribes belonging to the three lin- 
guistic groups whose villages are now to be described extended from 
south of the Arkansas northward to and beyond the Canadian 
boundary, and from the Mississippi across the Great Plains to the 
Rocky Mountains. It thus embraced the western section of the val- 
ley of the Mississippi, including the entire course of the Missouri, 
the hilly regions bordering the rivers, and the vast rolling prairies. 
The climatic conditions were as varied as were the physiographical 
features, for, although the winters in the south were comparatively 
mild, in the north they were long and severe. 
The three linguistic families to be considered are the Algonquian, 
Siouan, and Caddoan. Many Algonquian and Siouan tribes for- 
merly lived east of the Mississippi, and their villages have already 
been described (Bushnell, (1)),1 but within historic times all Cad- 
doan tribes appear to have occupied country to the westward of the 
river, although it is not improbable that during earlier days they 
may have had villages beyond the eastern bank of the stream, the 
remains of which exist. 
The Algonquians included in this account comprise principally 
the three groups which may be termed the western division of the 
great linguistic family. These are: (1) The Blackfoot con- 
federacy, composed of three confederated tribes, the Siksika or 
Blackfeet proper, the Piegan, and the Kainah or Bloods; (2) the 
Arapaho, including several distinct divisions, of which the Atsina, 
or Gros Ventres of the Prairie, who were closely allied with the 
Blackfeet, were often mentioned; (3) the Cheyenne, likewise form- 
ing various groups or divisions. Belonging to the same great fam- 
ily were the Cree or Kristinaux, whose habitat was farther north, 
few living south of the Canadian boundary; also the Ojibway, whose 
villages were scattered northward from the upper waters of the 
Mississippi. Some Sauk later lived west of the Mississippi, as did 
bands of the Foxes and some of the Illinois tribes. 
1For citation of references throughout this bulletin, see ‘‘Authorities cited,” p. 186. 
1 
