﻿powell.1 
  INDIAN 
  TRIBES 
  SEDENTARY. 
  31 
  

  

  similar 
  facts 
  sufficiently 
  prove 
  the 
  power 
  of 
  individual 
  tribes 
  or 
  

   gentes 
  to 
  sunder 
  relations 
  with 
  the 
  great 
  body 
  of 
  their 
  kindred 
  

   and 
  to 
  remove 
  to 
  distant 
  homes. 
  Tested 
  by 
  linguistic 
  evidence, 
  

   such 
  instances 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  exceptional, 
  and 
  the 
  fact 
  remains 
  that 
  

   in 
  the 
  great 
  majority 
  of 
  cases 
  the 
  tribes 
  composing 
  linguistic 
  fam- 
  

   ilies 
  occupy 
  continuous 
  areas, 
  and 
  hence 
  are 
  and 
  have 
  been 
  practi- 
  

   cally 
  sedentary. 
  Nor 
  is 
  the 
  bond 
  of 
  a 
  common 
  language, 
  strong 
  and 
  

   enduring 
  as 
  that 
  bond 
  is 
  usually 
  thought 
  to 
  be, 
  entirely 
  sufficient 
  to 
  

   explain 
  the 
  phenomenon 
  here 
  pointed 
  out. 
  When 
  small 
  in 
  number 
  

   the 
  linguistic 
  tie 
  would 
  undoubtedly 
  aid 
  in 
  binding 
  together 
  the 
  

   members 
  of 
  a 
  tribe; 
  but 
  as 
  the 
  people 
  speaking 
  a 
  common 
  language 
  

   increase 
  in 
  number 
  and 
  come 
  to 
  have 
  conflicting 
  interests, 
  the 
  lin- 
  

   guistic 
  tie 
  has 
  often 
  proved 
  to 
  be 
  an 
  insufficient 
  bond 
  of 
  union. 
  In 
  

   the 
  case 
  of 
  our 
  Indian 
  tribes 
  feuds 
  and 
  internecine 
  conflicts 
  were 
  

   common 
  between 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  linguistic 
  family. 
  In 
  fact, 
  

   it 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  a 
  very 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  the 
  dialects 
  into 
  which 
  

   Indian 
  languages 
  are 
  split 
  originated 
  as 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  internecine 
  

   strife. 
  Factions, 
  divided 
  and 
  separated 
  from 
  the 
  parent 
  body, 
  by 
  

   contact, 
  intermarriage, 
  and 
  incorporation 
  with 
  foreign 
  tribes, 
  devel- 
  

   oped 
  distinct 
  dialects 
  or 
  languages. 
  

  

  But 
  linguistic 
  evidence 
  alone 
  need 
  not 
  be 
  relied 
  upon 
  to 
  prove 
  that 
  

   the 
  North 
  American 
  Indian 
  was 
  not 
  nomadic. 
  

  

  Corroborative 
  proof 
  of 
  the 
  sedentary 
  character 
  of 
  our 
  Indian 
  tribes 
  

   is 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  curious 
  form 
  of 
  kinship 
  system, 
  with 
  mother- 
  

   rite 
  as 
  its 
  chief 
  factor, 
  which 
  prevails. 
  This, 
  as 
  has 
  been 
  pointed 
  

   out 
  in 
  another 
  place, 
  is 
  not 
  adapted 
  to 
  the 
  necessities 
  of 
  nomadic 
  

   tribes, 
  which 
  need 
  to 
  be 
  governed 
  by 
  a 
  patriarchal 
  system, 
  and, 
  as 
  

   well, 
  to 
  be 
  possessed 
  of 
  flocks 
  and 
  herds. 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  also 
  an 
  abundance 
  of 
  historical 
  evidence 
  to 
  show 
  that, 
  

   when 
  first 
  discovered 
  by 
  Europeans, 
  the 
  Indians 
  of 
  the 
  eastern 
  United 
  

   States 
  were 
  found 
  living 
  in 
  fixed 
  habitations. 
  This 
  does 
  not 
  neces- 
  

   sarily 
  imply 
  that 
  the 
  entire 
  year 
  was 
  spent 
  in 
  one 
  place. 
  Agricul- 
  

   ture 
  not 
  being 
  practiced 
  to 
  an 
  extent 
  sufficient 
  to 
  supply 
  the 
  Indian 
  

   with 
  full 
  subsistence, 
  he 
  was 
  compelled 
  to 
  make 
  occasional 
  changes 
  

   from 
  his 
  permanent 
  home 
  to 
  the 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  distant 
  waters 
  and 
  for- 
  

   ests 
  to 
  procure 
  suppliesof 
  food. 
  When 
  furnished 
  with 
  food 
  and 
  skins 
  

   for 
  clothing, 
  the 
  hunting 
  parties 
  returned 
  to 
  the 
  village 
  which 
  con- 
  

   stituted 
  their 
  true 
  home. 
  At 
  longer 
  periods, 
  for 
  several 
  reasons 
  — 
  

   among 
  which 
  probably 
  the 
  chief 
  were 
  the 
  hostility 
  of 
  stronger 
  tribes, 
  

   tin' 
  failure 
  of 
  the 
  fuel 
  supply 
  near 
  the 
  village, 
  and 
  the 
  compulsion 
  

   exercised 
  by 
  the 
  ever 
  lively 
  superstitious 
  fancies 
  of 
  the 
  Indians 
  — 
  the 
  

   villages 
  were 
  abandoned 
  and 
  new 
  ones 
  formed 
  to 
  constitute 
  new 
  

   homes, 
  new 
  focal 
  points 
  from 
  which 
  to 
  set 
  out 
  on 
  their 
  annual 
  hunts 
  

   and 
  to 
  which 
  to 
  return 
  when 
  these 
  were 
  completed. 
  The 
  tribes 
  of 
  

   the 
  eastern 
  United 
  States 
  had 
  fixed 
  and 
  definitely 
  bounded 
  habitats, 
  

   and 
  their 
  wanderings 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  temporary 
  excursions 
  to 
  

  

  