The Kanza Indians, also known as the Kaw Nation, possess a rich and enduring history deeply rooted in the heartland of North America. For centuries, extending far beyond any written record, the Kanza claimed a vast territory that they eventually ceded to the United States through the treaty of June 1825.
The presence of the Kanza Nation in North America was first formally noted when Father Marquette inscribed their name on his map in 1673. A half-century later, in 1724, Etienne Venyard, Sieur de Bourgmont, commander at Fort Orleans, made special mention of the “Canzas” during his expedition through Kansas to the Padoucas. Bourgmont’s journal highlights the tribe’s remarkable hospitality and generous treatment of visitors, a testament to their established cultural practices.
Early Settlements and Geographic Influence
The Kanza formerly established two significant villages along the Missouri River. The lower village was situated approximately 40 miles above the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, nestled on the west bank between two prominent bluffs. The upper village, known as the “Village of the Twenty-four,” was located slightly above the mouth of Independence Creek, on the south bank, described as being on “an extensive and beautiful prairie.”
When Captain Meriwether Lewis of the renowned Lewis and Clark expedition explored these sites in 1804, he observed that all traces of the lower village had vanished. On a nearby hill, however, the remains of an old French fort were discernible, with outlines of fortifications and ruins of chimneys, suggesting a tumultuous history and the likely destruction by the Kanza. The upper village, though also abandoned, still showed enough remains to indicate its extensive nature.
The Kanza were ultimately displaced from their Missouri River settlements due to incursions by the Iowa and Sac tribes. These tribes, having greater access to firearms through their interactions with Mississippi Valley traders, held a significant advantage. While the exact timeline remains uncertain, this displacement likely occurred around 30 years prior to Lewis’s visit, paralleling the Osage tribe’s similar push from the Missouri River by the Sac Indians.
Following these conflicts, the Kanza, whose numbers had been considerably reduced, relocated their primary village to the north bank of the Kansas River. This new settlement was about two miles below the confluence of the Big Blue River.
The Kansas River Village
The site of this crucial Kanza village was meticulously surveyed and mapped in the spring of 1880 under the supervision of Judge F. G. Adams, Secretary of the Kansas Historical Society. Adams described the location as being in Pottawatomie County, roughly two miles east of Manhattan, situated on a peninsular tract of land embraced by the Kansas and Big Blue Rivers. The village itself spanned a significant portion of the neck of land, extending northward from the banks of the Kansas River toward the Big Blue.
Inter-tribal Relations and Early U.S. Treaties
Despite sharing a common nationhood with the Osage tribe, exhibiting nearly identical language and similar governments and customs, the Kanza and Osage were almost continuously at war from their earliest contact with Europeans until 1806. That year, the United States Government intervened to broker a peace.
A pivotal grand council convened on September 28, 1806, at the village of the Pawnee Republic. Lieutenants Zebulon Pike and James Wilkinson represented the United States, alongside various chiefs and warriors from the Pawnee, Osage, and Kanza Nations. A treaty was forged, formally ending the long-standing hostilities between the Kanza and Osage. This treaty, distributed to the tribes, established a friendly intercourse and permanent peace, with both nations pledging to align with the “commands and wishes of their great father,” the President of the United States. This agreement proved lasting, with neither nation breaking the terms. Their common adversaries thenceforth became the Pawnee tribe and the various marauding tribes inhabiting the Western plains.
Although numerically smaller than both the Osage and Pawnee, the Kanza Nation was recognized for its formidable warlike nature, even more so than the Osage. Their rapidly acquired proficiency with firearms made them a force to be dreaded by the Pawnee. As the influx of traders and explorers into their territories increased, the Kanza’s martial spirit found a new direction. Their strategic position allowed them to significantly impact both those traversing the Missouri River and those seeking passage across the plains towards the Rocky Mountains.
Growing Tensions and Councils with the U.S.
By 1819, the Kanza’s depredations against American settlers and officials became more frequent and severe. A notable incident involved their firing upon an Indian Agent and attacking soldiers under Captain Martin, who had been compelled to establish a hunting camp during the winter to avoid starvation.
To address these escalating “outrages,” Major O’Fallon, the very Indian Agent who had been attacked, convened a council with the chiefs and principal men of the Kanza Nation. This meeting took place at Isle au Vache, a location in the Missouri River near present-day Atchison, on August 18, 1819. While the Kanza were initially away on a hunting excursion, they arrived at the designated site on the 23rd, with the council commencing the following day.
The council was attended by 161 Kanza, along with thirteen Osage representatives. Prominent Kanza chiefs included Na-he-da-ba (Long Neck), Ka-he-ga-wa-ta-ning-ga (Little Chief), Shen-ga-ne-ga (an ex-principal chief), Wa-ha-che-ra (Big Knife, a war chief), and the emerging figure, Wom-pa-wa-ra (White Plume). Major O’Fallon, supported by garrison officers and gentlemen from Major Stephen Long’s exploring expedition, laid out the grievances suffered by the whites. He underscored the Kanza’s misconduct, which he assured them deserved severe chastisement, yet offered reconciliation contingent on their future good behavior.
The Kanza chiefs acknowledged the validity of the charges and accepted the terms. The proceedings were augmented by military displays, including cannon fire, flag hoisting, and demonstrations of rockets and shells, which reportedly made a more profound impression on the Kanza delegates than O’Fallon’s eloquent address. Internal disputes regarding rank among the chiefs had, in fact, prevented an even larger delegation from attending.
Life and Culture of the Kanza Nation
During the summer of 1819, while some Kanza leaders were en route to the Isle au Vache council, Professor Thomas Say, part of Major Stephen Long’s exploring party, visited the main Kanza village on the Kansas River. His detailed account offers invaluable insights into the nation’s life and customs.
Village Life and Architecture
Say described the approach to the village across a “fine level prairie,” leading to an abrupt bank where the settlement was situated, about a quarter-mile from the river. The village comprised approximately 120 hemispheric lodges, arranged closely without strict regularity. Each lodge’s circular ground area was excavated one to three feet deep. Say’s party was received with immense cordiality, guided by chiefs through the eager crowds, and accommodated in the grand chief’s lodge, which also served as the nation’s council house.
The council lodge, larger than others, featured a roof supported by two concentric circles of rough, forked pillars. Twelve pillars formed the outer series, and eight longer ones the inner. Poles rested on these pillars, radiating upward to form the roof structure, covered with slender sticks, mats of grass or reeds, tree bark, and finally, earth. A central hole allowed smoke to escape. Inside, mats of soft reeds adorned the walls. Bedsteads, about six feet wide and elevated, extended around three-fourths of the apartment’s circumference, formed simply from sticks and bison hides for comfort. Medicine or mystic bags, often adorned with human scalps, were carefully attached to the wall mats, their contents unknown to Say. The fireplace was a shallow central cavity, with an arm for cooking apparatus – typically a brass kettle, iron pot, and wooden bowls and spoons. Both men and women carried large knives for meals and self-defense. The Kanza reportedly ate four or five times daily, always offering the best portions to their guests first.
Diet and Governance
The Kanza diet primarily consisted of bison meat and various preparations of Indian corn or maize, including “lyed corn” (hulled corn). They also cultivated pumpkins, muskmelons, and watermelons, and prepared a nourishing soup from boiled sweet corn and beans, seasoned with buffalo meat.
In 1819, Ca-ega-wa-tan-ninga was the hereditary principal chief, but his authority depended on personal qualities rather than lineage alone. Both civil and military distinctions were earned through bravery and generosity. Though several inferior chiefs existed, their power was limited.
Social Customs and Values
Like many Native American tribes, the Kanza believed in a Great Spirit and held general beliefs about an afterlife. Their family relations were notably honorable compared to many Eastern tribes. Marriage ceremonies were observed, strengthening the marital bond, and purity was esteemed as a prerequisite for a woman to be the wife of a chief, brave warrior, or skilled hunter. The Kanza displayed typical Native American stoicism, enduring pain without complaint. They were deeply faithful to kinship and friendship ties, and they cared diligently for the sick and disabled. Drunkenness was uncommon, and insanity was unheard of. Kanza women managed all domestic affairs, taking evident pride in their competence within this sphere.
Conclusion: An Enduring Legacy
The Kanza Indians, a people of strength and resilience, navigated complex relationships with neighboring tribes and the encroaching United States government throughout centuries. Their first formal treaty with the United States was signed in 1815 by Ninian Edwards and Auguste Choteau, Commissioners of the United States, establishing a treaty of peace and mutual forgiveness, and placing the Kanza under U.S. protection. From their vibrant villages on the Missouri and Kansas Rivers to their strategic engagements and unique cultural practices, the Kanza Nation’s story is a compelling testament to adaptability, tradition, and an enduring presence in the American landscape. Their history underscores the rich tapestry of Indigenous cultures that shaped the continent long before European settlement.
