Indigenous Peoples of Nebraska

The name Nebraska comes from an Oto Indian word meaning "flat water".

Tribes and Bands of Nebraska
The following list of tribes is compiled from:


 * Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of Ehtnology, Bulletin # 30 1907.
 * Swanton, John W. The Indian tribes of North America. Smithsonian Institution Bureau of Ehtnology, Bulletin #45.

Arapaho, Arikara, Cheyenne, Comanche, Dakota, Flaudreau, Sioux, Fox, Iowa, Kansa or Kaw, Kansas, Kiowa, Oneida, Missouri, Omaha, Oto, Pawnee, Ponce, Santee-Sioux, Sac (also spelled Sauk), Sioux, Stockbridge-Munsee, Tonkawa, Winnebago

Reservations
Reservations with names in bold are current reservations.

Omaha Reservation (Federal, under jurisdiction of Winnebago Agency, Tribe: Omaha)

Ponca Reservation

Sac and Fox Reservation

Santee Sioux Reservation (Federal, under jurisdiction of Winnebago Agency, Tribe: Santee Sioux)

Winnebago Reservation  is a federal reservation, under the jurisdiction of the Winnebago Agency. The primary tribe is the Winnebago. The reservation is mostly located in Thurston County, Nebraska, with a small segment in Woodbury County, Iowa, just east of the Missouri River.

Agencies
Pawnee Agency

Ponca Agency

Red Cloud Agency 1873-77

Rosebud Agency 1878

Santee Agency

Santee Sioux Agency

Spotted Tail Agency 1874

Winnebago Agency, Winnebago, NE 68071

Yankton Agency

Half-Breed Tract
In the early 1800s, a tract of land was set aside by the federal government in Nebraska for the descendants of French fur trappers and other Europeans who had inter-married with Native Americans. These individuals were called "half-breeds." Thus the tract of land came to be known as the "Half-Breed Tract." Similar tracts were established in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Records
To see a list of records the Family History Library has about Indians in Nebraska, click here.

See Also:
Nebraska History for calendar of events

Nebraska Military for a list of forts