The Taposa were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands from what is now Mississippi in the United States.[4]

Taposa
Total population
extinct as a tribe,
may have merged into Chakchiuma
Regions with significant populations
United States (Mississippi)
Languages
likely a Muskogean language[1]
Religion
Indigenous religion
Related ethnic groups
Chakchiuma, Ibitoupa,[2] and Tiou[3]

The Taposa were a small tribe like their neighbors, the Ibitoupa and Chakchiuma, who all lived along the upper Yazoo River between the larger, more powerful Chickasaw and Choctaw.[2][5]

History

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17th century

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The Taposa were first written about by French colonist Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville in 1699.[1]

18th century

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Baron de Crenay's 1733 map of Louisiana includes a Taposa settlement near the Chakchiuma.[1] Another neighboring tribe, the Ibitoupa may have merged into the Taposa in 1722.[6] The Taposa ultimately allied with the Chickasaw.[1]

Name

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The original meaning of the name "Taposa" has been lost.[7]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d Ricky, Donald (200). Encyclopedia of Mississippi Indians. St. Clair Shores, MI: North American Book Distributors. p. 202. ISBN 9780403097784.
  2. ^ a b Ricky, Encyclopedia of Mississippi Indians, p. 7
  3. ^ Ricky, Encyclopedia of Mississippi Indians, p. 58
  4. ^ Taposa Tribe
  5. ^ The Indian Tribes of North America, by John Reed Swanton
  6. ^ Ricky, Donald (200). Encyclopedia of Mississippi Indians. St. Clair Shores, MI: North American Book Distributors. p. 107. ISBN 9780403097784.
  7. ^ Baca, Keith A. (2007). Native American Place Names in Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-60473-483-6.

References

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