They Stand Here and There: the Kickapoo
The Kickapoo are an Algonquian-speaking people sometimes classified as Eastern Woodlands Natives or a Plains tribe, depending on the particular band. They originated in Wisconsin, where they were first encountered by Jesuit missionaries in the 1600's, and some bands ended up in Texas or Mexico by the 19th Century. Their history shows just how severely one tribe could be splintered and displaced by White settlement. The name Kickapoo may originate from an Algonquian word meaning, "they stand here, now there", referring to the nomadic nature of this tribe. Some sources believe they originated as far east as Michigan, although that isn't certain. Closely allied with the Sac and Fox tribes, when they were encountered by Jesuit missionaries, they ranged between the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers. They joined Pontiac's Rebellion in 1763 and, along with the Sac, Fox, Ottawa and Potawatomi displaced another tribe, the Illinois. They set up their new homes by ...