Eyeish facts for kids

The Eyeish were a Native American tribe. They lived in what is now eastern Texas.

The Eyeish Story

The Eyeish tribe was part of the Caddo Confederacy. This was a group of Caddo-speaking tribes who worked together. However, the Eyeish often had disagreements with other Caddo tribes, especially the Hasinai. They lived near a stream called Eyeish Creek. This creek was located between the Neches River and the Sabine River.

Spanish explorers first met the Eyeish in 1542. They saw many buffalo herds in the area. The Eyeish tribe did not get along well with tribes living west of the Trinity River. They also had issues with tribes to the north near the Red River.

In 1716, Spanish monks traveled through Texas. They built a mission called Mission Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de los Ais. But the Eyeish people generally did not want to join the Spanish missions. After 50 years, the mission had only a few records of baptisms, burials, and marriages.

During the 1700s, the Eyeish tribe faced a big challenge. They caught European diseases like smallpox and measles from French and Spanish explorers. Many people became sick, and the tribe's numbers went down. In 1805, only 20 Eyeish members were recorded. But the tribe bounced back! By 1828, there were 160 Eyeish families. They had moved to live between the Brazos River and the Colorado River.

Eventually, the Eyeish joined the Wichita and Caddo tribes. They moved together to an area called Indian Territory. This land is now part of Oklahoma.

Other Names for the Eyeish

The Eyeish tribe was known by several other names. These include A'-ish, Aiaichi, Aliche, Aliches, Aiche, Ayays, Hais, Ays, or Ahijitos. Another group called the Hauydix might also have been the Eyeish.

However, the Eyeish are not the same as the Aijados tribe. The Aijados were met by explorers in 1683-84. They are also different from the Ais tribe, who lived in Florida.

The Eyeish Language

The Eyeish people were connected to the Caddo people in many ways. But it is not clear what language the Eyeish spoke. We also don't know how their language was related to other known languages.

An explorer named John Sibley wrote about the Eyeish language in the early 1800s. He said it was one of three unique languages spoken by the Eyeish, the Adai, and the Yatasi and Natchitoches people. Sibley noted that no other group spoke Eyeish. He said it was "so difficult to speak or understand, that no nation can speak ten words of it."

Sibley collected a list of Eyeish words in 1807 for Thomas Jefferson. Sadly, this list was lost. It was stolen when Jefferson's papers were moved. Sibley also reported that the Eyeish and Adai people could speak Caddo. Caddo was used as a common language for different tribes to talk to each other.

Later, a Caddo person named Caddo Jake told a researcher that Eyeish and Adai languages were similar enough for speakers to understand each other. There is not enough proof to say for sure if Adai belongs to the Caddoan language family. Some experts think Adai might have been a dialect of Caddo.