Mascouten facts for kids
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| descendants are part of the Kickapoo today | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois | |
| Languages | |
| Algonquian | |
| Religion | |
| Midewiwin | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Piankashaw and Kickapoo |
The Mascouten (also spelled Mascoutin) were a group of Native Americans. They spoke an Algonquian language. This tribe lived in the Midwest region of what is now the United States.
Historians believe they lived near the Mississippi River. This was close to where Wisconsin and Illinois are today. They moved there after being pushed out of Michigan by the Odawa tribe.
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What Does "Mascouten" Mean?
The Mascouten were often called the "Fire Nation." This name comes from early French records. However, a Jesuit missionary explained that this was a mistake.
The correct name, Maskoutench, meant "a treeless country." This described the open lands where the Mascouten lived. But because a few letters could be changed to mean "fire," the name stuck.
Their name might also come from a Fox word. This word meant "Little Prairie People." Another idea is that it came from a Sauk term. This term, Mashkotêwi, meant "Prairie" or "Plains." The Huron tribe also called them Atsistaeronnon, which meant "people of the fire."
Early History and French Encounters
The Mascouten first appear in history through French missionaries. These missionaries wrote about them in their journals. They described the Mascouten as living in southern Michigan.
The missionaries said the Mascouten were a very large group. They believed the Mascouten were more numerous than the Neutral Nation, the Huron, and the Iroquois nations combined.
Challenges and Migration
In 1712, the Mascouten faced a difficult time. They were nearly wiped out by conflicts with the French and the Potawatomi tribe. After these struggles, the remaining Mascouten joined forces. They allied with the Kickapoo and the Fox tribes.
Survivors of the Mascouten tribe moved westward. They are last mentioned as a distinct group in 1779. At that time, they were living near the Wabash River in Indiana. They lived there alongside the Piankashaw and Kickapoo peoples.
Later, in 1813 and 1825, United States records mention them. These records show that the surviving Mascouten had become part of the Kickapoo Prairie Band.
Places Named After the Mascouten
The Mascouten tribe's name lives on in some places. The city of Mascoutah, Illinois, was named in their honor in 1839. Also, the village of Moscow in Iowa County, Wisconsin, is said to be named after the Mascouten tribe.
