Native American History

Native American History. . Native Americans have a long history in the Monett area. Artifacts from the bottomland of the Monett golf course and the Long farm east of town reflect centuries of occupation dating back to the Archaic Period 2,800 to 9,000 years ago, which is before pottery, the bow and arrow or an agriculture-based society. The Missouri Archaeological Society can identify people from the Neosho focus in the Spanish Fort area around Hoberg, active some 500 years ago, who engaged in trade in and beyond the area. There are no records of established Native American villages in or near Monett in the past 300 years, though there is evidence of some fur trading sites nearby. Villages usually developed around reliable water sources. In that period, the Osage, based in Vernon County, controlled a powerful fur trading empire across southwest Missouri. They spoke the Dhegrihan- Siouan language, shared with the Kansa/Kaw, Ponca, Omaha and Quapaw tribes, while the lowa, Otoe and Missouri tribes, who settled north along the Missouri River, spoke Chiawere-Siouan. Often shared language and styles of pottery and spear points were all that affiliated Native groups. “Nations” of tribes developed later, often for political or protective interests. Also spending time in the Monett area during a westward migration were the Delaware, Shawnee and Cherokee people. After the Osage signed a treaty in 1823 ceding their Missouri land rights, Native people gradually moved west. Smaller groups visited the area for heritage and nutritional purposes through the 19th century. In addition to stories about visits here, a Native American tradition said tornados would skip over Monett, one that has been tested to be true in recent years. , Written By: Murray Bishoff , This sign was created by students under the direction of Monett High School Missouri Literature and Composition teacher Amy M. Sampson and was paid for via a grant she wrote and was awarded from Rural Schools Collaborative and their 2023 Celia B. Godsil Grants in Place Fellows Program.