Kansa Origins

Kansa Origins. . , Kansa Indians belong to the Dhegiha branch of the Siouan-speaking peoples. The Dhegiha Siouan group consists of the Kansa, Osage Ponca, Kwapa (Quapaw) and Omaha tribes. Kansa legends suggest that these five tribes once lived together as one nation, somewhere east of the Mississippi River. Some evidence suggests the Dhegihan tribes may have originated from as far south and east as the South Atlantic Coast., Kansa legends describe a westward migration which took these five tribes to the mouth of the Ohio River. At this point, the Kwapa journeyed southward down the Mississippi River whereas the other four groups followed the Mississippi northward to its confluence with the Missouri near the present site of St. Louis. Eventually, the migration continued up the Missouri Valley. Later, at the mouth of the Osage River, a final separation took place. The Omahas and Poncas crossed the Missouri to continue in a northwesterly direction. The Osage ascended the Osage River to the southwest. The Kansas continued up the Missouri to the area just above the mouth of the Kansas River at its confluence with the Blue River (near present-day Manhattan). Historical and archaeological evidence indicates that the Kansas settled in the Kansas River Valley. Here, according to historical evidence, they were first encountered by european traders and trappers in the early eighteenth century., The origin and meaning of the name Kansa remains unclear. By the nineteenth century, when serious efforts were made to inquire into the traditional meaning of the name, reliable information was no longer available. The name Kansa is known to be one of the older tribal names within the Dheoiha Siouan group. Despite this older status, the name may or may not have originated within the tribe. Possibly, the name stemmed from a tribal word that was later adapted into the European language., The Kansa tribe maintained various clans, also known as gentes. in prehistoric times, the two main Kansa gentes consisted of "the keepers of the pipe" and "the wind people as a subdivision within the wind people." The Kansa tribe created a specific Kansa clan or gens which was further subdivided into "The Southwind People and "The Small Wind People" or "makes-a-breeze-near-the-ground." This Kansa gens performed the rites associated with the winds. This may be an indication that the name Kansa as a tribal designation had a specific association with wind, and more precisely, the south wind.