The Nasoni are a Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 tribe from eastern Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 and southwestern Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

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History

The Nasoni were divided into two bands. The Upper Nasoni, who lived along the Red River

Red River (Mississippi watershed)

The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in the southern United States of America. The river gains its name from the red-bed country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name...

 in the southwestern corner of Arkansas. They were affiliated with the Kadohadacho branch of the Caddo Confederacy. The Lower Nasoni, who lived between the Sabine

Sabine River (Texas-Louisiana)

The Sabine River is a river, long, in the U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana. In its lower course, it forms part of the boundary between the two states and empties into Sabine Lake, an estuary of the Gulf of Mexico. The river formed part of the United States-Mexican international boundary during...

 and Angelina River

Angelina River

The Angelina River is formed by the junction of Barnhardt and Shawnee creeks three miles northwest of Laneville in southwest central Rusk County, Texas ....

s in present day Rusk County, Texas

Rusk County, Texas

As of the census of 2000, there were 47,372 people, 17,364 households, and 12,727 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile . There were 19,867 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...

. They were part of the Hasinai

Hasinai

The Hasinai Confederacy was a large confederation of Caddo-speaking Native Americans located between the Sabine and Trinity rivers in eastern Texas...

 branch of the Caddo Confederacy.

Hernando De Soto encountered the Lower Nasoni in 1541. During René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, or Robert de LaSalle was a French explorer. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico...

's 1686 expedition, members of his party were greeted by the Lower Nasoni and carried into their town for welcoming festivities.

During the 17th through 19th centuries, European diseases, particularly smallpox, wreaked havoc upon Nasoni and other Caddo groups, forcing them to consolidate for survival.

In 1719, French explorers established a fort and trading post on the Red River, Le Poste des Cadodaquious

Le Poste des Cadodaquious

Le Poste des Cadodaquious was a small French fort founded in 1719; it was located northwest of Texarkana, Texas in today's Bowie County. Recent analysis suggests that the site was somewhere on the escarpment near either Everett or Barkman....

, opposite of an Upper Nasoni village. They traded firearms, ammunition, metal tools, beads, clothing, and accessories for hides and horses. The Upper Nasoni allied with the French from 1719 to 1762.

In 1716, Spanish monks founded the San José de los Nazones Mission to serve the Nadaco

Nadaco

The Nadaco, also commonly known as the Anadarko, are a Native American tribe from eastern Texas. Their name, Nadá-kuh, means "bumblebee place."-History:The Nadaco were part of the Hasinai branch of the Caddo Confederacy....

 and the Lower Nasoni tribes. The Lower Nasoni allied with the Spanish during the 18th century. By 1880, their population had been so ravaged by disease, that it is believed they assimilated into the Nadaco tribe.

Today, Nasoni people are enrolled in the Caddo Nation, headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma

Binger, Oklahoma

Binger is a town in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 708 at the 2000 census.Binger is the headquarters of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, who were settled here in the 1870s....

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Synonymy

Hernando De Soto referred to the tribe as the Nassohone. The Lower Nasoni were called Nasaya, Nasayaha, Nasayaya, Nasoui, Nassoni, Nassonite, Nazone, Nazoni. The Nasoni were also called Assony and Nisohoni.

External links

• Nasoni Indians, Handbook of Texas Online
• The Nasoni Tribe and the Mission of San Jose, from Access Genealogy