On the Mississippi River in the eighteenth century the French encountered the Natchez Nation whose territories included portions of the present-day states of Mississippi and Louisiana. Like the Mississippian peoples at places like Cahokia, the Natchez built pyramids, lived in towns, supported themselves with agriculture, and had a chief that reigned like a king.
The designation Natchez is probably a French interpretation of Naches, the name of a village. The people called themselves “Theloel”.
In his book American Indian Almanac, John Terrell writes:
“The Natchez were sedentary, living in permanent villages. They were advanced agriculturalists, but also depended on hunting, fishing, and food-gathering for their subsistence.”
Natchez government was a kingdom. The king, known as the Great Sun, served as both religious and civil chief. The Great Sun had a lot of power and unlike the political leaders of other Indian tribes, the Great Sun reigned as a kind of king. John Terrell reports:
“The great chief of the Natchez held absolute power over the property and lives of his subjects.”
In their book Native American Heritage, Merwyn Garbarino and Robert Sasso report:
“He was in charge of the chiefs of the Natchez villages, and his word was law. He was assisted by a council, however, so that other members of the nobility and the town chiefs limited his despotism somewhat.”
In his book Indians, William Brandon writes:
“Every deference was shown him, and his power over his individual subjects, their lives, labor, and property was absolute and despotic; although in political decisions involving the nation as a whole the Great Sun was controlled by a council of respected men.”
The status of the Great Sun was shown by distinctive clothing, by carrying him on a litter so that he didn’t have to touch the ground, and by the behavior of others. When leaving his presence, people would walk backwards rather than turn their backs to him.
The main Natchez settlement, Grand Village, was the home of the Natchez king, Great Sun. In addition, there were five to nine other villages. In their book This Land Was Theirs: A Study of Native Americans, Wendell Oswalt and Sharlotte Neely report:
“In the center of Grand Village was an open plaza measuring 250 by 300 paces with a flat-topped mound at each end. On top of one mound was a temple, and on the other was the home of the Great Sun.”
In their book Native American Architecture, Peter Nabokov and Robert Easton write:
“The average Natchez settlement contained about four hundred people living in thirty to forty rectangular, plastered dwellings. The domestic compounds were clustered around nine ceremonial town centers, generally overlooking the creek just east of the Mississippi and protected by a combination of natural cliffs and log palisades. The tillable floodplains supported individual family gardens of corn, beans, and pumpkins, and a communal garden in which everyone in the community worked.”
The Natchez Great War Chief, Tattooed Serpent, lived in a house that was 30 feet long and 20 feet high atop a 10-foot house mound. Woven mats covered the windowless interior walls.
In 1725, Tattooed Serpent, the Natchez Great War Chief and brother of the Great Sun died. In his book The American Indian, Colin Taylor reports:
“His body was laid out on a cane bed in his house, probably on a small mound near the town plaza, dressed in his finest and with his face painted vermilion. His weapons were tied to his bed and around it were arrayed all the calumets (peace pipes) he had received during his career. All his other belongings were taken out of the house and packed to be buried with him.”
As a part of the traditional Natchez death rituals for high class individuals, two of his wives, one of his sisters, and several of his aides were strangled to death. His two wives were buried with him in a trench in the village temple. The bodies of the others were carried on litters back to their home villages for burial. The temple structure was burned and then the entire mound was covered with baskets of earth.
In 1725, Natchez war chief Stung Serpent commented on life before the coming of the French:
“Did we not live better than we do, seeing we deprive ourselves of a part of our corn, our game, and fish, to give a part to them?”
Conflicts with the French would eventually destroy the Natchez Nation.
More American Indian histories
Indians 101: American Indians and the English 300 years ago, 1724
Indians 101: American Indians and Europeans 300 years ago, 1723
Indians 101: Indians and Europeans 300 years ago, 1722
Indians 201: The Tuscaroras join the Iroquois League
Indians 101: Washington's Chehalis Indians and the Americans in 1792
Indians 201: Ute Indians and the Spanish quest for silver in 1765
Indians 101: Russians and Native Americans in the 18th century
Indians 101: Indian Resistance to the California Missions
