Before you go on to a more detailed reading of the history of the Kaskaskia, take a look at the History of the Indians in the Illinois area in the Context of Cultural and Political Events of the Time. You also need an understanding of the Tribes and Sub-tribes in the area. Even with this, I suggest that you check with each tribe concerning their identity. Just because historians say a tribe is a "sub-tribe," does not mean the tribe has ever defined themselves in that manner.
The Destruction of the Kaskaskia
From Lee Sultzman’s extensive First Nations Compact Histories, we learn that the destruction of the Illini after contact is one of the great tragedies in North American history. By the time American settlement reached them during the early 1800s, the Illini were nearly extinct and replaced by other tribes. For the most part, the blame for this could not be placed on a war with the Europeans or the Illini refusal to adapt themselves to a changing situation. Actually, few tribes had adapted as much or attached themselves more closely to the French. This made it easy to place responsibility for the fate of the Illini on their native enemies, or perhaps even nature itself, and for this reason, their sad story became a favorite romanticized explanation of the Native American's "ride into the sunset" to prepare the way for the advance of "civilization." However, stripped of this embellishment, the story of the Illini's decline is a chilling indication of how the European presence, regardless of purpose or intention, unleashed destructive forces upon North America's native peoples which reached far beyond the immediate areas of their colonization. (Lee Sultzman)
For additional historical information concerning both the Kaskaskia and the Illiniwek Confederation, visit Bob Fester’s The Illini Confederation: Lords of the Mississippi. Bob is not only an award winning researcher, but was also very nice to me when I first started looking for my Kaskaskia ancestry. I deeply appreciate his kindness to a new searcher.
If you like “first person accounts,” you have got to read Old Kaskaskia Days and Ways by Stuart Brown. It was first published in the Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society in 1905.
You will also want to read The Prairie Nations Page: Hodge’s Handbook: 1910. This is an amazing resource. Please write the owner of the site and thank them on behalf of the Kaskaskia Tribal Descendants. This is a direct link to the Kaskaskia Entry from Hodge’s Handbook: 1910. Be sure and read the Bibliography at the end of the page. This is where I found alternate ways that Kaskaskia has been spelled and that Rouinsac was a Kaskaskian village. I always wondered how my 9-g-grandfather, Mamenthouensa, came to be called Rouensa. This could certainly be a clue. In addition, this is a direct link to the “Illinois” Entry from Hodge’s Handbook: 1910.
For more history of the Illiniwek and the area, see Louis and Clark Journey of Discovery: The Illiniwek and The French Colonial Period in Illinois, 1673 – 1765: A Selected and Updated Bibliography by B. Pierre Lebeau.
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9-g-granddaughter of Mamenthouensa
