The
Illinois Confederation, sometimes referred to as the
Illiniwek or
Illini, were a group of 12–13
Native American tribes in the upper
Mississippi River valley of
North America. The tribes were the
Kaskaskia,
Cahokia,
Peoria,
Tamaroa,
Moingwena,
Michigamea, Chepoussa, Chinkoa, Coiracoentanon, Espeminkia, Maroa, and Tapouara. At the time of European contact in the 17th century, they were believed to number over 10,000 people. The Illinois spoke various dialects of the
Miami-Illinois language, one of the
Algonquian languages family. They occupied a broad inverted triangle from modern-day
Iowa to near the shores of Lake Michigan in modern
Chicago south to modern
Arkansas. By the mid-18th century, only five principal tribes remained—the Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Michigamea, Peoria, and Tamaroa.