Ethnology of the Yuchi Indians

The Yuchis, one of the more resilient peoples of the southeastern United States, were forcibly relocated to Indian Territory along with their neighbors in the 1830s. In the early 1900s, as this study shows, much of their traditional way of life remained.

Yuchi life at the dawn of the modern era is portrayed in fascinating detail here, as observed and recorded by noted anthropologist Frank G. Speck in 1904–8. Speck’s fieldwork, combined with information gleaned from the experiences of a number of Yuchi men, describes numerous facets of Yuchi culture, including language, subsistence practices, decorative arts, domestic architecture, clothing, religious beliefs and rituals, healing practices, mythology, music, social and political organizations, warfare, games, and life-transition rituals and customs, such as birthing, naming, marriage, and burial. Affording a precious glimpse of a Native community in transition a century ago, Ethnology of the Yuchi Indians stands as an essential introduction to the history and culture of a vibrant southeastern Native people.