The
Quapaw (or
Arkansas and
Ugahxpa) people are a tribe of
Native Americans that coalesced in the Midwest and Ohio Valley. From the 17th century, they migrated to the west side of the
Mississippi River and resettled in what is now the state of
Arkansas, moving in response to pressure from the Iroquois in the
Beaver Wars. The territory and state of Arkansas were named for them, as Europeans first learned their name as the
Arkansea, the term used by the
Algonquian-speaking
Illinois Confederation traders encountered to the east. The Quapaw are among the
Siouan-speaking peoples west of the Mississippi.
