Taposa Explained

Group:	Taposa
Total:	extinct as a tribe, may have merged into Chakchiuma
Regions:	United States (Mississippi)
Languages:	likely a Muskogean language
Religions:	Indigenous religion
Related Groups:	Chakchiuma, Ibitoupa, and Tiou^[1]

The Taposa were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands from what is now Mississippi in the United States.^[2]

The Taposa were a small tribe like their neighbors, the Ibitoupa and Chakchiuma, who all lived along the upper Yazoo River between the larger, more powerful Chickasaw and Choctaw.^{[3] [4]}

History

17th century

The Taposa were first written about by French colonist Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville in 1699.

18th century

Baron de Crenay's 1733 map of Louisiana includes a Taposa settlement near the Chakchiuma.^[5] Another neighboring tribe, the Ibitoupa may have merged into the Taposa in 1722.^[6] The Taposa ultimately allied with the Chickasaw.^[5]

Name

The original meaning of the name "Taposa" has been lost.^[7]

References

• Book: Ricky . Donald . Encyclopedia of Mississippi Indians . 200 . North American Book Distributors . St. Clair Shores, MI . 9780403097784 .

Notes and References

1. Ricky, Encyclopedia of Mississippi Indians, p. 58
2. https://accessgenealogy.com/mississippi/taposa-tribe.htm Taposa Tribe
3. Ricky, Encyclopedia of Mississippi Indians, p. 7
4. https://books.google.com/books?id=Xpx6WoPz7xIC&dq=taposa+tribe&pg=PA192 The Indian Tribes of North America
5. Book: Ricky . Donald . Encyclopedia of Mississippi Indians . 200 . North American Book Distributors . St. Clair Shores, MI . 9780403097784 . 202 .
6. Book: Ricky . Donald . Encyclopedia of Mississippi Indians . 200 . North American Book Distributors . St. Clair Shores, MI . 9780403097784 . 107 .
7. Book: Baca, Keith A. . Native American Place Names in Mississippi . 2007. University Press of Mississippi. 978-1-60473-483-6. 121.