The Illinois or Illini Indians are, so far as is now known, the next
group to occupy the state following the Middle Mississippians. At the
time of Marquette and Jolliet’s voyage in 1673, six tribes comprised the
Illinois Confederacy, Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Michigamea, Peoria, Moingwena,
and Tamaroa[18]. The tribes spoke the same or mutually intelligible
dialects of the Algonkian language.
Some time before 1650, possibly a century or more, the Illinois
Confederacy seems to have been a powerful nation but in the latter half
of the 17th century this was a tradition rather than fact. The
Confederacy appears to have engaged in no united action after 1650.
The Illini at that time were in the plant-raising stage of culture and
possessed only the dog as a domesticated animal. Like many other
plant-raisers, the families deserted the village for the hunt after the
corn was hilled and again after the harvest.