River Relief

November 3, 2011

Nov. 8 Big Muddy Speaker Series in Rocheport

"The People of the River's Mouth - In Search of the Missouria Indians"

presentation by Mike Dickey, Author and Site Administrator of Arrow Rock State Historic Site

Few people know that the Missouri River, and the state named after it, were actually named for a tribe of Native Americans that lived along the river near the mouth of the Grand River. Even fewer people know much about the tribe, which had already begun to decline due to disease by the time European explorers began to encounter them.

Mike Dickey will be sharing the knowledge he gained researching his recently released book called "The People of the River's Mouth - In Search of the Missouria Indians".

7:00 p.m. - Tues. Nov. 8, 2011
lower floor of the
Les Bourgeois Vineyards Bistro
in Rocheport, MO
(directions below)

Presentation is FREE! Click here for flier (pdf)
Come early to purchase a great dinner upstairs at the Bistro!

The Missouria tribe is now headquartered in Red Rock, Oklahoma, but their homeland is along the Missouri River. They called themselves "Nyut-achi", or the "People of the River's Mouth" (probably referring to the Grand River), but history knows them as the "Missouria" (from the Algonquin name for the tribe - meaing "people of the big canoes").

These people were intimately tied to the Missouri River, and lived both along its banks and in a scattering of villages in mid-Missouri (especially today's Saline County). They would follow the Grand River north to hunt for bison then return to their villages along the Big Muddy. Today's Van Meter State Park is the location of a historic Missouria (and Oneonta before them) village.

We are lucky to have Mike Dickey, the author of the most recent book collecting the story of the Missouria Indians. Come and learn about the people who our state is named for.

You can purchase Dickey's book by clicking here-

Directions

• Take I-70 to the Rocheport, MO, exit (Exit #115). It's the first exit east of the Missouri River.
• Head north toward Rocheport.
• After about a mile, turn left at the sign for Les Bourgeois Bistro. Follow the signs to the Bistro. You will probably need to park in the lot above the Bistro and walk the trail down.
• The presentations are held in the lower level. You can either enter at the restaurant entrance then go down the stairs to your left past the bar, or you can follow the walk to the right of the restaurant and enter through a glass door into the lower level.
  
• 14020 W. Hwy BB, Rocheport, MO (click for Google Map)

drawing on top by George Catlin (1836). Painting courtesy of Mo. Dept. of Natural Resources.