At the time of contact, the Caddoan bands (Kadohadacho, Natchitoches, and Hasinai) lived near the Red River and its tributaries throughout Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. The Caddo language is a member of the southern branch of the Caddoan language family. Related languages include Wichita, Kitsai, Pawnee, and Arikara.
Selected Language Information
Chafe, Wallace. 1977. Caddo Texts. In Caddoan Texts. Douglas R. Parks (ed.) International Journal of American Linguistics- Native American Texts Series Vol. 2. 27-43.
Chafe, Wallace. 1979. Caddoan. In The Languages of Native North America: Historical and Comparative Assessment. Campbell, Lyle and Marianne Mithun (eds.) Austin and London: University of Texas Press. 213-235.
Chafe, Wallace. 2005. Caddo. In Native Languages of the Southeastern United States. Hardy, Heather K. and Janine Scancarelli (eds.) Lincoln: University Press. 323-350.
Melnar, Lynette R. 2004. Caddo Verb Morphology. Studies in the Native Languages of the Americas. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Parks, Douglas R. 1979. The Northern Caddoan Languages: Their Subgrouping and Time Depths. Nebraska History 60: 197-213.
Sample Archival Materials in the Native American Languages Collection
Lee, Dayna Bowker (author). (n.d.). English to Caddo Dictionary (draft). Morris Foster Collection. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Department of Native American Languages. Media: manuscript. Catalog Number: MFO-005.
—–. 1993. Gracemont Caddo Language Class: Beginning Caddo, Lessons 1-3. General Field Collection. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Department of Native American Languages. Media: ephemera. Catalog Number: GEN-201.
—–. (n.d.). Indians for Indians, 1946, Caddo Group Singing Program, Jack Kionute Announcing; Indians for Indians Program, Don Whistler, WNAD, Oklahoma University, Jake Kionute Announcing. Caddo Songs. Houston Edmonds. Phil & Vynola Newkumet Collection. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Department of Native American Languages. Media: audio. Catalog Number: PVN-037.
—–. (n.d.). A Look At Caddoan Kinship. Akira and Kimiko Yamamoto Collection. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Department of Native American Languages. Media: manuscript. Catalog Number: AKY-546.
Links
Catalogue of Endangered Languages