Apalachee

Apalachee, tribe of North American Indians who spoke a Muskogean language and inhabited the area in northwestern Florida between the Aucilla and Apalachicola rivers above Apalachee Bay. In the 16th century the Spanish explorers Pánfilo de Narváez (in 1528) and Hernando de Soto (in 1539) led expeditions to Apalachee territory. Traditionally, the tribe was divided into clans that traced descent through the maternal line; chieftainship and office were hereditary, probably in the lineage within the...