Accordingly the Siouan habitat can be
outlined only in approximate and somewhat arbitrary fashion.
The difficulty in defining the priscan home of the Siouan tribes is
increased by its vast extent and scant peopling, by the length of the
period intervening between discovery in the east and complete exploration
in the west, and by the internal changes and migrations which occurred
during this period. The task of collating the records of exploration and
pioneer observation concerning the Siouan and other stocks was undertaken
by Powell a few years ago, and was found to be of great magnitude. It was
at length successfully accomplished, and the respective areas occupied by
the several stocks were approximately mapped.(51)
As shown on Powell's map, the chief part of the Siouan area comprised a
single body covering most of the region of the Great plains, stretching
from the Rocky mountains to the Mississippi and from the Arkansas-Red
river divide nearly to the Saskatchewan, with an arm crossing the
Mississippi and extending to Lake Michigan. In addition there were a few
outlying bodies, the largest and easternmost bordering the Atlantic from
Santee river nearly to Capes Lookout and Hatteras, and skirting the
Appalachian range northward to the Potomac; the next considerable area lay
on the Gulf coast about Pascagoula river and bay, stretching nearly from
the Pearl to the Mobile; and there were one or two unimportant areas on
Ohio river, which were temporarily occupied by small groups of Siouan
Indians during recent times.
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