The Missouria or Missouri (in their own language, Nutachi, also spelled Niutachi) are a Native American tribe that originated in the Great Lakes region of what is now the United States before European contact. The tribe belongs to the Chiwere division of the Siouan language family, together with the Ho-Chunk, Iowa, and Otoe. In their own Siouan language, the Missouri call themselves Nutachi, also spelled Niutachi, meaning "People of the River Mouth." The Osage called them the Waçux¢a, and the Quapaw called them the Wa-ju'-xd¢ǎ.
The state of Missouri and the Missouri River are named for the tribe.
History
16th century
thumb|360px|Remains of the Missouria [[Old Fort (Miami, Missouri)|Old Fort earthworks (1400–1752 CE) at Van Meter State Park]]
The tribe's oral history tells that they once lived north of the Great Lakes, where they were part of a larger tribe that included the Ho-Chunk, Iowa, and Otoe.
The 17th century brought hardships to the Missouria. The Sauk and Meskwaki frequently attacked them. Their society was even more disrupted by the high fatalities from epidemics of smallpox and other Eurasian infectious diseases that accompanied contact with Europeans. The French explorer Jacques Marquette contacted the tribe in 1673 and paved the way for trade with the French.]]
The Missouria migrated west of the Missouri River into Osage territory. During this time, they acquired horses and hunted bison. The French explorer Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont visited the people in the early 1720s. He married the daughter of a Missouria chief. They settled nearby, and Veniard created alliances with the people. He built Fort Orleans in 1723 as a trading post near present-day Brunswick, Missouri. It was occupied until 1726.
In 1730, an attack by the Sauk and Meskwaki tribes nearly destroyed the Missouria, killing hundreds. Most survivors reunited with the Otoe, while some joined the Osage and Kansa. After a smallpox outbreak in 1829, fewer than 100 Missouria survived, and they all joined the Otoe.