Adai people
The Adai were Native Americans who lived in what is now northwestern Louisiana and northeastern Texas. They were part of the Caddo Confederacy in the Southeastern Woodlands. The name Adai comes from the Caddo word hadai, meaning brushwood. They were also called Natao by some Europeans, and their name has many spellings.
The Adai language is extinct and is not clearly linked to other languages because so little is known about it. A linguist noted that the language was very difficult to understand. About 250 Adai words were recorded.
The Adai were among the first Indigenous people to meet Europeans. Cabeza de Vaca mentioned them in 1530 as Atayos. Some Adai joined the Spanish mission at San Francisco de los Tejas in 1690. In 1699 Iberville met Adai along the Red River in Louisiana.
In 1716 the Spanish built the Mission of San Miguel de Linares (also called the Mission of Adayes) to convert the Adai and other Caddo. The mission was destroyed by the French in 1719 and rebuilt in 1721. The Spanish later established a fort at Adaes near Natchitoches, Louisiana.
La Harpe noted in 1719 that the Adai helped French traders. They lived in villages along the Red River, from Louisiana into Texas past the Sabine River. War, disease, and alcohol brought a sharp decline; by about 1778 they were almost gone.
Archaeologists have found Adai pottery from the 1770s, often tempered with bone. Some styles are called Patton Engraved and Emory Incised.
Around 1792 about 14 Adai families moved to San Antonio, Texas, and joined other tribes. The remaining Adai near Nacogdoches merged into the Caddos.
By 1820 only a few Adai were left. Some accounts mention around 20 men and more women; later sources say about 30 survived. By 1825 the Adai were described as fully merged with the Caddo, though the name lives on.
Louisiana recognizes the Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana, based in Robeline, as a state-recognized tribe.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:00 (CET).