KANNEHOUAN INDIANS. The Kannehouan (Cannehovan, Kannehonan, Kannehonau, Ouanahinan) Indians are known only from documents of the La Salle expedition, which indicate that in the late seventeenth century these Indians lived inland well to the north or northeast of Matagorda Bay, probably near the Brazos River. Their affiliations remain undetermined. The Kannehouans have been erroneously identified with the Tahiannihouqs, who were mentioned in the same documents as enemies of the Kadohadacho Indians on the Red River. It is doubtful if the Tahiannihouq Indians lived within the limits of future Texas. The Kannehouans have also been identified with the Cannahas and Cannahios, two separately listed groups likewise identified in the La Salle expedition documents as enemies of the Kadohadachos. These identifications are conjectures based on similarities in names and do not meet the test of locational geography.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Frederick Webb Hodge, ed., Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico (2 vols., Washington: GPO, 1907, 1910; rpt., New York: Pageant, 1959). Pierre Margry, ed., Découvertes et établissements des Français dans l'ouest et dans le sud de l'Amérique septentrionale, 1614–1754 (6 vols., Paris: Jouast, 1876–86).
