TheHainai (Caddo:Háynay^[1]) were aNative American tribe that lived in what is now eastTexas.

The Hainai are also cometimes called Ainais, Aes, Ainay, Ais, Aix, Aynais, Aynays, Ays, Ayses,^[2] Ioni, Huawni, or Ayonai.

The Hainai were the leading group in theHasinai confederacy. They were a part of theCaddo Nation, and traditionally lived on theNeches andAngelina rivers to the west of present-dayNacogdoches. In 1805, the group was reported to consist of 80 warriors by Dr. John Sibley, the Indian agent of theUnited States atNatchitoches, Louisiana. In 1837 the Republic of Texas makes reference to the Hainai in connection withYowani Choctaws living onAttoyac Bayou in what is now southeasternRusk County, Texas.^[3] Part of this group was later associated with a Native community in east Texas known as theMount Tabor Indian Community. The historian Mooney also noted theYowani as a part of the Caddo Confederacy. The direct connection, aside from Texas references between the Hainai and theYowani is unknown.^[4] One theory from the late historian/genealogist Cecil Lee Pinkston-Vinson was that Choctaw Tom, an influential Caddo leader who was aYowani married to a Caddo woman, had his encampment attacked by forces led by Captain Peter Garland just off the Brazos Reservation. The attackers were a vigilante force fromErath County, Texas resulting in the death of twenty-eight Indians. Choctaw Tom was believed to be the son ofYowani leader Atahobia. His descendants are believed to have traveled north to the presentCaddo Nation.

Today, the Hainai Caddo descendants are enrolled citizens of theCaddo Nation of Oklahoma with its headquarters inBinger, Oklahoma. TheMount Tabor Indian Community is currently recognized by the State of Texas and not the federal government with its headquarters inKilgore, Texas.

• Edmonds, Randlett.Nusht'uhtitiʔ Hasinay: Caddo Phrasebook. Richardson, TX: Various Indian Peoples Publishing, 2003.ISBN 1-884655-00-9.
• Hodge, Frederick Webb, ed.Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington: GPO, 1907.

• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture: Hainai

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