Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto blazed the trails of the Arkansas area in 1541, followed by French explorers Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette. In 1682, French explorer La Salle claimed this wilderness in the name of France, naming it Louisiana. There were many Native American tribes living in this region: The Osage, Caddo, Akansa and the Quapaw. France then ceded this region to Spain in 1762. Spain permitted Americans to settle in the Arkansas...