The Apalachee are an Inian tribe that lived in Apalachee Province, Florida, until the tribe was largely destroyed and dispersed in the 18th century. They lived between the Aucilla River and Ochlockonee River, at the head of Apalachee Bay and were first encountered by Spanish explorers in the 16th century. The Apalachee spoke a Muskogean language which is now extinct, documented by letters written in the Spanish Colonial period.