Native Americans of Tejas
Mr. Castillo’s Texas History
Objectives
By the end of this power point, I would
like my students to be able to…
– Understand where the Indians first came
from
– Understand the different areas where
Texas Native Americans lived
– Be able to identify the type of food,
clothing, and housing the Indians used
– Identify unique attributes of certain tribes
The First Americans
• It is thought that most Native Americans are
descended from people that crossed over from
Asia to America on a land bridge– the Bering
Land bridge.
This picture demonstrates
the diminishing of the bridge
over thousands of years
Migration Paths
• As the world's glaciers and ice sheets
melted over the following millennia,
rising sea level flooded the land bridge.
The Plains Culture Area
The Great Plains
stretches from Canada
into Southern Texas.
Many Native American
groups lived along the
edges of the plains to
farm and entered the
plains to hunt buffalo.
With the arrival of the
Spanish came the arrival
of horses. Many plains
Indians became excellent
horsemen. Most lived in
tepees.
• Some buffalo
weighed up to
1,600 pounds and
were 6 feet tall at
the shoulder and 10
feet long. Indians
used a variety of
techniques to hunt
buffalo.
The Comanche
• Migrated from
Wyoming
• Hunters and
gatherers
• Used the horse for
their main source of
transportation and
food-getting
• “Well dressed”
– The Comanche
leaders often wore
fine European
clothes, with many
silver conchos and
fine leather boots.
The Comanche
• Lived in tee-pees
• Good warriors and
traders (although,
thieves)
• Often spoke more
than one language
The Comanche lived in
bands headed by a peace
chief. If you were the best
fighter and rider you were
the war chief. The
Comanche were skilled
buffalo hunters. Because
of the their skills they soon
controlled much of the
plains including west and
northern Texas.
Comanche
The Tonkawa
• Lived on the north-central
plains and on the
southeastern edge of the
Edwards Plateau. They
depended on the buffalo
for food, clothing and
shelter. They were
considered huntergatherers. The Tonkawa
were driven from their
hunting grounds by the
Apache.
The Tonkawa
• “The people of the
wolf”
– Believed descended
from mythical wolf
• Totemic belief
system
– each clan had a
mythical animal or
spirit to guard them
The Tonkawa
• Tattooed bodies
• Hill country of
central Texas
– Shared land with the
Karankawa and
Coahuiltecan
• Friendly, but
enemies with
Comanche and
Apache tribes
• Hunted and
gathered food
– Fish, deer,
blackberries
• Lived in huts,
wickiups and teepees
The Apache
• The Apache culture originated in
Canada but migrated to the Great
Plains . Two Apache groups settled
in Texas. These are the Lipan and
Mescalero. Apaches were
organized into bands that traveled,
hunted and fought together. The
Apaches were skilled horsemen
and often teamed up when hunting
buffalo. Lipan Apaches were also
farmers which was very unusual for
Apaches.
The Apaches
• Migrated to Texas from
Canada
• “Apache” is probably
Zuni which means
“enemy”
– The Apache and Navajo
called themselves the
Dine
– Dine in Apache or Navajo
means "the people”
• Built wickiups and
teepees
• Semi-sedentary
– Farmed and hunted
• Most Lipan Apache men cut their hair very short on
the left side but allowed the hair on the right to hang
long. They tied feathers and other decorations to their
hair. The men had no facial hair and the women wore
earrings. Apaches were feared throughout Texas.
The Apaches
• Wore leather boots
and wide cloth
headbands
• After the horse,
stopped farming to
hunt
• Pushed further
south by Comanche
– Two groups: Lipan
and Mescaleros
• Sought refuge in
Spanish missions but
treated like slaves
• Geronimo- famous
leader of the
Mescalero Apaches
– 1870s- led a famous
raid in southern New
Mexico and far west
Texas
Kiowa
• The Kiowa were the last plains
group to arrive in Texas. They
hunted buffalo, and gathered
berries, fruits and nuts. They
traded with other groups for
what they did not have. The hair
of the Kiowa men was long but
over the right ear it was short.
The Kiowa and the Comanche
were allies.
The Southeastern Culture Area
• Caddo-moved into Eastern Texas
from Arkansas, Louisiana and
Oklahoma. They built permanent
villages and became expert
farmers. They practiced crop
rotation. The Caddo grew beans,
corn, squash, sunflower seeds and
tobacco. They organized their
tribes into three confederacies.
The Caddo built mounds and
temples for religious events. In
addition to a religious and political
structure the Caddo had healers
and craftspeople.
The Wichita confederacy included four groups. They settled
along the Red River. They lived along creeks and rivers. They
grew beans, corn, melons and squash. The Wichita used horses
to hunt buffalo and deer. They lived in permanent villages. Like
the Caddo, the Wichita tattooed their bodies. Theirs was more
extreme.
The Wichita
• Semisedentary lifestyle
– farms and villages, but
also moved around
• Fall would migrate
west to go on a buffalo
hunt
• In spring lived in grass
huts in villages
–
grew maize, pumpkins,
squash, beans and plums
The Wichita
•
•
•
•
•
Tattoos— “raccooneyed people”
Wore clothes made of
tanned hides
Men: shirts, loin
cloths and leggings
Women: dresses that
reached from their
chin to their ankles
Moccasins
• Elk teeth were very
valuable
– trade items with
neighboring tribes
The Caddo was a matrilineal
society. This means they
traced their families through
their mother’s side. Their
houses were wooden poles
covered with grass. Some may
have plastered the outside
walls with mud. Both men and
women tattooed and painted
their bodies.
The Caddo
• Lived in piney areas
of East Texas
– Grass huts like the
Wichitas
• Farmers
– corn, beans, squash
and other crops
• Set fires in the
woods to burn away
clearings to farm
• Women would
gather wild plant
food like acorns,
black berries
• Men would travel in
hunting parties for
buffalo
• Buffalo robes
The Caddo
• Texas is a Caddoan
word
– It means "those who
are friends"
– The Tejas Caddo
tribes were all
"friends”
• Made bows and
arrows out of bois
de arc wood
• Made axes to cut
down trees
• Beautiful pottery
Click the ax for more
information
• Atakapan-between the
Caddo and the Gulf of
Mexico lived the
Atakapan people. They
were farmers with corn
being their main crop.
Not only did they farm
but they hunted wild
game and alligator.
Little is known about
their houses but it is
thought they lived in
huts made from brush.
Lets Review!
1. Where is it thought that the first humans
that came to America came from?
2. Where did the Comanche Indians live? The
Wichita? The Caddo?
3. What kind of house did the Comanches live
in? The Wichita? The Caddo?
4. Which Native Texans were hunter/
gatherers?
5. Which were farmers?
6. What does “Tejas” mean?
The Western Gulf Culture Area
• Karankawa-hunters
and gatherers who lived in
the area of Galveston to
Corpus Christi. They were
nomads. They used dugout canoes to fish, hunt
sea turtles and collect
shells. They also hunted
deer and small animals.
They lived in wigwams.
The Karankawa did not need
much clothing. Their clothes
were made out of deerskin or
grass. They painted themselves
with bright colors. To keep the
insects away they rubbed
alligator fat and dirt into their
skin. The Karankawa treated
their children with kindness.
They gave their children two
names, one of which only their
family knew.
The Karankawa
• Galveston and
Corpus Christi area
• Food= fish, fish,
fish!
• Clothing
– Men: breach cloths
or nothing at all
– Women: grass skirts
• Lived in wickiups
during the winter
• Got around in
canoes
– Could hold a family
and all their
possessions
The Karankawa
• Larger than most
Native Americans at 6’
• Often unfairly labeled
as cannibals
Click on the fish for more
information on the
Karankawa culture
• Coahuiltecan-hunted and
gathered food in south Texas.
They were nomadic and covered
large distances following buffalo,
deer and small animals. The
Coahuiltecan also fished and
hunted for wild plants. Their diets
included ants, eggs, lizards,
snakes, spiders and worms. They
did not build permanent homes.
Both men and women wore their
hair long. They worked hard but
they like to gather for feasting and
dancing.
The Coahuiltecan
• Many similar groups
of Indians in the
same area
– called the
Coahuiltican Indians
out of convenience
• South Texas,
Eastern Mexico
• Hunters and
gatherers until
people started to
come to America
• “Dirty and smelly”
– Diseases
– Became extremely
poor
The Coahuiltecan
• Wickiups,
sometimes
• Little clothing, if
any
• Made sandles out of
lechuguilla plants
Click the cactus for
more info.
The Pueblo Culture Area
• Jumano-made
permanent houses
made of adobe. The
Jumano lived along
the Rio Grande River.
They were able to grow
corn and other crops
because they settled
near the river. They
also hunted buffalo and
gathered wild plants for
food. The Jumano
lived in large villages.
They used bows and
arrows and carried
heavy clubs into
battles.
Jumano
• West Texas
• Farmers
– grew corn, beans
and squash
– grew cotton for
clothes and blankets
• Adobe houses
Jumano
• Clean and neat
• Men shaved their
heads except for at
the top
• Traders
• Supposedly naked
except for when it
was cold- wore
blankets
Lets Review!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What did the Tonkawa Indians call themselves?
Which Native Texans lived in adobe houses?
How did the Karankawa clans get around?
Why were the Coahuiltecan clans “dirty and
“smelly”?
What was Geronimo’s Indian heritage?
What type of homes did the Tonkawa, Apache,
Karankawa, Coahuiltecan, and Jumano Indians live
in?