COMANCHE

APPEARANCE

•Well Built; muscular

•Wore headdresses of buffalo over long-braided hair

•Tattooed; brightly painted

BELIEFS

• Scalping enemy would doom the soul of the scalped

• Would not eat food if shadow passed over it

• Bad luck to boil and broil food over a same fire

• Believed in a god• Strong moral code of what was right and

what was wrong

FOOD

• Light meal in morning; heavy in the evening• Ate food raw ( liver flavored w/ gall bladder)

warm blood from fresh killed animals, milk from utters( curdled milk from fawn)

• DID NOT EAT fish, wild fowl, dogs or coyotes.• ATE: rats, skunks, lizards, grasshoppers,

decayed meat• Gathered plants

HOUSING

• Lived in tepees

Government

• Tribe divided into two groups; each had its own leaders

• Had a war and peace chief

• Council of older men who made important decisions

OTHER FACTS

• Entered TX between 1700s and 1800s• Lived on prairies and plains• Hunted on foot until Spanish introduced horses• Would encircle buffalo and then kill w/ bows and

arrows( tipped w/ iron & steel); carried bison-hide shields

• Known for horsemanship• Fought to protect Comancheria• Sent to reservations in Oklahoma

KIOWA

APPEARANCE• Dark-skinned• Cut hair short on right side to show off

earring; left side grew long• Decorated body, clothing & horses with

metal and silver trinkets• Men—deerskin, moccasins, breechcloths• Women—high moccasins, deerskin

dresses

BELIEFS

• Annual sun dance in June

• Ceremonies & festivals for every season

• Dead buried in high inaccessible places

• Warrior’s horse & dog killed over grave

• Women would cut off their hair

Food

• Hunted buffalo, elk, antelope, deer and horses

• Did not eat bears, birds and fish

• Gathered berries

Housing

• Tepees-12 people in one, made out of 20 hides sewn together & fastened around 20-24 poles-painted; fire in center & beds around entrance faced east.

Government

• Had an alliance w/Comanches (traveled, hunted together but kept separate camps)

• Joining tribe was voluntary-agreement between headsman—had to be honest

• 6 warrior society=all males belonged-Rabbit to Koisenko

Other Facts

• Plains people, from mountain areas of North New Mexico

• Fought to keep land—were forced onto reservations

Lipan Apache

Appearance• Short hair on left side and right side grew

longer• Feathers and other decorations were tied

in their hair• Left ear was pierced 6-8 times• Men-plucked beards and eyebrows• Women-earrings, copper bracelets, animal

skins

Beliefs• Feared the spirits of the dead; all belongings were

placed in grave• Relatives moved to another part of the village and

didn’t mention their name again• The Lipan lived in a sacred manner. All aspects of

life were revered because they were seen as gifts from the Creator— Yusn (Great Mystery).

• Balance in the spiritual realm was very important, Purification was achieved through sweat lodges, prayer and sacred ritual. Failure to maintain the balance, the harmony with the natural world would result in disaster, sickness or even death. Shamans were the religious leaders who offered guidance through prophecies and healing to the people.

Food

• Nomads; followed buffalo; hunted with bow and arrow

• Gardened corn, beans, squash

• Gathered foods

• Dead bison opened up and raw livers and other organs eaten immediately-intestines cooked whole

• Lean meat dried for jerky

Housing

• Skin tepees with sotol poles; bearskins for doors; hole at top for escaping smoke

• Thatched huts

• Lived in villages

Government

• Chief

Other Facts

• Came to Texas by N. Plains through New Mexico into Panhandle

• North of San Antonio, Edwards Plateau; Hill Country north to the Red River

• Threat to European settlements• One of most powerful tribes• Driven from the land by Comanches• Buffalo hides used for shelter, clothing,

blankets

KarankawaAppearance

• Men-strong, tall, muscular

• Wore no clothes

• Brightly painted bodies

• Pierced lip and chest and then put in short stalks of sugar cane

• Women wore deerskin skirts

Beliefs

• Engaged in ritualistic cannibalism– they believed that they absorbed the power of their enemies when they ate them.

Food

• Mostly fished: fish, porpoises, turtles, clams, oysters, underwater plants

• Made dugout canoes

• Hunted small game: with long bows of cedar

• Gathered wild fruits and berries

• Ate alligators

Housing

• Wooden huts

• tepees

Government

• Family worked together to make necessary tools, pottery jars, bowls, wove baskets

• Children treated with special care

Other Facts

• Lived along Gulf Coast; on islands between Galveston & Corpus Christi Bay

• Noted for being runners, hunters, & swimmers

• Fierce and relentless

• Cannibals according to Cabeza de Vaca

• Alligator grease for insect repellant

• Disappeared by 1800-converted

Coahuiltecan Appearance

• Breech cloth

• Scraggly

• Women, to dress up, would wear Spanish Moss

Beliefs

• Shamans-Religious ceremonies

• Made medicine out of plants, herbs, & berries

• Cared for the sick

• Held celebrations for boys & girls when they became adults

Food

• Gathered and dried cactus, mesquite, prickly pear

• Hunted w/ bows and arrows: deer, javelina, bison

• Ate worms, lizards, spiders

• Add dirt for flavor

• Rotting wood and deer dung

• Fish w/ maggots and flies

Housing

• Mesquite trees bent over and covered with mud, skins & brush

• Temporary shelters

Government

• All were equal and shared food

• Women took care of cave

• Men hunted

• Old and disabled had other jobs

Other Facts

• Lived in South Texas Plain

• Nomads

• Could run down a deer

• Killed women and girl captives

Jumano and Tigua Appearance

• unknown

Beliefs

• unknown

Food

• Farmed- used irrigation

• Crops-squash, corn, beans, other vegetables

• Prickly pear, mesquite beans and edible cactus

• Hunted for small game

Housing

• Lived in sides of cliffs

• Individual homes, made of adobe, flat roofs

• Kept them cool in summer and warm in winter

• Lasted for years due to dry climate

Government

• unknown

Other Facts

• Traveled and traded

• Unclear Spanish reports

• Disappeared into Mexico or joined other Indian tribes in Texas

Caddo Appearance

• Tattoos on face

• Bound babies to boards resulting in long skinny heads

• Leather clothing

• Dyes for clothes

Beliefs

• Head priest Chesoni

• Kept temple fire from which all other fires were lit

Food

• Fertile soil• Crops-squash, beans, melons, pumpkins, figs,

plums & sunflower• 2 crops a year/ 2 years of seed• Gathered fruits & berries hunted deer, bear,

buffalo• Trout line• Men-cleared the land• Women- planted crops

Housing

• Permanent settlements

• Domelike houses 50’ diameter

• Twigs & mud covered w/ grass

• 7 to 15 houses along river

• Inside-colored rugs, buffalo hides on beds, baskets & jars

Government

• Chiefs-handled war and peace

• Men & women held powerful positions

• Bureaucracy

• All reported to grand Caddi

• Confederacy

Other Facts

• Remained in Texas until 1850

• Warfare and diseases killed them off (smallpox)

• Tormented captives

• Shed tears easily at every occasion

• Warlike

• Moved to Oklahoma

Tonkawa Appearance

• Wore clothing for protection• Men-breechcloth &moccasins• Women-short deerskin skirt• Male torso-painted & tattooed • Earrings and necklaces• Warriors-feather & horn headdresses • Paint himself & horse w/ red, yellow & black. • Unique facial designs (not copied)

Beliefs

• Respected wolves and coyotes

• Cannibalism

Food

• Hunters-buffalo (not many) also deer, rabbits, turtles, snakes, rats, skunks, dogs, horses, rattlesnakes, fish, oysters

• Carried bows; dipped dart heads in mistletoe juice

Housing

• Skin houses

Government

• Not one tribe but group of tribes

• Had both civil and military leaders

Other Facts

• Lived in South Texas, SE edge of Edwards Plateau

• In constant warfare with Comanche

• Mostly removed from TX by the late 1700s

• Settled area around “Enchanted Rock”

Wichita Appearance

• Tattoos of unusual designs

Beliefs

• Afraid of bodies of water

Food

• Crops-squash, corn & beans

• Hunted buffalo

Housing

• Domelike homes made of grass and reed

• Live in villages

Government

• Women held positions of authority

Other Facts

• Around Dallas/Fort Worth area

• Defended land

• Anglo settlers forced them out