|
Oklahoma Indian
Tribes
Alabama. This was one of the tribes of the Creek Confederacy, part of
which accompanied the Creeks to Oklahoma early in the nineteenth century
and settled near Weleetka, where a small station on the Frisco Railway
bears their name. (See Alabama.)
Apache. The name was given to a tribe or rather a group of tribes. (See
Jicarilla under Colorado; Kiowa Apache, under Kansas; Lipan under Texas;
also Apache under New Mexico.)
Apalachee. A few individuals of this tribe removed to Oklahoma from
Alabama or Louisiana. Dr. Gatschet learned the names of two or three
individuals about 1884. (See Florida.)
Arapaho. In early times the Arapaho ranged to some extent over the western
sections of Oklahoma, and part of them (the Southern Arapaho) were finally
given a reservation and later allotted land in severalty in the west
central part along with the Southern Cheyenne. (See
Wyoming.)
Biloxi. A few Biloxi reached Oklahoma and settled with the Choctaw and
Creeks. (See Mississippi.)
Caddo. The Caddo moved to Oklahoma in 1859 and were given a reservation in
the southwestern part about Anadarko, where they were allotted land in
severalty. (See Texas.)
Cherokee. The Cherokee were moved to a large reservation in the
northeastern part of Oklahoma in the winter of 1838-39. After nearly 70
years of existence under their own tribal government they were allotted
land in severalty and became citizens of the United States. (See
Tennessee.)
Cheyenne. The history of the Southern Cheyenne parallels that of the
Southern Arapaho as given above. (See
South Dakota.)
Chickasaw. The Chickasaw moved to the present Oklahoma between 1822 and
1840. They had their own government for many years but are now citizens.
(See Mississippi.)
Choctaw. This tribe moved to Oklahoma about the same time as the Chickasaw
though several thousand remained in their old country. Like the Chickasaw
they had their own national government for a long time but are now
citizens at large of Oklahoma. (See
Mississippi.)
Comanche.
The western part of Oklahoma was occupied by the Comanche during their
later history, and they were finally given a reservation in the
southwestern part of it, where they were allotted land in severalty and
given the privileges of citizenship. (See Texas.)
Creeks. The tribes constituting the Creek Confederacy came to
Oklahoma between 1836 and 1841 and were given a reservation in the
northeastern part, where they maintained a national government until early
in the present century when their lands were allotted in severalty, and
they became citizens. (See
Alabama,
Florida, and
Georgia.)
Delaware.
In 1867 a part of the Delaware were removed from Kansas to the
northeastern part of what is now Oklahoma and incorporated with the
Cherokee Nation. Another band of Delaware is with the Caddo and Wichita in
southwestern Oklahoma. (See New Jersey.)
Foxes. A few Fox Indians accompanied the Sauk (q. v.) to Oklahoma
in 1867. (See Wisconsin.)
Hitchiti. This is a subtribe of the Creek Confederacy. (See
Georgia; also Creeks and Creek Confederacy above and under
Alabama,
Florida, and Georgia.)
Illinois.
In 1868 the surviving Illinois Indians, principally Peoria and
Kaskaskia, previously united with the Miami bands, Wea and Piankashaw,
moved to Oklahoma and occupied a reserve in the northeastern part of the
State under the name Peoria. (See Illinois.)
Iowa.
Part of the Iowa were moved from Kansas to a reserve in central Oklahoma
set apart in 1883; they were allotted land in severalty in 1890. (See
Iowa.)
Iroquois.
Some Iroquois Indians, together with the Tuscarora, some Wyandot, and
probably Indians of the former Erie Nation, all under the name of Seneca
Indians, were given a reservation in northeastern Oklahoma, where their
descendants still live, now as citizens of the United States. (See
New
York and Ohio.)
Jicarilla.
This was one of those Athapascan tribes known as Apache. In early times
they ranged over parts of western Oklahoma. (See
Colorado.)
Kansa. In 1873 the Kansa were moved to Oklahoma and given a reservation in
the northeastern part of the State. (See
Kansas.)
Klchai. In very early times
this tribe lived on, or perhaps north of, Red River, but later they worked
their way south to the head-waters of the Trinity. In 1859 they returned
to the north side of the river in haste in fear of attack by the Texans
and have since lived with the Wichita in the neighborhood of Anadarko.
(See Texas.)
Kickapoo.
In 1873 some Kickapoo were brought back from Mexico and settled in the
central part of Oklahoma, where all but a certain portion of the Mexican
band were afterward gathered. (See
Wisconsin.)
Kiowa
and Kiowa Apache.
These tribes formerly ranged over much of the western part of this State.
(See Kansas.)
Koasati.
The Koasati were one of the tribes of the Creek Confederacy. They removed
to northeastern Oklahoma with the rest of the Creeks and settled in the
western part of the Creek territory. (See
Alabama and
Louisiana.)
Lipan. The Lipan
were the easternmost band of Apache; some of them are with the Tonkawa.
(See Texas.)
Miami. Part
of the Miami were brought from Indiana and given a reservation in the
extreme northeastern part of Oklahoma along with the Illinois.
(See Indiana.)
Mikasuki. Some
of these Indians accompanied the Seminole to Oklahoma and as late as 1914
had a Square Ground of their own. (See
Florida.)
Missouri.
The remnant of the Missouri came to Oklahoma with the Oto in 1882 and
shared their reservation. (See Missouri.)
Modoc. In 1873, at the end of
the Modoc War, a part of the defeated tribe was sent to Oklahoma and
placed on the Quapaw Reservation where a few yet remain. (See
Oregon.)
Mukiasa. A small Creek
division said to have kept its identity in Oklahoma. (See
Alabama.)
Munsee.
A few Munsee accompanied the Delaware proper to Oklahoma and 21 were
reported there in 1910. (See New Jersey.)
Muskogee. This was the name of the principal tribe or group of tribes
of the Creeks.
Natchez.
A small band of Natchez accompanied the Creeks to Oklahoma and settled
near Eufaula, where they later became merged in the rest of the Creek
population. Another band of Natchez settled in the Cherokee Nation, near
Illinois River, and a very few still preserve something of their identity.
(See Mississippi.)
Nez Perce.
Chief Joseph's band of Nez Perce were sent to Oklahoma in 1878, but they
suffered so much from the change of climate that they were transferred to
Colville Reservation in 1885. (See Idaho.)
Okmulgee. A Creek tribe and
town belonging to the Hitchiti division of the Nation. Its name is
perpetuated in the city of Okmulgee, former capital of the Creek Nation in
Oklahoma. (See Georgia.)
Osage. The Osage formerly owned most of northern Oklahoma and
after they had sold the greater part of it still retained a large
reservation in the northeast, which they continue to occupy, though they
have now been allotted land in severalty. (See
Missouri.)
Oto.
In 1880 a part of the Oto moved to the lands of the Sauk and Fox Indians
in Oklahoma and in 1882 the rest followed. (See
Nebraska.)
Ottawa.
When they surrendered their lands in Michigan and Ohio, some Ottawa bands
including those of Blanchard's Fork and Roche de Boeuf migrated to Kansas,
and about 1868, to Oklahoma, settling in the northeastern part of the
State. (See Michigan.)
Pawnee.
The Pawnee moved to Oklahoma in 1876 and were given a reservation in the
north central part of the State, where they have now been allotted land in
severalty. (See Nebraska.)
Peoria. (See
Illinois.)
Piankashaw, see Miami.
Ponca. In 1877 the Ponca were
moved by force to Oklahoma and, though some individuals were finally
allotted land in severalty in their old country, the greater part settled
permanently near the Osage in northeastern Oklahoma.
Potawatomi. The Potawatomi of the Woods were moved from Kansas to
Oklahoma in 1867–81 and given a reservation in the central part of the
State. (See Michigan.)
Quapaw.
Lands were granted to the Quapaw in the extreme southeastern part of
Kansas and the extreme northeastern part of Oklahoma in 1833. In 1867,
they ceded all their lands in Kansas and have since confined themselves
within the limits of Oklahoma, though the reservation of the Osage. (See
Arkansas.)
Sauk.
In 1867 the Sauk ceded their lands in Kansas in exchange for a tract in
the central part of Oklahoma, where they have continued to live down to
the present time. (See Wisconsin.)
Seminole.
The greater part of the Seminole were removed to Oklahoma after the
Seminole War in Florida. (See Florida.)
Seneca,
see Iroquois.
Shawnee.
The Absentee Shawnee moved from Kansas to what is now central Oklahoma
about 1845; in 1867 .i second band, which had been living with the Seneca
in Kansas, also moved to Oklahoma but settled in the extreme northeastern
part of the State; and in 1869 the third and largest section removed to
the lands of the Cherokee by agreement with that tribe. (See
Tennessee.)
Tawakoni. Said to refer to
"a river bend among red hills," or "neck of land in the water." The
synonyms should not be confounded with those of the Tonkawa. Also called:
Three Canes, an English form resulting from a mistaken attempt to
trans-late the French spelling of their name, Troiscannes.
Connections. The Tawakoni
belonged to the Caddoan linguistic stock and were most closely connected
with the Wichita, the two languages differing but slightly.
Location. They were on
the Canadian River about north of the upper Washita. (See also Texas.)
Villages Flechazos, on
the west side of Brazos River near the present Waco.
History. The Tawakoni
were first met in the above location in company with the Wichita and other
related tribes. Within the next 50 years, probably as a result of pressure
on the part of more northerly peoples, they moved south and in 1772 they
were settled in two groups on Brazos and Trinity Rivers, about Waco and
above Palestine. By 1779 the group on the Trinity had rejoined those on
the Brazos. In 1824 part of the Tawakoni were again back on Trinity River.
In 1855 they were established on a reservation near Fort Belknap on the
Brazos, but in 1859 were forced, by the hostility of the Texans, to move
north into southwestern Oklahoma, where they were officially incorporated
with the Wichita.
Population. Mooney (1928)
includes the Tawakoni among the Wichita (q. v.). In 1772 Mezieres reported
36 houses and 120 warriors in the Trinity village and 30 families in the
Brazos village, perhaps 220 warriors in all. In 1778–79 he reported that
these two towns, then on the Brazos, contained more than 300 warriors.
Sibley (1832) reported that in 1805 the Tawakoni, probably including the
Waco, numbered 200 men. In 1859 they were said to number 204 exclusive of
the Waco. The census of 1910 records only a single survivor of this tribe.
Tawehash. Meaning unknown.
Lesser and Weltfish (1932) suggest that this group was identical with a
Wichita band reported to them as Tiwa. They have been given some of the
same synonyms as the Wichita.
Connections. The Tawehash
belonged to the Caddoan linguistic stock and were related closely to the
Wichita, Tawakoni, Waco, and Yscani.
Location. Their earliest
known home was on Canadian River north of the headwaters of the Washita.
Villages. In 1778 Méziéres
found two native villages to which he gave the names San Teodoro and San
Bernardo.
History. The Tawehash
were encountered in the above situation by La Harpe in 1719. They moved
south about the same time as the Tawakoni and other tribes of the group
and were found on Red River in 1759, when they defeated a strong Spanish
force sent against them. They remained in this same region until in course
of time they united with the Wichita and disappeared from history. Their
descendants are among the Wichita in Oklahoma.
Population. Most writers
give estimates of the Tawehash along with the Wichita and other related
tribes. In 1778 they occupied two villages aggregating 160 lodges and
numbered 800 fighting men and youths.
Tonkawa. In 1884 the remnant
of the Tonkawa were removed to Oklahoma and the next year settled on a
reservation near Ponca, where they were finally allotted land in
severalty. (See Texas.)
Tuskegee. A Creek division
believed to be connected linguistically with the Alabama Indians. It
removed to Oklahoma with the other Creeks and established itself in the
northwestern part of the allotted territory. (See
Alabama.)
Waco. According to Lesser and Weltfish (1932), from Wehiko, a
corruption of Mexico, and given the name because they were always fighting
with the Mexicans. The same authorities report that the Waco are thought
to have been a part of the Tawakoni without an independent village but
separated later. Also called:
Gentlemen Indians, by Bollaert (1850).
Houechas, Huanchane, by French writers, possibly intended for this
tribe.
Connections. The Waco
were most closely related to the Tawakoni of the Wichita group of tribes
belonging to the Caddoan Stock.
Location. They appear
first in connection with their village on the site of the present Waco,
Tex., though their original home was in Oklahoma with the Wichita.
Villages. Quiscat, named
from its chief, on the west side of the Brazos on a bluff or plateau above
some springs and not far from the present Waco.
History. According to
native informants as reported by Lesser and Weltfish (1932), the Waco are
formerly supposed to have constituted a part of the Tawakoni without an
independent village. It has also been suggested that they may have been
identical with the Yscani, but Lesser and Weltfish identify the Yscani
with another band. Another possibility is that the Waco are descendants of
the Shuman tribe. (See Texas.) In later times the Waco merged with the
Tawakoni and Wichita.
Population. In 1824 the
Waco had a village of 33 grass houses and about 100 men, and a second
village of 15 houses and an unnamed number of men. In 1859, just before
their removal from Texas, they numbered 171. They are usually enumerated
with the Wichita, but the census of 1910 returned 5 survivors.
Connection in which they have
become noted. Almost the sole claim to special remembrance enjoyed by
the Waco is the fact that its name was adopted by the important city of
Waco, Tex. It also appears as the name of places in Sedgwick County,
Kans.; Madison County, Ky.; Jasper County, Mo.; Smith County, Miss.;
Haralson County, Ga.; York County, Nebr.; Cleveland County, N. C.; Stark
County, Ohio; and in Tennessee; but it is uncertain whether the
designations of all these came originally from the Waco tribe.
Wea,
see Miami.
Wichita. From wits, "man."
Also known as:
Black Pawnee, common early name.
Do'gu'at, Kiowa name, meaning "tattooed people."
Do'kănă,
Comanche name, meaning "tattooed people."
Freckled Panis, from above.
Guichita, Spanish form of the name.
Hin:4sso, Arapaho name.
Höχsúwitan,
Cheyenne name.
Ki'-¢i-ku'-¢uc, Omaha name.
Kirikiris, Kirikurus, or Kitikitish, reported as own name but
properly the name of one of their bands. |
Mítsitá,
Kansa name.
Pá¢in wasábĕ,
Ponca and Omaha name, meaning "Black bear Pawnee." Paneassa, various
early writers.
Panis noirs, early French name.
Panis piqués, early French name.
Pányi Wacéwe,
Iowa, Oto, and Missouri name.
Picks, from Panis piqués.
Pitchinávo, Comanche name,
meaning "painted breasts."
Prickled Panis, referring to their tattooing.
Quirasquiris, French form of native name.
Quivira, from chronicles of Coronado expedition.
Sónik'ni, Comanche name, meaning
"grass lodges."
Speckled Pawnee, referring to their tattooing.
Túχquĕt,
see Do'gu'at. |
Connections. The Wichita
were one of the principal tribes of the Caddoan linguistic family.
Location. Their earliest
certain location was on Canadian River north of the headwaters of the
Washita. (See also Texas.)
Subdivisions. Most of the
so-called subdivisions of the Wichita were independent tribes, some of
which, including the Tawakoni, Waco, Tawehash, and Yscani, have been
treated separately. The others—Akwits or Akwesh, Kirikiris, Isis (see
Yscani), Tokane (see Yscani), and Itaz—were probably only temporary bands.
Mooney (1928) also mentions the Kirishkitsu (perhaps a Wichita name for
the Kichai) and the Asidahetsh and Kishkat, which cannot be identified.
History. The Wichita rose
to fame at an early period owing to the fact that they were visited by
Coronado in 1541, the Spaniards calling the Wichita country the province
of Quivira. They were then farther north than the location given above,
probably near the great bend of the Arkansas and in the center of Kansas.
A Franciscan missionary, Juan de Padilla, remained 3 years among them in
the endeavor to convert them to Christianity, but he was finally killed by
them through jealousy on account of his work for another tribe. In 1719 La
Harpe found the Wichita and several allied tribes on the south Canadian
River in the territory later embraced in the Chickasaw Nation. Within the
next 50 years they were forced south by hostile northern and eastern
tribes and by 1772 were on the upper courses of the Red and Brazos Rivers.
In 1835 they made their first treaty with the United States Government.
They continued to live in southwestern Oklahoma until the Civil War, when
they fled to Kansas until it was over. In 1867 they returned and were
placed on a reservation in Caddo County, Okla., where they have since
remained.
Population. In 1772 the
Wichita and the Tawehash seem to have had about 600 warriors. Mooney
(1928) estimates that in 1780 the confederated Wichita tribes had a
population of about 3,200. Bolton (1914), on information derived from Mézières,
estimated about 3,200 for the Wichita proper in 1778. In 1805 Sibley
estimated the Wichita at 400 men. In 1868, 572 were reported in the
confederated tribes. The census of 1910 gives 318, including the remnant
of the Kichai. In 1937 there were 385.
Connection in which they have
become noted. Although a tribe of considerable power in early days,
the Wichita will be remembered in future principally from the prominence
of the city of Wichita, Kans., which bears their name. It is also the name
of counties hi Kansas and Texas, a ridge of hills in southwestern Oklahoma
called the Wichita Mountains, a river in Texas, and places in Oklahoma,
besides Wichita Falls in Wichita County, Tex. The identification of this
tribe with the Province of Quivira gives it additional interest.
Wyandot. In 1867 a part of the Wyandot who
had been living in Kansas was removed to the northeastern corner of
Oklahoma where they have since remained. It is probable that this body
includes more of the old Tionontati than of the true Wyandot. (See
Ohio.)
Yscani. Meaning unknown. Also
spelled Ascani, Hyscani, Ixcani.
Connections. This was one
of the confederated Wichita tribes and therefore without doubt related to
them in speech, and thus of the Caddoan linguistic family.
Location. The Yscani are
first mentioned in connection with the Wichita and allied tribes on the
South Canadian in the territory later assigned to the Chickasaw Nation.
Part, however, were reported to be living 60 leagues farther toward the
northwest.
History. The Yscani
evidently moved south from the above-mentioned location at the same time
as the other tribes. They kept particularly close to the Tawakoni, with
whose history their own is almost identical. As the name Yscani disappears
from the early annals shortly before the name Waco appears in them, it has
been thought that the Waco were the Yscani under a new name, but Lesser
and Weltfish (1932) identify the Waco with the Isis or Tokane, perhaps
both. (See Waco above.)
Population. In 1772 their
village was reported to contain 60 warriors, and about 1782 the entire
tribe was said to have about 90 families.
Yuchi. Although originally an independent tribe, the Yuchi united with the
Creeks before coming west, and they settled in the Creek Nation, in the
northwestern part of that territory, where their descendants still live.
(See Georgia.)
Additional Oklahoma Indian Resources
Return to Indian Genealogy
|
