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Tonkawan Indian Tribe
Location
Tonkawan Tribes. The name derived from the most important
and only surviving tribe of the family. Gatschet (1891 a) says that
Tonkawa is a Waco word, Tonkaweya, meaning "they all stay together." The
synonyms are not to be confounded with those of the Tawakoni.
Also called:
Kádiko, Kiowa name, probably a corruption of Kúikogo,
"man-eating men" (Gatschet, MS., B. A. E.)
Kariko, Comanche name, from above.
K`inähi-píäko, Kiowa name, meaning "maneaters" (Mooney, 1898).
Konkona or
Komkome, early French name.
Maneaters, common translation of some of above synonyms.
Miúχsĕn, Cheyenne name.
Némeréχka, Comanche name (Gatschet, MS., B. A. E.).
Títskan wátitch, own name.
Connections
The Tonkawan tribes constitute a
distinct linguistic family but with affinities for the Coahuiltecan and probably Karankawan and
Tunican groups.
Location
In central Texas from Cibolo Creek on
the southwest to within a few miles of Trinity River on
the northeast. (See also
Oklahoma.)
Subdivisions
The tribes or bands certainly included under this head were
the Tonkawa, Yojuane, Mayeye, and Ervipiame, but there should probably be added the
Sana, Emet, Cava, Toho, Tohaha, Quiutcanuaha, Tenu, Tetzino, Tishin,
Tusolivi, and Ujuiap, and perhaps also the Nonapho, Sijame, Simaomo,
Muruam, Pulacuam, and Choyapin, though the last three at least were
probably Coahuiltecan.
History
Tribes of Tonkawan stock were undoubtedly encountered by
Cabeza de Vaca early in the sixteenth century; certainly so if the Muruam were
Tonkawan for they are evidently his Mariames. In 1691 the Tonkawa and
Yojuane are mentioned by Francisco Casanas de Jesus Maria as enemies of
the Hasinai (Swanton, 1942, p. 251), and in 1714 the Yojuane destroyed the
main fire temple of the Hasinai. Between 1746 and 1749 the Tonkawa were
gathered into missions on San Xavier (San Gabriel) River but these were
given up in 1756, and 2 years later the Tonkawa assisted in the
destruction of the San Saba Mission established for the Apache. From that
time until well into the nineteenth century the tribe continued to reside
in the same section, rarely settling down for any considerable period. In
1855 they and several other Texas tribes were gathered by the United
States Government on two small reservations on Brazos River. In 1859
however, the threatening attitude of their white neighbors resulted in
their removal to Washita River in what is now Oklahoma. On the night of
October 25, 1862, the Tonkawa camp there was fallen upon by a body of
Delaware, Shawnee, and Caddo Indians desiring to pay off old scores but
pretending that the Tonkawa and their agent were in sympathy with the
Southern Confederacy. Out of about 300
Tonkawa 137 were massacred, and the survivors, after some years of
miserable wandering, were gathered into Fort Griffin, Tex., where they
might be protected from their enemies. In 1884 all that were left were
given a small reservation in northern Oklahoma, near the Ponca, where
their descendants still live.
Population
Mooney (1928) estimated that in 1690 there were about 1,600
Tonkawa. A Spanish estimate of 1778 gives 300 warriors but the following year,
after an epidemic of smallpox, this is cut in half. In 1782, 600 were said to
have attended a certain meeting and this was only a portion of the tribe. Sibley
(1832) estimated that in 1805 they had 200 men. In 1809 there were said to be
250 families and in 1828, 80. In 1847 the official estimate was 150 men. Before
the massacre of 1862 there were supposed to be about 300 all told, but when they
were placed on their reservation in 1884 there were only 92. In 1908 there were
48 including a few intermarried Lipan; the census of 1910 gave 42, but that of
1930 restores the figure to 48, and in 1937 there were said to be 51.
Connection in which they have become noted
The Tonkawan tribes have the following claims to
remembrance:
(1) On account of the uniqueness of their
language,
(2) for their reputed addiction to cannibalism,
(3) on account
of the massacre perpetrated upon them partly in consequence of this
reputation, as above described.
The city of Tonkawa in Kay County, Okla.,
perpetuates the name.
Additional Resources
Notes About the Book:
Source: The Indian Tribes of North America, by John R. Swanton, 1953, Bureau of
American Ethnology, Bulletin 145, US Government Printing Office, Washington DC.
Online Publication: The manuscript was scanned and then ocr'd. Minimal editing
has been done, and readers can and should expect some errors in the textual
output.
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