.gif)
Wichita (tribe)
Encyclopedia
The Wichita people are indigenous inhabitants of North America
, who traditionally spoke the Wichita language
, a Caddoan language
. They have lived in Kansas
, Oklahoma
, and Texas
. Today, the four Wichita tribes, the Waco
, Taovaya, Tawakoni, and Wichita proper, are federally recognized with the Kichai people as the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco and Tawakonie).
from the Red River north to Nebraska
for at least 2,000 years. These early Wichita people were hunters and gatherers who slowly adopted agriculture. About 900 CE on terraces above the Washita
and South Canadian Rivers
in Oklahoma farming villages began to appear. They grew corn, beans, squash, marsh elder (Iva Annua
), and tobacco and hunted deer, rabbits, turkey, and, increasingly, bison, and caught fish and collected mussels in the rivers. These villagers lived in rectangular thatched houses. They became numerous, their villages of up to 20 houses spaced every two or so miles along the rivers. Farming villages were also found in the Texas
Panhandle along the Canadian River although in a precarious environment they depended more on bison hunting than agriculture. The Panhandle villagers showed signs of adopting cultural characteristics of the Pueblo
peoples of the Rio Grande
Valley.
Before 1500 CE, most of the Plains village sites seem to have been abandoned. This may have been because of drought or encroachments on their lands by the newly arrived Apache Indians migrating from the north. Some of the villagers may have migrated north to Kansas where they would become the Quivira found by Coronado in 1541.
share common traits and are collectively known as the "Great Bend aspect." Radiocarbon dates from these sites range from 1450 to 1700 CE. Great Bend aspect sites are generally accepted as ancestral to the Wichita peoples described by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
and other early Europe
an explorers. The discovery of limited quantities of European artifacts, such as chain mail
and iron axe heads at several Great Bend sites, appears to support a connection with early Spanish
exploration.
Archaeological evidence suggests Great Bend aspect peoples practiced a subsistence economy, including a mixture of agriculture, hunting, gathering, and fishing. Villages were located on the upper terraces of rivers, and crops appear to have been grown on the floodplains below. Primary crops were maize
, beans, squash, and sunflowers. Gathered foods included walnut
, hickory
, plum, hackberry, and grape. Faunal remains (bones) recovered during archaeological excavations have included bison
, elk
, deer
, pronghorn antelope, and dog.
observations. Recent analysis suggests that many non-local artifacts occur exclusively or primarily within council circles, implying the structures were occupied by political and/or ritual leaders of the Great Bend aspect peoples. Other archaeologists leave open the possibility that the council circle earthworks
served a defensive role.
, Guichitas, Tawakonis, Iscani, and Wacos. They were related by language and culture to the Pawnee with whom they enjoyed close relations.
The Wichita lived in fixed villages notable for their large, domed-shaped, grass-covered dwellings, sometimes up to 30 feet in diameter. The Wichita were successful hunters and farmers, skillful traders and negotiators. They ranged from San Antonio, Texas
in the south to as far north as Great Bend, Kansas
. A semi-sedentary people, they occupied northern Texas
in the early 18th century. They traded with other Southern Plains Indians
on both sides of the Red River
and as far south as Waco
. For much of the year, the Wichita lived in huts made of forked cedar
poles covered by dry grasses. In the winter, they followed American Bison
in a seasonal hunt and left their villages behind. All parts of the bison were used for clothing, food and cooking fat, winter shelter, leather supplies, and medicine. They returned in the spring to their villages for another season of cultivating crops.
The Wichita were known to tattoo
their faces and bodies with solid and dotted lines and circles. They called themselves "raccoon
-eyed people" (Wichita Kitikiti'sh) because of the tattooed marks around their eyes. They wore clothes made of tanned hides, which the women prepared and sewed. They often decorated their dresses in elk
teeth.
In 1541 Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
journeyed east from the Rio Grande Valley in search of a rich land called Quivira
. In Texas, probably in the Blanco River Canyon near Lubbock
he met a people he called Teyas
who might have been related to the Wichita and the earlier Plains villagers. The Teyas, if in fact they were Wichita, were probably the ancestors of the Iscani and Waco, although they might also have been the Kichai, who spoke a different language but later joined the Wichita tribe. Turning north, he found Quivira and the people later known as the Wichita near the town of Lyons, Kansas
. He was disappointed in his search for gold as the Quivirans appear to have been prosperous farmers and good hunters but had no gold or silver. There were about 25 villages of up to 200 houses each in Quivira. Coronado said: “They were large people of very good build” and he was impressed with the land which was “fat and black.”
The Quivirans apparently called their land Tancoa (which bears a resemblance to the later sub-tribe called Tawakoni) and a neighboring province on the Smoky Hill River
was called Tabas (which bears a resemblance to the sub tribe of Taovayas).
Sixty years after Coronado’s expedition the founder of New Mexico Juan de Onate
visited a large village of Wichita. Onate journeyed east from New Mexico, crossing the Great Plains
and encountering two large settlements of people he called Escanjaques
(possibly Wichita) and Rayados
, certainly Wichita. The Rayado village was probably on the Walnut River near Arkansas City, Kansas
. Onate described the village of containing “more than twelve hundred houses” which would indicate a population of about 12,000. His description of the village was similar to that of Coronado. The homesteads were dispersed; the houses round, thatched with grass and surrounded by large granaries to store the corn, beans, and squash they grew in their fields. Onate’s Rayados were certainly Wichita, probably the sub-tribe later known as the Guichitas.
What the Coronado and Onate expeditions showed was that the Wichita people were both numerous and widespread. They were not, however, a single tribe at this time but rather a group of several related tribes speaking a common language. The dispersed nature of their villages probably indicated that they were not seriously threatened by attack by enemies, although that would change as they would soon be squeezed between the Apache on the West and the powerful Osage
on the East. European diseases would also probably be responsible for a large decline in the Wichita population in the 17th century.
In 1719, French explorers visited two groups of Wichita. Bernard de la Harpe
found a large village near present day Tulsa, Oklahoma
and Claude Charles Du Tisne
found two villages near Neodesha, Kansas
. By this time, the Wichita were threatened by Apache and had moved east and south. Coronado’s Quivira was abandoned early in the 18th century. The Rayados of Onate were probably still living in about the same location. Archaeologists have located a Wichita village at the Deer Creek Site
dating from the 1750s on the Arkansas River east of Newkirk, Oklahoma
. By 1757, however, it appears that all the Wichita had migrated south to the Red River.
The most prominent of the Wichita sub-tribes were the Taovayas. In the 1720s they had moved south from Kansas to the Red River establishing a large village on the north side of the River in Jefferson County, Oklahoma
and on the south side at Spanish Fort, Texas
. They adopted many traits of the Plains Indians and were noted for raiding, trading, and (reputedly) cannibalism. They had a close alliance with the French and in 1746 a French brokered alliance with the Comanche
revived the fortunes of the Wichita.
The village at Spanish Fort was “a lively emporium where Comanches brought Apache slaves, horses and mules to trade for French packs of powder, balls, knives, and textiles and for Taovaya-grown maize, melons, pumpkins, squash, and tobacco.”
The Wichita and their Comanche allies were known to the Spanish as the “Nortenos” (Northerners). In 1759, in response to the destruction by the Nortenos of the San Saba Mission
the Spanish undertook an expedition to punish the Indians. Their 500 man army attacked Spanish Fort but was routed by the Wichita and Comanche. The Spanish suffered 19 dead and 14 wounded, leaving several cannon on the battlefield, although they claimed to have killed more than 100 Indians.
The alliance between the Wichita, especially the Taovayas, and the Comanche began to break up in the 1770s as the Wichita were lured into cooperation with the Spanish. Taovaya power in Texas declined sharply after an epidemic, probably smallpox, in 1777-1778 killed about one-third of the tribe. After the Americans took over their territory as a result of the Louisiana Purchase
in 1803 and the independence of Texas in 1836, all the related tribes were increasingly lumped together and dubbed “Wichita.” That designation also included the Kichai of northern Texas who spoke a different although a related language.
The principal village of the Wichita in the 1830s was near the Wichita Mountains
of Oklahoma although the Tawakoni and Wacos still lived in Texas and were moved onto a reservation on the upper Brazos River
. They were forced out of Texas to a reservation in Oklahoma in 1859. During the Civil War the Wichita allied with the Union
side. They moved to Kansas, where they established a village at the site of present-day Wichita, Kansas
. In 1867 they were relocated to a reservation in Oklahoma in the area where most of them continue to reside. On June 4, 1891, the affiliated tribes signed an agreement with the Cherokee Commission
for individual allotments.
to which they had no immunity. In 1790, it was estimated there were about 3,200 total Wichita. By 1868, the population was recorded as being 572 total Wichita. By the time of the census of 1937, there were only 100 Wichita officially left. Today, there are 2,526 enrolled Wichitas, 1,854 of whom live in the state of Oklahoma.
. Their tribal jurisdictional area is in Caddo
county. Leslie Standing is the current President, serving a Four-year term. He replaced Gary McAdams. They are a self-governance tribe, operating their own housing authority and issuing vehicle tags.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, who traditionally spoke the Wichita language
Wichita language
Wichita is a moribund Caddoan language spoken in Oklahoma by the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. Only one fluent speaker remains, Doris McLemore, although in 2007 there were only three first language learners still alive...
, a Caddoan language
Caddoan languages
The Caddoan languages are a family of Native American languages. They are spoken by Native Americans in parts of the Great Plains of the central United States, from North Dakota south to Oklahoma.-Family division:...
. They have lived in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Today, the four Wichita tribes, the Waco
Waco tribe
The Waco tribe of the Wichita people is a Native American Southern Plains tribe that inhabited northeastern Texas. Today, they are enrolled members of the federally recognized Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, headquartered in Anadarko, Oklahoma.-History:...
, Taovaya, Tawakoni, and Wichita proper, are federally recognized with the Kichai people as the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Wichita, Keechi, Waco and Tawakonie).
Pre-history
Archaeologists believe that the ancestors of the Wichita have lived in the eastern Great PlainsGreat Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
from the Red River north to Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
for at least 2,000 years. These early Wichita people were hunters and gatherers who slowly adopted agriculture. About 900 CE on terraces above the Washita
Washita River
The Washita River is a river in Texas and Oklahoma, United States. The river is long and terminates into Lake Texoma in Johnston County , Oklahoma and the Red River.-Geography:...
and South Canadian Rivers
Canadian River
The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and most of Oklahoma....
in Oklahoma farming villages began to appear. They grew corn, beans, squash, marsh elder (Iva Annua
Iva annua
Iva annua, sumpweed or marshelder, is an herbaceous annual plant native to much of North America.-Uses:Iva annua var. macrocarpa was formerly cultivated by Native Americans in the central eastern United States and specifically the indigenous peoples of the Kansas City Hopewell culture in present...
), and tobacco and hunted deer, rabbits, turkey, and, increasingly, bison, and caught fish and collected mussels in the rivers. These villagers lived in rectangular thatched houses. They became numerous, their villages of up to 20 houses spaced every two or so miles along the rivers. Farming villages were also found in the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
Panhandle along the Canadian River although in a precarious environment they depended more on bison hunting than agriculture. The Panhandle villagers showed signs of adopting cultural characteristics of the Pueblo
Pueblo
Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material...
peoples of the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
Valley.
Before 1500 CE, most of the Plains village sites seem to have been abandoned. This may have been because of drought or encroachments on their lands by the newly arrived Apache Indians migrating from the north. Some of the villagers may have migrated north to Kansas where they would become the Quivira found by Coronado in 1541.
The Great Bend settlements
Numerous archaeological sites in central Kansas near the Great Bend of the Arkansas RiverArkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
share common traits and are collectively known as the "Great Bend aspect." Radiocarbon dates from these sites range from 1450 to 1700 CE. Great Bend aspect sites are generally accepted as ancestral to the Wichita peoples described by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado y Luján was a Spanish conquistador, who visited New Mexico and other parts of what are now the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542...
and other early Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an explorers. The discovery of limited quantities of European artifacts, such as chain mail
Chain Mail
"Chain Mail" is a single by Mancunian band James, released in March 1986 by Sire Records, the first after the band defected from Factory Records. The record was released in two different versions, as 7" single and 12" EP, with different artworks by John Carroll and, confusingly, under different...
and iron axe heads at several Great Bend sites, appears to support a connection with early Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
exploration.
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, beans, squash, and sunflowers. Gathered foods included walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
, hickory
Hickory
Trees in the genus Carya are commonly known as hickory, derived from the Powhatan language of Virginia. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and big nuts...
, plum, hackberry, and grape. Faunal remains (bones) recovered during archaeological excavations have included bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
, elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
, deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, pronghorn antelope, and dog.
Council circles
Several village sites are distinctive as they contain the remains of unusual structures called "council circles." Council circles occur near the center of these sites. Archaeological excavations have suggested they consist of a central patio surrounded by four semi-subterranean structures. The function of the council circles is unclear. Waldo Wedel has suggested they may be ceremonial structures, possibly associated with solsticeSolstice
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...
observations. Recent analysis suggests that many non-local artifacts occur exclusively or primarily within council circles, implying the structures were occupied by political and/or ritual leaders of the Great Bend aspect peoples. Other archaeologists leave open the possibility that the council circle earthworks
Earthworks (archaeology)
In archaeology, earthwork is a general term to describe artificial changes in land level. Earthworks are often known colloquially as 'lumps and bumps'. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features or they can show features beneath the surface...
served a defensive role.
Culture
The Wichita spoke a Caddoan language. They formed a loose confederation of related peoples on the Southern Plains, including such bands or sub-tribes as Panis Piques, TaovayasTaovaya Indians
The Taovaya tribe of the Wichita people were a Native American people who spoke the Wichita language which is in the Caddoan language family. The Taovayas were absorbed into the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, headquartered in Oklahoma.-Early history:...
, Guichitas, Tawakonis, Iscani, and Wacos. They were related by language and culture to the Pawnee with whom they enjoyed close relations.
The Wichita lived in fixed villages notable for their large, domed-shaped, grass-covered dwellings, sometimes up to 30 feet in diameter. The Wichita were successful hunters and farmers, skillful traders and negotiators. They ranged from San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
in the south to as far north as Great Bend, Kansas
Great Bend, Kansas
Great Bend, named for its location at the historic big bend of the Arkansas River, is the most populous city in and the county seat of Barton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 15,995.-History:...
. A semi-sedentary people, they occupied northern Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in the early 18th century. They traded with other Southern Plains Indians
Plains Indians
The Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. Their colorful equestrian culture and resistance to White domination have made the Plains Indians an archetype in literature and art for American Indians everywhere.Plains...
on both sides of the Red River
Red River (Mississippi watershed)
The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in the southern United States of America. The river gains its name from the red-bed country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name...
and as far south as Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
. For much of the year, the Wichita lived in huts made of forked cedar
Cedar wood
Cedar wood comes from several different trees that grow in different parts of the world, and may have different uses.* California incense-cedar, from Calocedrus decurrens, is the primary type of wood used for making pencils...
poles covered by dry grasses. In the winter, they followed American Bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
in a seasonal hunt and left their villages behind. All parts of the bison were used for clothing, food and cooking fat, winter shelter, leather supplies, and medicine. They returned in the spring to their villages for another season of cultivating crops.
The Wichita were known to tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
their faces and bodies with solid and dotted lines and circles. They called themselves "raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
-eyed people" (Wichita Kitikiti'sh) because of the tattooed marks around their eyes. They wore clothes made of tanned hides, which the women prepared and sewed. They often decorated their dresses in elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
teeth.
History
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado y Luján was a Spanish conquistador, who visited New Mexico and other parts of what are now the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542...
journeyed east from the Rio Grande Valley in search of a rich land called Quivira
Quivira
Quivira may refer to:*Quivira, a place first visited by Francisco Vazquez de Coronado while in search of the mythical Seven Cities of Gold*Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, a salt marsh located in south central Kansas...
. In Texas, probably in the Blanco River Canyon near Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
he met a people he called Teyas
Teyas
Teyas were a Native American people discovered near Lubbock, Texas by Francisco Vazquez de Coronado in 1541.The tribal affiliation and language of the Teyas is unknown, although many scholars believe they spoke a Caddoan language and were related to the Wichita tribe who Coronado found in Quivira...
who might have been related to the Wichita and the earlier Plains villagers. The Teyas, if in fact they were Wichita, were probably the ancestors of the Iscani and Waco, although they might also have been the Kichai, who spoke a different language but later joined the Wichita tribe. Turning north, he found Quivira and the people later known as the Wichita near the town of Lyons, Kansas
Lyons, Kansas
Lyons is a city in and the county seat of Rice County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,739.-History:Although Coronado's exact route across the plains is uncertain and has been widely disputed, he and his men are thought to have camped near the present...
. He was disappointed in his search for gold as the Quivirans appear to have been prosperous farmers and good hunters but had no gold or silver. There were about 25 villages of up to 200 houses each in Quivira. Coronado said: “They were large people of very good build” and he was impressed with the land which was “fat and black.”
"They eat meat raw like the QuerechosQuerechosThe Querechos were a Native American people.In 1541 the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vazquez de Coronado and his army journeyed east from the Rio Grande Valley in search of a rich land called Quivira...
[the ApacheApacheApache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
] and TeyasTeyasTeyas were a Native American people discovered near Lubbock, Texas by Francisco Vazquez de Coronado in 1541.The tribal affiliation and language of the Teyas is unknown, although many scholars believe they spoke a Caddoan language and were related to the Wichita tribe who Coronado found in Quivira...
. They are enemies of one another...These people of Quivira have the advantage over the others in their houses and in growing of maizeMaizeMaize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
".
The Quivirans apparently called their land Tancoa (which bears a resemblance to the later sub-tribe called Tawakoni) and a neighboring province on the Smoky Hill River
Smoky Hill River
The Smoky Hill River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, running through the U.S. states of Colorado and Kansas.-Names:The Smoky Hill gets its name from the Smoky Hills region of north-central Kansas through which it flows...
was called Tabas (which bears a resemblance to the sub tribe of Taovayas).
Sixty years after Coronado’s expedition the founder of New Mexico Juan de Onate
Juan de Oñate
Don Juan de Oñate y Salazar was a Spanish explorer, colonial governor of the New Spain province of New Mexico, and founder of various settlements in the present day Southwest of the United States.-Biography:...
visited a large village of Wichita. Onate journeyed east from New Mexico, crossing the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
and encountering two large settlements of people he called Escanjaques
Escanjaque Indians
The Escanjaques were a native American people named this by Juan de Onate in 1601 during an expedition to the Great Plains of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The Escanjaques may have been identical with the Aguacane who lived along the tributaries of the Red River in western Oklahoma...
(possibly Wichita) and Rayados
Rayado tribe
Rayados was the Spanish name for a Native American group visited by Umana and Leyba in 1594 and Juan de Oñate in 1601. Rayado was also a generic term used occasionally by the Spanish to refer to any Indians with painted or tattooed faces....
, certainly Wichita. The Rayado village was probably on the Walnut River near Arkansas City, Kansas
Arkansas City, Kansas
Arkansas City is a city situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers in the southwestern part of Cowley County, located in south-central Kansas, in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,415....
. Onate described the village of containing “more than twelve hundred houses” which would indicate a population of about 12,000. His description of the village was similar to that of Coronado. The homesteads were dispersed; the houses round, thatched with grass and surrounded by large granaries to store the corn, beans, and squash they grew in their fields. Onate’s Rayados were certainly Wichita, probably the sub-tribe later known as the Guichitas.
What the Coronado and Onate expeditions showed was that the Wichita people were both numerous and widespread. They were not, however, a single tribe at this time but rather a group of several related tribes speaking a common language. The dispersed nature of their villages probably indicated that they were not seriously threatened by attack by enemies, although that would change as they would soon be squeezed between the Apache on the West and the powerful Osage
Osage Nation
The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...
on the East. European diseases would also probably be responsible for a large decline in the Wichita population in the 17th century.
In 1719, French explorers visited two groups of Wichita. Bernard de la Harpe
Bernard de la Harpe
Bernard de la Harpe or Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe was a French explorer who is credited with the discovery of Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1722, la Harpe found two distinct rock formations on the Arkansas River, the smaller one the South bank he named La Petite Roche and the larger on the North...
found a large village near present day Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
and Claude Charles Du Tisne
Claude Charles Du Tisne
Claude Charles Du Tisne led the first official French expedition to set foot in Kansas and visit the Osage and the Wichita Indians in 1719.-Life:...
found two villages near Neodesha, Kansas
Neodesha, Kansas
Neodesha is a city in Wilson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,486. The name is derived from the Osage Indian word, Ni-o-sho-de, and is translated as The-Water-Is-Smoky-With-Mud.-19th century:...
. By this time, the Wichita were threatened by Apache and had moved east and south. Coronado’s Quivira was abandoned early in the 18th century. The Rayados of Onate were probably still living in about the same location. Archaeologists have located a Wichita village at the Deer Creek Site
Deer Creek Site
The Deer Creek/Bryson Paddock Sites are the remains of 18th century fortified villages of the Wichita tribe located along the Arkansas River in Kay County, Oklahoma.-Location and History:...
dating from the 1750s on the Arkansas River east of Newkirk, Oklahoma
Newkirk, Oklahoma
Newkirk is a city in Kay County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,243 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kay County.-Geography:...
. By 1757, however, it appears that all the Wichita had migrated south to the Red River.
The most prominent of the Wichita sub-tribes were the Taovayas. In the 1720s they had moved south from Kansas to the Red River establishing a large village on the north side of the River in Jefferson County, Oklahoma
Jefferson County, Oklahoma
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 6,818. Its county seat is Waurika.-Geography:...
and on the south side at Spanish Fort, Texas
Spanish Fort, Texas
Spanish Fort is an unincorporated town in north central Montague County, Texas, United States at the end of Farm Road 103 one mile south of the Red River.-History:...
. They adopted many traits of the Plains Indians and were noted for raiding, trading, and (reputedly) cannibalism. They had a close alliance with the French and in 1746 a French brokered alliance with the Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
revived the fortunes of the Wichita.
The village at Spanish Fort was “a lively emporium where Comanches brought Apache slaves, horses and mules to trade for French packs of powder, balls, knives, and textiles and for Taovaya-grown maize, melons, pumpkins, squash, and tobacco.”
The Wichita and their Comanche allies were known to the Spanish as the “Nortenos” (Northerners). In 1759, in response to the destruction by the Nortenos of the San Saba Mission
Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá
Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá was one of the Spanish missions in Texas, established in 1757 in what is now Menard County. Located along the San Saba River, the mission was intended to convert members of the Lipan Apache tribe. Although no Apache ever resided at the mission, its existence...
the Spanish undertook an expedition to punish the Indians. Their 500 man army attacked Spanish Fort but was routed by the Wichita and Comanche. The Spanish suffered 19 dead and 14 wounded, leaving several cannon on the battlefield, although they claimed to have killed more than 100 Indians.
The alliance between the Wichita, especially the Taovayas, and the Comanche began to break up in the 1770s as the Wichita were lured into cooperation with the Spanish. Taovaya power in Texas declined sharply after an epidemic, probably smallpox, in 1777-1778 killed about one-third of the tribe. After the Americans took over their territory as a result of the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
in 1803 and the independence of Texas in 1836, all the related tribes were increasingly lumped together and dubbed “Wichita.” That designation also included the Kichai of northern Texas who spoke a different although a related language.
The principal village of the Wichita in the 1830s was near the Wichita Mountains
Wichita Mountains
The Wichita Mountains are located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The mountains are a northwest-southeast trending series of rocky promontories, many capped by 540 million-year old granite. These were exposed and rounded by weathering during the Permian Period...
of Oklahoma although the Tawakoni and Wacos still lived in Texas and were moved onto a reservation on the upper Brazos River
Brazos River
The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers , is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a drainage...
. They were forced out of Texas to a reservation in Oklahoma in 1859. During the Civil War the Wichita allied with the Union
The Union
-Political Unions:* The Union states of the United States during the American Civil War* The partnership of the German political parties the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union* The European Union...
side. They moved to Kansas, where they established a village at the site of present-day Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
. In 1867 they were relocated to a reservation in Oklahoma in the area where most of them continue to reside. On June 4, 1891, the affiliated tribes signed an agreement with the Cherokee Commission
Cherokee Commission
The Cherokee Commission, was a three-person bi-partisan body created by President Benjamin Harrison to operate under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, as empowered by Section 14 of the Indian Appropriations Act of March 2, 1889. Section 15 of the same Act empowered the President to...
for individual allotments.
Population
The Wichita had a large population in the time of Coronado and Onate. One scholar estimates their numbers at 200,000. Certainly they numbered in the tens of thousands. They appeared to be much reduced by the time of the first French contacts with them in 1719, probably due in large part to epidemics of infectious diseaseInfectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
to which they had no immunity. In 1790, it was estimated there were about 3,200 total Wichita. By 1868, the population was recorded as being 572 total Wichita. By the time of the census of 1937, there were only 100 Wichita officially left. Today, there are 2,526 enrolled Wichitas, 1,854 of whom live in the state of Oklahoma.
Government
The Wichita tribe is headquartered in Anadarko, OklahomaAnadarko, Oklahoma
Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County.-Early History:Anadarko got its name when its post office was established in 1873...
. Their tribal jurisdictional area is in Caddo
Caddo County, Oklahoma
Caddo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 30,150. Its county seat is Anadarko. It is named after the Caddo tribe who were settled here on the 1870s...
county. Leslie Standing is the current President, serving a Four-year term. He replaced Gary McAdams. They are a self-governance tribe, operating their own housing authority and issuing vehicle tags.
Economic development
The tribe owns a casino, a smoke shop, and Cross Timbers Restaurant, located in Anadarko. Their annual economic impact is $4.5 million.External links
- Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, official website
- Wichita, article in the Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
- The last word on 'Wichita'. One person left who speaks 'Wichita' Interview with Doris McLemore, "the last fluent speaker of Wichitan language". Video by Al Jazeera