Native Americans from Texas

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American Indians in Texas An Overview
Click on picture
Chris Aigner - 2011
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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
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Migration Paths

• As the world's glaciers and ice sheets melted
  over the following millennia, rising sea level
  flooded the land bridge.

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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.

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• 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.

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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.

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The Comanche

• Lived in tee-pees
• Good warriors and traders (although, thieves)
• Often spoke more than one language

• Click here for more important facts

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Comanche

• 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.

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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 hunter-gatherers.
  The Tonkawa were driven from their hunting
  grounds by the Apache.

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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

Click the picture or the wolf on the next slide
for more information.
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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 tee-pees

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Apache (Plains Group)
Lived in the South Texas plains Got their food
by hunting- ate buffalo Lived in teepees One
chief led the tribe Nomads, made pottery, moved
to reservation in early 1900s
Click on picture
Lipan Warrior
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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.

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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

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• 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.

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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

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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.

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Caddo (Plains Group)
Lived in the coastal plains Got their food by
farming-ate fruits, vegetables and grains Lived
in Grass Huts made out of wooden frames and dry
grasses Worked together as a confederacy Called
mound builders, made pottery, moved to
Oklahoma, Gave Texas its name
Caddo Tribal Song click on picture
Jumano Tribe Tribute
Click on shape
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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.

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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

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The Caddo was a matrilineal society. This means
they traced their families through their mothers
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.
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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

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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

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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.
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The Wichita

• Tattoos raccoon-eyed 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

Click the picture for more info
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• 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.

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Lets Review!

• Where is it thought that the first humans that
  came to America came from?
• Where did the Comanche Indians live? The Wichita?
  The Caddo?
• What kind of house did the Comanches live in? The
  Wichita? The Caddo?
• Which Native Texans were hunter/ gatherers?
• Which were farmers?
• What does Tejas mean?

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The Western Gulf Culture Area

• Karankawa-hunters and gatherers who lived in the
  area of Galveston to Corpus Christi. They were
  nomads. They used dug-out canoes to fish, hunt
  sea turtles and collect shells. They also hunted
  deer and small animals. They lived in wigwams.

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Karankawa (Pueblo Group)
Lived in the coastal plains near the Gulf Got
their food by fishing-ate fish, shellfish, and
small animals Lived in Wood Framed Homes with
woven grass walls Had appointed chiefs to lead
villages Nomads, made dugout canoes, died out
from European diseases
Click on picture
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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.
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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

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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

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• 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.

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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

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The Coahuiltecan

• Wickiups, sometimes
• Little clothing, if any
• Made sandles out of lechuguilla plants
• Click the cactus for more info.

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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.

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Jumano (Pueblo Group)
Lived in the mountains near the Rio Grande River
Got their food by farming-ate dried corn,
squash and beans Lived in Adobe Pueblos Each
village had a leader with its own
government Cooked using a hollow gourd, traded
with other tribes
Click on picture
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Jumano

• West Texas
• Farmers
• grew corn, beans and squash
• grew cotton for clothes and blankets
• Adobe houses

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Jumano

• Clean and neat
• Men shaved their heads except for at the top
• Traders
• Supposedly naked except for when it was cold-
  wore blankets

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Lets Review!

1. What did the Tonkawa Indians call themselves?
2. Which Native Texans lived in adobe houses?
3. How did the Karankawa clans get around?
4. Why were the Coahuiltecan clans dirty and
   smelly?
5. What was Geronimos Indian heritage?
6. What type of homes did the Tonkawa, Apache,
   Karankawa, Coahuiltecan, and Jumano Indians live
   in?

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• Before you go to the next slide, see if you can
  remember where these Native Texans lived! When
  you get to the next slide, try to guess the names
  in order before you click.

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1
6
7
8

5
2
3
4
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American Indians in Texas
Click on picture
American Indians are the ancestors of our country
and our state. What can we take away from their
lives to apply to our own?
Think about it!