Native American Groups of Texas

1. Native American Groups of Texas Unit 1 – Native Texas and Its People

2. Tribes of the Great Plains Region • Comanche • Tonkawa • Kiowas

3. Comanche • Probably the most well-known of the Texas tribes, the Comanche were nomadic, war-like hunters of the Great Plains. They lived in present day Amarillo, Lubbock, and surrounding areas. They depended on the buffalo for most of what they needed and lived in movable structures. Towards the end of their life on the plains, they traded some, though they did not have good relations with most other tribes.

5. Tonkawa • The Tonkawa lived in the southern Great Plains region, not far from the current cities of Waco, Temple, and Llano. They were like the Comanche, in that they depended on the buffalo for much of their food and supplies. They also gardened for some of their food, and often ate fish, deer, birds, rabbits, turtles, and rattlesnakes.

7. Kiowas • The Kiowas were natives of the Great Plains region, living in the Panhandle of Texas near present day Amarillo and Lubbock. They were the allies of the Comanche and lived much like they did. They depended on hunting deer, elk, antelope, bear, and buffalo for survival. They often ate dried meat called pemmican – a lot like jerky! They have annual sun dances led by their shaman to prevent sickness and disaster.

10. Tribes of the Gulf Coastal Region • Eastern Gulf - • Caddo • Atakapan • Wichita • Karankawa • Western Gulf – • Coahuiltecan

11. Caddo • The Caddo lived in the Gulf Coastal plains near the Neches and Sabine Rivers. They lived in grass huts along rivers. They depended on farming and trading for survival. They farmed corn, and their entire community was built around farming this crop. They would produce things that they could trade with other members of their confederacy. They were also known as the “Tejas”, and Texas is named after this tribe.

14. Atakapan • The Atakapan also lived in the Gulf Coast region near present day Houston. The bands of this tribe often lived right near the gulf, since fishing was their primary means of survival. There is not much known about this tribe, because the Europeans who encountered them did not bother to write much down, and they died out soon after. Interesting fact: In Choctaw, “Atakapan” means “man-eater”, but there is no evidence that they were really cannibals.

15. Wichita • The Wichita were actually comprised of four different tribal groups and closely related to the Caddo. Just like the Caddo, they lived in grass-dome houses. They lived near present day Wichita Falls (!), but also lived near the Gulf Coast. They were known for hunting buffalo and farming corn, squash, and beans. They tattooed their bodies and were known as “raccoon-eyed” by other tribes. They died off from war and disease.

17. Karankawa • The Karankawa lived in the Gulf Coastal Plains near present day Houston and Galveston. They were nomadic people who lived off of the land and hunted small game and fish using bows and arrows. They traded within their own tribes, and they started to trade with the Europeans before they were killed off by disease.

19. Coahuitecan • The Coahuitecan lived along the Rio Grande River in the Western part of the Gulf Coast Plains. They adapted well to the land and taught their children to know every detail of the land around them to help them survive. They were hunter-gatherers: hunted deer, rabbits, antelope, rabbits, and ate cacti, mesquite beans, lizards, ant eggs, spiders, and almost anything else!

22. Tribes of the Mountains and Basins Region • Lipan Apache • Mescalero Apache • Jumano • Concho

23. Lipan Apache • The Lipan Apache lived in the Mountains and Basins region near present day El Paso. They lived in the Guadalupe, Davis, and Chisos Mountains. They sent men to hunt buffalo and gather when they needed to, but the tribe also planted crops and lived in sedentary communities.

25. Mescalero Apache • They also lived in the Mountains and Basins Region, in and around the Davis Mountains in mountain villages. They depended less on the buffalo than the Lipan Apache. They were mainly gatherers and were named for gathering the mescal plant. Many of their tribes also lived in what is now considered New Mexico.

27. Jumano • The Jumano lived in the Mountains and Basins region near present day El Paso and around the Davis, Chisos, and Guadalupe Mountains. The Jumano were farmers and their homes were made of adobe. They became very big traders, which was a large part of their economy. Because of farming, they stayed in one place, but eventually, a drought caused farming to fail and the tribe did not adapt. This caused them to die off.

29. Concho • The Concho were closely linked to the Jumano and they lived in the same area. Unlike the Jumano, they did hunt when necessary. Not much else is known about this tribe.