Rediscovering Native Americans of Texas Whispers in the Wind: Rediscovering Native Americans of Texas Created By Carmen Phillips Krimmel Intermediate

West Texas Plains Along Gulf Coast from Galveston to Corpus Christi Comanches Piney Woods of East Texas Caddo Jumanos Karankawas Mountains and Basins Region Coahuilticans South Texas Plains

Comanches (most feared tribe) www.texasbeyondhistory.net

Use of Land & Water Dirt storms and tornadoes “Comancheria” Battled intruders

Clothing Breechcloth made of tanned buffalo hide Leggings Buffalo robes Boots & snowshoes Painted faces RED Braided Hair Feathered Headdresses

Foods Buffalo – every part of it used, boiled, broiled, eaten raw or as jerky Nuts and berries Drank warm animal blood

Homes Buffalo hide Tepees www.texasbeyondhistory.net

Customs Life centered around 2 activities: Hunting & War Horse = most important possession (buried with them) Expert Horsemen

Caddo First Spaniards to arrive turned the Caddo word techas, which means friend into “Tejas” and called this group the Tejas people. www.texasbeyondhistory.net/.../who.html

Use of Land & Water Fertile land for farming Trotlines Hunted Deer (most important animal)

Clothing Deerskin and fur capes Shells Tattoos Men: Mohawks Women: Long parted in middle http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/kids/caddo

Do you see any similarities with today’s styles? Marek Adney of Austin, TX http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/kids/caddo/images/oldnew.html

Foods CORN, ate beans, sunflowers, melons, pumpkins, tobacco and squash Deer, buffalo and javelina Used traps and trotlines

Homes Beehive shaped grass huts 25- 40 feet diameter. Up to 40 people in one hut home.netcom.com/~wandaron/caddo.html

Customs Huge burial mounds Weepers Confederacy with 2 leaders: 1 war & peace leader 1 religious leader Made Pottery & wove mats from bamboo Both women & men held govt. positions www.texasbeyondhistory.net/.../who.html

Karankawas Karankawas

Use of Land & Water Gulf of Mexico for food Dugout canoes LONG cedar bows 3 foot arrows made of sugar cane Weapons & tools from seashells or wood

Clothing Nude or breechcloths and grass skirts Sugar cane body piercings Very tall and powerfully built Coated bodies with alligator/shark grease to ward off mosquitoes (VERY Stinky!!!) Tattooed faces with blue lines and figures Chokers of shell, glass, pistachio nuts or metal About 6 ft tall and said to be UGLY! Males often braided their hair in three strands into which they inserted bright objects. Females wore their hair long and straight.

Foods Oysters & Clams Scallops & Fish Turtles Locusts Prairie hens and quail

Homes Winter months spent along coast: Small huts of willow poles with draped animal skins and grass Summer months spent inland: several sticks with woven mats over it

Customs Flattened babies heads with cradleboards Like other tribes they ate the flesh of their enemies believing they would gain their enemy’s courage Karankawa = dog lovers Wrestlers Mitotes Karankawas meant dog lovers or dog raisers because they kept coyote like dogs Mitotes – religious ceremony that lasted 3 day after successful fishing or hunting expeditions. Drank huge quantities of an intoxicating tea made from yaupon. Women not included at all. "“Caw Wacham: Flathead Woman with Child”." Online Photograph. Britannica Student Encyclopædia. 2  Sept.  2008  <http://student.britannica.com/eb/art-94957>.

Coahuilticans Coahuilticans Poorest of all Indians thus most susceptible to the promise of missions. Coahuilticans www.texasbeyondhistory.net

Use of Land & Water Very primitive Spent most of their time in search of food Nomadic

Clothing Men: little or no clothing (breechcloths) Women: short skirts of buckskin Small people Black stripes painted over bodies & faces Earrings of shell & decorative feathers

Food Ate almost anything they could find and digest Pecans, acorns, nuts, sunflower seeds Mesquite beans & Prickly Pear Cactus Rabbits, turtles, snakes, lizards, deer, dogs, horses, pemmican (jerky made with meat/berries) Spiders, ants, worms, rotten wood, deer dung Fish and maggots! Dirt! Prickly Pear Cactus Mesquite Beans Instead of eating the fish they would set the fish on a rock in the sun for several days. When the fish was rotten and full of maggots they would eat the fish and the maggots and any other insects that might be in or on the fish.

Homes Brush Wickiups Circular shape made of willow bent into dome shape Covered with grass, brush or hides www.TexasIndians.com

Customs Shamans very important Mitotes Strong people known for endurance Legend has said that the Coahuiltecan Indians were well adapted to their environment in south Texas. They hunted deer on foot and could run as fast as many animals without any rest. Mhln.com

Jumanos Jumanos http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/kids/about_texas/regions/big_bend/big_kids/

Use of Land & Water Settled along Concho river and farmed Hunted and gathered Little Rainfall Irrigation

Clothing Striped Tattoos on faces COTTON tunics Capes or cloaks Color feathers Yucca Sandals Women had brief skirts or aprons and short sleeveless tunics, and both men and women used capes or cloaks for protection against the weather. Men cut their hair short, decorated it with paint, and left one long lock to which the feathers of various birds might be tied. Women may have worn their hair long or in braids. The Jumanos were characterized as a rayado (striped) people because of a distinctive pattern of facial marking in horizontal lines or bars.

Food Pinon nuts, mesquite beans & squash Pottery and gourds to cook Buffalo Pinon Nuts Gourds Mequite Beans www.glennwalter.com/honey_mesquite_tree.htm Squash

Homes Pueblos made of stone or adobe (sun-dried mud) Square flat roofs partially underground www.texasbeyondhistory.net/firecracker/index.html

Customs Striped facial tattoos = peaceful trader (Middlemen) Special house for visitors Heads bowed = “welcome” Arrows were so well-made Eastern tribes were eager to trade Mhln.com

Kiowa Comanche Wichita Tonkawa Caddo Mescalero Apache Jumano Lipan Apache Atakapan Karankawas Concho Coahuiltecans

Interactive Websites How many ways to use a buffalo: http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/kids/buffalo.html Buffalo Matching Game: http://americanhistory.si.edu/kids/buffalo/matching/tail.html World of the Caddo: http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/kids/caddo/index.html Talking Hands http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/st-plains/kids/talking/index.html Imagine It: http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/kids/imagine.html