COMANCHE INDIANS The Comanches, exceptional horsemen who dominated the Southern Plains, played a prominent role in Texas frontier history throughout much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Anthropological evidence indicates that they were originally a mountain tribe, a branch of the Northern Shoshones, who roamed the Great Basin region of the western United States as crudely equipped hunters and gatherers. Both cultural and linguistic similarities confirm the Comanches' Shoshone origins. The Comanche language is derived from the Uto-Aztecan linguistic family and is virtually identical to the language of the Northern Shoshones. Sometime during the late seventeenth century, the Comanches acquired horses, and that acquisition …show more content…
As many as thirteen different, Comanche bands were identified during the historic period, and most probably there were others that were never identified. However, five major bands played important roles in recorded Comanche history. The southernmost band was called Penateka, or "Honey Eaters." Their range extended from the Edwards Plateau to the headwaters of the Central Texas rivers. Because of their location, the Penatekas played the most prominent role in Texas history. North Of Penateka, country was the habitat of the band called Nokoni, or "Those Who Turn Back." The Nokonis roamed from the Cross Timbers region of North Texas to the mountains of New Mexico. Two smaller bands, the Tanima ("Liver-Eaters") and the Tenawa ("Those Who Stay Downstream"), shared the range of the Nokonis. These three divisions are sometimes referred to collectively as Middle Comanches. Still farther north was the range of the Kotsotekas, or "Buffalo-Eaters." Their territory covered what is now western Oklahoma, where they often camped along the Canadian River. The northernmost band was known as the Yamparikas, or "Yap-Eaters," a name derived from that of an edible root. Their range extended north to the Arkansas River. The fifth major band, known as Quahadis (“Antelopes”), roamed the high plains of the Llano Estacado. FOODS
Mexican ranchers known as Tejanos fought to keep their land after the Mexican American War. Some examples of Mexicans farmers in the towns of Camargo and Reynosa owned about thirty-six thousand head of cattle, horses and sheep. Trade between those towns along the Nueces River and the countryside was very successful. Across the towns of Brownsville, McAllen and Edinburg after Texas became a state, Anglo merchants marry prominent Mexican land-grant families to gain control of acres of land. Subsequently, to make a contribution to the trade between
Nebraska was home to many Native Americans, including the Ponca tribe, who took great pride of their homeland. Many people think the Ponca tribe was once a part of the Omaha, Osage, Kansa, and Quaqaw tribe. These five tribes lived in an area east of the Mississippi River. No one knows the exact date of their separation or why they had separated, but it was believed to be as early at 1390, and as late as 1750.
Warfare played a crucial role in the lives of the Comanche. The Comanche went to war for various reasons, including to gain stolen items, such as horses, goods, and even people that they kidnapped and held captive. In
The Shoshone Indians were located east and west of the Rockies. They have the best horses but they were also poor. We needed their horses to get across the the Rocky Mountain. When we stayed with the Shoshone Indians we ate fish, rabbit, bird, buffalo, and rice, and we stayed in tepees. The shoshone Indians are known for the Snake Nation.
The Apaches, like most Native Americans, have no written history other than that written by white men. But the story of the Apaches did not begin in the American Southwest but in the northwestern corner of North America, the western Subarctic region of Alaska and Canada. The Apache Indians belong to the southern branch of the Athabascan group, whose languages constitute a large family, with speakers in Alaska, western Canada, and American Southwest. The fact that the Apaches originated in the western mountainous Subarctic region makes their nomadic behavior after the arrival in the American Southwest more comprehensible; the tribes of the Southwest were highly mobile and moved from place to place depending on availability of food. They
The Cahuilla were a Native Southern Californian tribe that occupied the Riverside County, Higher Palomar Mountain Region and East Colorado Desert. The tribe was divided into two groups or moieties know as Wildcats or Coyotes. The Cahuilla lived in small clans that varied in population, and together all the separate clans made up a larger political group called a sib ”http://www.aguacaliente.org/content/History%20&%20Culture/.” The tribe was at first considered to be very simple and savage because they were never interacted with. As the Europeans and Spanish Missionaries considered the desert an inhospitable place that was better to avoid because
In the Eastern Woodlands, the native Iroquoian people populated the area, who set fires twice a year to clear away underbrush to allow an easier hunting season. In addition, they had no universal style of government, with many organized into chiefdoms. Near The Great Lakes, there were several different types of natives collectively called the Anishinaabe. Many Europeans found that the Anishinaabe had a vast social landscape, with the peoples of the Ottawas, Ojibwas, and Potawatomis. Additionally, these people would use canoes to travel across the Great Lakes. Towards the west in the Great Plains, the Comanches were formidable people of the vast territory. They rode on horseback to dominate their enemies, and would mainly hunt Bison.
The Sand Creek Massacre involved many native tribes, including the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Sioux, Kiowa, and Comanche. Among many of these tribes were the targeted, Black Kettle and White Antelope leaders of the Cheyenne. Left Hand and Little Raven were the Arapaho chiefs. “The Cheyenne and the Arapaho were the tribes that were mainly affected in this massacre.” (Hoig 15)
Who really are the Cheyenne Indians? According to historians, they were Indian people who became nomadic and moved to the Great Plains in the 18th century (Berkin 366). Another tribe, the Souix, developed the name of "people of a different language" for the Cheyenne. Some people said that the Cheyenne did not exist until the mid-1600s or at least this is when the earliest known records were found. They are one of the most famous and prominent Plains tribes, too.
"My People the Sioux" is a good literary work written in 1928. This book leaves an everlasting impression with some because it definitely intensifies the sympathy for the Indians. Luther Standing Bear, also known as Plenty Kill, portrays the dramatic and traumatic changes about the Sioux throughout their traditional way of life. As a young boy growing up, he experienced many of these hardships first hand between his people and the whites. This autobiography is quite valuable as it helps allow us to envision what really happened in the battling times of the Indians. Luther stated this quote, which to me, is unforgettable and very well said. It reads:
The Sioux nation was divided into 7 groups. They were known as the 7 council fires. Each council fire had its own leaders and own group of families that always camped together. The largest Council Fire lived on the western plains. It was so big it was divided into 7 groups. It was called the Teton Sioux. They spoke the Lakota dialect of the Sioux language.
The exploration and settlement of Texas was built on the three Spanish institutions: missions, presidios, and ranches. A mission was a religious and educational center, a presidio was a military outpost or base for protection, and a ranch provided resources needed for survival. Through the influence of Hispanic culture in Texas, ranching in Texas has been established and further developed.
Popular culture has shaped our understanding and perception of Native American culture. From Disney to literature has given the picture of the “blood thirsty savage” of the beginning colonialism in the new world to the “Noble Savage,” a trait painted by non-native the West (Landsman and Lewis 184) and this has influenced many non native perceptions. What many outsiders do not see is the struggle Native American have on day to day bases. Each generation of Native American is on a struggle to keep their traditions alive, but to function in school and ultimately graduate.
From as early as the time of the early European settlers, Native Americans have suffered tremendously. Native Americans during the time of the early settlers where treated very badly. Europeans did what they wanted with the Native Americans, and when a group of Native Americans would stand up for themselves, the European would quickly put them down. The Native Americans bow and arrows where no match for the Europeans guns and cannon balls. When the Europeans guns didn’t work for the Europeans, the disease they bought killed the Native Americans even more effectively.
For many tribes of Plains Indians whose bison-hunting culture flourished during the 18th and 19th centuries, the sun dance was the major communal religious ceremony . . . the rite celebrates renewal - the spiritual rebirth of participants and their relatives as well as the regeneration of the living earth with all its components . . . The ritual, involving sacrifice and supplication to insure harmony between all living beings, continues to be practiced by many contemporary native Americans. -Elizabeth Atwood LawrenceAs the most important ritual of the nomadic Plains Indians, the Sun Dance in itself presents many ideas, beliefs, and values of these cultures. Through its rich symbolism and complicated rituals we are able to catch a glimpse