Texas Indians

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Texas Indians
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Western Gulf Culture
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Karankawa

• Karankawa were 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
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..
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Karankawa

• The Karankawa treated their children with
  kindness. They gave their children two names, one
  that was only known to the family.

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Coahuiltecan

• The Coahuiltecan hunted and gathered food in
  south Texas. They were nomadic and covered large
  distances following buffalo, deer and small
  animals.

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Coahuiltecans

• Coahuiltecans also fished and hunted for wild
  plants. Their diets included ants, eggs, lizards,
  snakes, spiders and worms.

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Coahuiltecan

• They did not build permanent homes.
• Both men and women wore their hair long. They
  worked hard but also enjoyed feasting and
  dancing.

Wikiup Hut
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The Southeastern Culture Area
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Caddo

• The Caddo moved into Eastern Texas from
  Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. They organized
  their tribes into three confederacies They built
  permanent villages and became expert farmers.

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Caddo

• The Caddo grew beans, corn, squash, sunflower
  seeds and tobacco. When farming, they practiced
  crop rotation.

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Caddo
The Caddo was a matrilineal society. This means
they traced their families through their mothers
side. Both men and women tattooed and painted
their bodies.
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• Their houses were wooden poles covered with
  grass. Some may have plastered the outside walls
  with mud.

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Wichita
The Wichita settled along the Red River. They
grew beans, corn, melons and squash and used
horses to hunt buffalo and deer. They lived in
permanent villages. The Wichita tattooed their
bodies, but theirs was more extreme than the
Caddo.
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Atakapa

• Along Gulf of Mexico lived the Atakapa Indians.
  The Atakapa Indians didn't do much farming.
  Instead, they made their livelihood as hunters
  and fishermen. Most of their diet was fish and
  seafood (including oysters, shrimp, and crabs.)
  Atakapa men also hunted big game like deer,
  buffalo, and alligators, and women gathered
  fruit, nuts, and wild honey.

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Atakapa

• Atakapa people lived in brush shelters, which
  were small huts made of grass and reeds built
  around a simple wooden framework. These brush
  houses were not large or fancy, but they were
  easy to build and move from place to place, so
  they fit the Atakapa lifestyle

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The Pueblo Culture Area
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The Puebloan Jumanos

• The Jumano lived along the Rio Grande River. They
  are called Puebloan because the houses and
  buildings they lived in are called Pueblos. A
  Pueblo is like a big apartment building. Most
  have two or more stories. The walls are usually
  made from large mud bricks called adobe bricks.
  If the right kind of rock is available, many
  Pueblos would build rock walls. The rooms are
  small by our modern standards. A whole family
  would live in one room. All the people in a
  Pueblo are like one big family.

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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 hunt
  buffalo. When the Spanish arrived, horses were
  introduced to the Indian tribes. Many Plains
  Indians became excellent horsemen. Most lived in
  tepees.

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The Tonkawa

• The north-central plains and the southeastern
  edge of the Edwards Plateau was home to the
  Tonkawa. The buffalo was the source for food,
  clothing and shelter for these hunters-gatherers.
  The Tonkawa were driven from their hunting
  grounds by the Apache.

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The Apache

• The Apache culture originated in Canada and
  migrated to the Great Plains. Two Apache groups,
  the Lipan and Mescalero, settled in Texas.
  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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Apaches

• Most 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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Comanche

• The Comanche originally lived in the western
  part of the United States. They eventually moved
  into the Great Plains once they acquired horses.
  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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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.