Kiowa& Colorado History - Essay Example

Kiowa Tribe Kiowa Indians come originally from the Western Montana, from the headwaters of theYellowstone River. The first interaction with the white men happened in about 1700 when European traders came across the Kiowa Indians. The Kiowa moved to the southeast where they came in contact with the Crow Indians. The two tribes formed an alliance and Kiowa settled to the east of the Crow tribe at the end of 18th century. Later on, in the early 19th centuries the two tribes were pushed south to the Arkansas River.

They stationed themselves in southeastern Colorado, western Kansas, and western Oklahoma. They had some fights with Comanche, who were more populous tribe, but eventually these tribes created a confederation, between 1790 and 1806. By 1840 Kiowa became alliances with other tribes as well, such as Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Osage. “Provisions of the 1865 Little Arkansas Treaty forced the Kiowa and Comanche to relinquish lands in Kansas and New Mexico, and the 1867 Medicine Lodge Treaty established a 2.

8 million acre reservation in southwestern Oklahoma. There the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache were confined following their subjugation at the end of the Red River War in May 1875. Kiowa-Comanche-Apache (KCA) Reservation lands were allotted in 1901” (Kiowa, para.2) At the beginning of the 21st century there are about 12000 Kiowa living in Colorado and Oklahoma. Kiowa developed a bison-hunting culture, together with the buffalos they moved around to the places of grazing. Kiowa lived in tee-pees, so it was easy for them to move around.

Kiowa captured wild mustangs and trained them to use in warfare, for hunting purposes, as well as the means of transportation. Kiowa organized themselves by age, as well as by sex. As the person would get older he/she would move to the next social age organization. Brothers and sisters avoided interacting with each other after the age of ten. Each family group was led by the eldest brother. A typical family group would include a man with his wife and children, his brothers and sisters and their spouses and children, as well as his parents.

Rich kindreds were called ondedw (they comprised about 10% of the population), next were ondegupa – so called “middle class” kindreds (30-50%), and finally – kwwn –poor kindreds, comprising about 50% of the population. Kiowa society was characterized by the sharp contrast between rich and poor. During the reservation period of 1868-1901 government was trying to transform Kiowa into self-sufficient farmers, but failed to do so. Before the World War II Kiowa people lived in poverty for the most part, because they were dependent.

As far as the religion of Kiowa, their belief centered around “the animistic beings who represented in various degrees the animatistic, orenda-like power force dw? dw? that permeated the universe and became manifest in natural phenomena and in birds and animals.” (Kiowa, para.9) From the tribe of Crow Kiowa adopted the Sun Dance, which was part of their religious practices for a long time. Since 1968 the Kiowa have been governed by the Kiowa Tribal Council. The Kiowa receive their income mostly from participating in Oklahoma Indian Arts and Crafts Cooperative.

Some of the tribesmen still preserve their native language. Works Cited Benjamin R. Kracht. Kiowa. Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Web. 15 April 2011 R. E. Moore. The Texas Kiowa Indians. Web. 15 April 2011