whispers in the wind: rediscovering native americans of texas
TRANSCRIPT
Whispers in the Wind:
Rediscovering Native Americans of Texas
Caddo
Jumanos
Comanches
West Texas Plains
Piney Woods ofEast Texas
Mountains and BasinsRegion
Along Gulf Coastfrom Galveston to
Corpus Christi
Comanches
(most feared tribe)
www.texasbeyondhistory.net
• Dirt storms and tornadoes• “Comancheria”• Battled intruders
Use of Land & Water
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
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
www.texasbeyondhistory.net/.../who.html
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
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
"“Caw Wacham: Flathead Woman with Child”." Online Photograph. Britannica Student Encyclopædia. 2 Sept. 2008 <http://student.britannica.com/eb/art-94957>.
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
Food• Pinon nuts, mesquite beans &
squash
• Pottery and gourds to cook
• Buffalo
Gourds
Pinon Nuts
SquashMequite Beans
www.glennwalter.com/honey_mesquite_tree.htm
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• Special house for visitors• Heads bowed = “welcome”• Arrows were so well-made
Eastern tribes were eager to trade
Mhln.com
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