The Tawakoni (also Tahuacano and Tehuacana) are a
Southern Plains
The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, step ...
Native American tribe, closely related to the
Wichitas
The Wichita people or Kitikiti'sh are a confederation of Southern Plains Native American tribes. Historically they spoke the Wichita language and Kichai language, both Caddoan languages. They are indigenous to Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas.
...
. They historically spoke a
Wichita language
Wichita is an extinct Caddoan language once spoken in Oklahoma by the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. The last fluent heritage speaker, Doris Lamar-McLemore, died in 2016, although in 2007 there were three first-language speakers alive.Rood, 2008 ...
of the
Caddoan language
The Caddoan languages are a family of languages native to the Great Plains spoken by tribal groups of the central United States, from present-day North Dakota south to Oklahoma. All Caddoan languages are critically endangered, as the number of ...
family. Currently, they are enrolled in the
Wichita and Affiliated Tribes
The Wichita people or Kitikiti'sh are a confederation of Southern Plains Native American tribes. Historically they spoke the Wichita language and Kichai language, both Caddoan languages. They are indigenous to Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas.
...
, a
federally recognized tribe
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
.
["Wichita Memories: In the Beginning: 1540-1750."]
''Wichita and Affiliated Tribes'' (retrieved 1 May 2010).
History
At the beginning of the 18th century, the Tawakoni lived in villages in what is now
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. In his 1719 expedition, French explorer
Jean Baptiste Bénard de La Harpe
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* J ...
encountered a Tawakoni village in present-day
Muskogee County, Oklahoma
Muskogee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 70,990. The county seat is Muskogee. The county and city were named for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.[Osage The Osage Nation, a Native American tribe in the United States, is the source of most other terms containing the word "osage".
Osage can also refer to:
* Osage language, a Dhaegin language traditionally spoken by the Osage Nation
* Osage (Unicode b ...]
pushed the tribe south into Texas.
["Tawakoni Indian Tribe."]
''Access Genealogy.'' (retrieved 2 May 2010)
In Texas, the Tawakoni were closely allied with the
Waco tribe
The Waco (also spelled ' and ') of the Wichita people are a Southern Plains Native American tribe that inhabited northeastern Texas. Today, they are enrolled members of the federally recognized Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, headquartered in An ...
. Until 1770, they were friendly to the French but hostile to the Spanish.
[ Chief ]Quiscat Quiscat was a prominent 18th century Native American tribal chief, whose ethnic community, the Tawakoni (also referred to as Towakoni), inhabited an area in what is now East Central Texas.
In 1772, Chief Quiscat embarked on a voyage to San Antonio ...
traveled to San Antonio in 1772 to try to make peace with the Spanish, but this did not have a lasting effect.Quiscat
Handbook of Texas
The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA).
History
The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...
European-American settlers fought with the tribes in the 1820s, and disease and warfare had dramatically reduced their numbers.
[ ]Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...
's Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...
drove the tribes out from central Texas. The Tawakoni helped convince the Comanche
The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
and the Wichita to sign a peace treaty with the United States government,[ which became the first treaty signed between ]Plains Indians
Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of N ...
and the US.[ In 1835, they signed a treaty with the United States at Camp Holmes. This was the first time they were included with the Wichita peoples,][ a practice that continued in subsequent treaties, signed in 1837 and 1846.][
In 1853 an ]Indian reservation
An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
was established on the upper Brazos River
The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 11th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater Dr ...
in Texas, but settlers ultimately forced the tribes off the reservation. In August 1859, 258 Tawakoni people were forced to relocate to Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...
. With the Wichita, Waco, Caddo
The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language.
The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, wh ...
, Nadaco
The Nadaco, also commonly known as the Anadarko, are a Native American tribe from eastern Texas. Their name, Nadá-kuh, means "bumblebee place."Sturtevant, 630
History
The Nadaco were part of the trive branch of the Caddo Confederacy and occupie ...
, Kichai
The Kichai tribe (also Keechi or Kitsai) was a Native American Southern Plains tribe that lived in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. Their name for themselves was K'itaish.
History
The Kichai were most closely related to the Pawnee. French explo ...
, and Hainai The Hainai (Caddo: Háynay) were a Native American tribe that lived in what is now east Texas.
The Hainai (also sometimes called Aynais, Aynay, Ainai, Ioni, Huawni and Ayonai) were the leading group in the Hasinai confederacy. They were a part of ...
tribes, the Tawakoni settled on a reservation in 1872 between the Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
and Washita River
The Washita River () is a river in the states of Texas and Oklahoma in the United States. The river is long and terminates at its confluence with the Red River, which is now part of Lake Texoma () on the TexasOklahoma border.
Geography
The ...
s.[
Although these tribes resisted the allotment policy outlines in the ]Dawes Act
The Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the General Allotment Act or the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887) regulated land rights on tribal territories within the United States. Named after Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, it authorized the Pre ...
, their reservation was broken into individual allotments, and "surplus" lands were opened to non-Native settlers on August 6, 1901.[
In 1894, 126 Tawakoni people were recorded.][ Under the 1934 ]Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act
The Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936 (also known as the Thomas-Rogers Act) is a United States federal law that extended the 1934 Wheeler-Howard or Indian Reorganization Act to include those tribes within the boundaries of the state of Oklahoma. ...
, they joined other Wichita peoples in organizing a new tribal government.[
]
Name
The Tawakonis' name translates to "river bend among red sand hills."[Bennett-Jones, Julie]
"Tawakoni."
''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' (retrieved 28 Nov 2018)
Their name has been also spelled as Touacara, Tahwaccaro, Tahuacaro, or Towoccaro, Tehuacana,[ as well as Towakoni. Some French explorers called them the "Three Canes" or Troiscanne.][
]
Namesakes
Lake Tawakoni
Lake Tawakoni ( ) is a reservoir located in Northeast Texas, about east of Dallas. It lies within three Texas counties, Hunt, Rains, and Van Zandt. It is used for water supply and recreation. It is under the Sabine River Authority of Texas and ...
in Texas was named for this tribe. East Tawakoni, West Tawakoni and Quinlan, Texas
Quinlan is a rural city in the southern part of Hunt County, Texas, United States, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,394. It is west of Lake Tawakoni.
History
The city of Quinlan b ...
are cities around this large lake. Also out of its dam comes the Sabine River which flows through northeast Texas and even works as the eastern border of Texas (From Center to Port Arthur, Texas
Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Texas. A small, uninhabited portion extends into Orange County; it is east of Houston. The largest oil refinery in the United Sta ...
). Tehuacana Creek, Tehuacana Hills, and Tehuacana, Texas are also named for this tribe, though using a Spanish spelling.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tawakoni
Wichita tribe
Plains tribes
Native American tribes in Kansas
Native American tribes in Oklahoma
Native American tribes in Texas
Caddo County, Oklahoma