The First People
The First
People
Why?
Story begins with the social development and interactions of Wichita,
Apaches, Comanche, and Osage.
When Europeans arrived,
Native peoples in
Oklahoma had successful economies that combined things including: farming, hunting, gathering, and commerce (trade).
The First People in OK
Native peoples organized into major language groups
Wichita – Caddoan language family
Along the Arkansas,
Canadian, Washita, & Red
Tribal confederation
Farming
Mainly farmers
Irrigated some fields
Corn, beans, squash, gourds, and tobacco
Hunting
Buffalo – meat, hides, robes
Winter – whole village on bison hunt
Deer, elk, antelope, rabbit, squirrel
Commerce
Very skilled traders
Became the middle men who controlled the trade between
French and Southern Plains tribes
Settlement
Semi-sedentary (living in a permanent settlement for only part of the year)
Returned to their villages after the hunt ended
Lived in small villages that often joined together to form a larger one
Technology
Similar to Plains Village Farmer ancestors
Hunting with bow and stonetipped arrows
Mano (handheld stone) and metate (stone block) – dried corn into meal
Crafts
Pottery and small figures from clay
Bones and stone – personal ornaments such as pendants and necklaces
Men and women had elaborate tattoos
Social
Matrilineal – traced their family relationships through women
Belonged to the oldest married woman in the household
Kinship (family relationships) basis of the wider association – clans
Men or women could end marriages
Political
Chief (male) was chosen by generosity, kindness, and bravery
Chiefdoms made up of
Wichita people governed themselves independently
Religious
Powerful creative forces in the universe directed the destiny of the individuals and tribes
Male and female gods
Corn Dance – when corn cropped ripened, to purify
War
Conquest not a part until
Europeans arrived
Wars – like gang feuds
Raids – kill or capture enemy in an unexpected attack
Guns and Horses – Major
Change
Intruders
15 th century, other peoples arrived and challenged
Life or death struggle
Plains Apache
Following the Buffalo, wandered into Western
Oklahoma
Wichita – saw as a threat to food supply, many moved
Hostility for centuries
Commanche
Bigger threat to the Wichita
Obtained horses from Spanish settlements which allowed much wider roaming area
Attacked and subdued local tribes
In 1740s, became allies/trading partners with the Wichita
Osage
Complex social system and ceremonial life
After they acquired Spanish horses, horses became a status symbol
Stole horses, guns, and took captives
Ugly war for at least a century
