Anadarko
The Anadarko, also known as Nadako, were a significant tribe within the Hasinai Confederacy of the Caddo people, first encountered by Europeans during Hernando de Soto's expedition in 1542 in northeastern Texas. By the late seventeenth century, they had settled near what is now Rusk County, Texas, where they lived as farmers and hunters in a culturally rich society that included complex religious and political systems. The tribe maintained their independence through trade with French settlers, despite attempts by Spanish immigrants to establish missions among them. As external pressures from other tribes and white settlers increased, the Anadarko faced territorial encroachment, leading to their eventual relocation to Oklahoma in 1859 by the Republic of Texas. After the Civil War, they secured a reservation and resumed agriculture. In 1891, they ceded their land but regained it in 1963. Today, the Anadarko community is centered around their tribal headquarters in Oklahoma and has experienced a cultural revival in the late twentieth century, reflecting a rich heritage and resilience.
Anadarko
Category: Tribe
Culture area: Southeast
Language group: Caddoan
Primary location: North of Anadarko, Oklahoma; northwest of Nacogdoches, Texas
The Anadarko, or Nadako, were a tribe of the Hasinai Confederacy of the Caddo. They were first encountered by Europeans in northeastern Texas by members of Hernando de Soto’s expedition in 1542. Later, in the late seventeenth century, they were living on the southern edge of what is now Rusk County, Texas.
The Anadarko and the other Hasinai formed a loose confederacy of settled farmers who lived in scattered ranchos in the bottomlands. They were primarily farmers and hunters and had elaborate religious and political systems. On a number of occasions the Spanish immigrants sought to establish missions among them, but to no avail. The French immigrants from Louisiana provided them with guns and trade goods, which allowed them to maintain their independence.
In the late eighteenth century, other Indian tribes and white Americans began to encroach on their lands. Protests to Spanish and, later, Mexican officials did little to restore their independence. Poor relations with the Republic of Texas drove the Anadarko and their Indian neighbors to central Texas. After Texas became a state, the Anadarko and other Indians were removed to Oklahoma in 1859.
After the Civil War they were finally able to obtain a reservation north of the Washita River and settled down to farming. In 1891 they ceded their lands to the government but had them restored in 1963. Today they are concentrated around their tribal center north of Anadarko, Oklahoma. The late twentieth century saw a cultural revival among Anadarko and other Hasinai.