Tonkawa
The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe originally inhabiting regions of eastern and central Texas and Oklahoma. Their name, derived from the Waco language, translates to "they all stay together," reflecting their historical organization into various independent bands. The Tonkawa were predominantly nomadic hunters, relying on game such as buffalo, deer, and smaller animals, alongside gathering nuts, berries, and herbs. Their cultural practices included a form of the peyote religion, which involved consuming the mescal bean for spiritual purposes.
Historically, Tonkawa faced challenges, often being perceived as warlike by neighboring tribes, particularly the Apache and Comanche, with whom they frequently engaged in conflict. Throughout the 19th century, they underwent forced relocations and experienced significant population declines due to violence. Today, the Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma is federally recognized, with a population of approximately 718 members. The tribe has developed economic ventures, including casinos, and provides essential services such as education and healthcare to its community, while also preserving their cultural heritage and language.
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Tonkawa
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Plains
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Tonkawan
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Oklahoma
- POPULATION SIZE: 718 (2024 Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma)
The Tonkawa lived a nomadic life over vast stretches of what is now eastern and central Texas and Oklahoma. “Tonkawa” comes from the Waco language and means “they all stay together,” although they lived in around twenty independently wandering bands. Their name for themselves was Titska Watitch (“the most human of people”). The Tonkawa hunted for most of their food, eating bear, deer, and buffalo, as well as smaller game, including rattlesnakes. When they were near the coast, they ate fish and shellfish. Their religious beliefs kept them from eating coyotes and wolves. They also ate nuts, berries, and herbs that they gathered in their wanderings. The early Tonkawa practiced a form of the peyote religion, eating the mescal “bean” from a shrub that grew in their territory. This ingestion caused a blinding red vision and vomiting. For the Tonkawa, the red symbolized success in battle and hunting; the vomiting purged the body of evil. By the 1890s, they had substituted the milder and less dangerous peyote.
Judging by the traditional stories of neighboring Indigenous groups, the Tonkawa were disliked by their neighbors, who thought them warlike and dishonest. They were said to be good with bows, whether aiming at game or enemies. They were almost always at war with the Apache and the Comanche. In 1782, some 4,000 Tonkawa and Apache met to trade horses and to discuss the possibility of forming an alliance against the Spanish, who were proving an even greater threat. They could not reach an agreement, however, and hostilities soon broke out again. In 1855, they were removed with other Texas Indigenous groups to two small reservations on the Brazos River. Three hundred strong, they were moved again four years later to the Washita River in Oklahoma. In 1862, they were attacked by a large group of enemy Indigenous nations, and all but around a hundred were massacred. After more wandering, they were finally settled on a small reservation near the Ponca River in Oklahoma.
In the twenty-first century, most descendants of the Tonkawa were enrolled in the federally recognized Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma. The Indigenous nation owned three independently operated casinos in Oklahoma and other business ventures. The Tonkawa offered federally-funded programs for education, job training, healthcare, transportation, and childcare. They also retained a vibrant culture and unique language.
Bibliography
Carlisle, Jeffrey D. “Tonkawa Indians.” Texas State Historical Association, 12 Mar. 2021, www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/tonkawa-indians. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.
Himmel, Kelly F. The Conquest of the Karankawas and the Tonkawas, 1821–1859. Texas A&M UP, 1999.
May, Jon D. "Tonkawa (Tribe) - The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture." Oklahoma Historical Society, www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=TO003. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.
Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford UP, 2000.
“The Tonkawa Indians.” Round Rock Texas, www.roundrocktexas.gov/city-departments/planning-and-development-services/historic-preservation-2/historic-round-rock-collection/tonkawa-indians. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.
"Tribal History." Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma, tonkawatribe.com/language-culture/history. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.