Wichita (tribe)
The Wichita tribe, a confederacy of six or seven subtribes, primarily includes the Wichita, Tayovaya, Yscani, Tawakoni, Waco, and Kichai. They historically inhabited the area around the great bend of the Arkansas River in south-central Kansas and were first documented by Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado in 1541. The tribe's name, Wichita, is of uncertain origin, while they refer to themselves as Kitikiti'sh, meaning "the people." Traditionally, they lived in matrilocal and matrilineal societies, engaging in agriculture and hunting, producing crops such as corn and beans, while also hunting buffalo and deer.
Throughout their history, the Wichitas faced numerous challenges, including conflicts with neighboring tribes and European settlers, as well as disease epidemics that reduced their population significantly. By the early 1900s, their numbers dwindled to 340, but they have since rebounded. Today, the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, which includes the Wichita, Waco, Keechi, and Tawakoni peoples, is based in Anadarko, Oklahoma, and emphasizes cultural preservation efforts, including reviving traditional songs and dances. As of 2016, the tribal enrollment was nearly 3,000 members, though very few speak the Wichita language fluently.
Wichita (tribe)
- CATEGORY: Tribal group
- CULTURE AREA: Plains
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Caddoan
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Oklahoma
- POPULATION SIZE: 3,481 (Wichita and Affiliated Tribes)
The Wichita people were a confederacy of six or seven subtribes, including the Wichita proper, the Taovaya, Yscani, Tawakoni, Waco, and Kichai. Only the Kichai group spoke a separate Caddoan language; the rest spoke similar dialects of their Caddoan language. The name Wichita is of unknown origin; they refer to themselves as Kitikiti’sh, meaning “the people” or “the preeminent people.” French traders referred to them as Pani Piqué, meaning “Tattooed Pawnee.” (They were closely related to the Pawnee.) Other Indigenous American groups had names for the Wichita, which referred to their distinctive tattooing.
The Wichita were the fabled people of Quivira whom the Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado encountered in 1541. Their ancestral homeland seems to have been the region of the great bend of the Arkansas River in south-central Kansas. In Coronado’s time, this confederacy probably numbered around fifteen thousand; the number was reduced to about four thousand in the eighteenth century. By 1902, there were only 340 members of the Wichita; they have since rebounded.
From the 1600s to 1800s, the Wichita lived in a number of villages located along rivers, each village having about eight hundred to a thousand grass lodges. These were conical in shape, 15 to 30 feet in diameter, and had the appearance of a haystack. Wichita society was matrilocal—a married couple lived with the wife’s family, whose head of household was a grandmother or great-grandmother. The Wichita were also matrilineal, although no clan system operated in the tribe.
Women farmed to produce corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, and tobacco, while men hunted buffalo, deer, antelope, and bear. There was a seasonal rhythm to Wichita life, with permanent villages occupied in the spring and summer during the planting and harvesting season. In the fall, many left on extended hunting trips, living in portable skin tepees while traveling. Gathered fruits and nuts rounded out the diet. The Wichita often farmed a surplus and sold it to neighboring Indigenous groups that did not engage in agriculture.
By around 1700, the Wichita had acquired horses, which made buffalo hunting and warfare easier. The Wichita remained essentially a peaceful people, however, going to war only when provoked. They also retained much of their sedentary farming-oriented culture rather than becoming solely reliant on buffalo hunting as some other groups in the Plains culture area did.
In the early 1600s, the Osage began to press into Wichita territory, so the Wichita began moving south into Oklahoma and Texas. By about 1720, the Wichita began trading with the French, who assisted in establishing peaceful relations between the Wichita and the Comanche in 1746. The two groups of Indigenous Americans traded peacefully after 1746 and sometimes allied against Apache invaders in their region. The Wichita's relationship with the Spanish was much more troubled than their relationship with the French. In the middle-to-late eighteenth century, they were often at war with the Spanish. From that time until the 1900s, warfare with other groups, such as the Osage, as well as smallpox and other disease epidemics, took their toll on the Wichita confederacy, and its numbers dwindled. By the 1820s, there were also conflicts with American settlers.
In the 1830s, other eastern tribes were being resettled in or near Wichita territory (now called “Indian Territory”) by the US federal government. This caused conflicts as well, despite various peace treaties and settlements. During the American Civil War, the Wichita fled to Kansas but returned to what is now Oklahoma after the war. They were assigned a reservation in Caddo County. The reservation was allotted to individual families and, therefore, dissolved in 1901.
The Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, Oklahoma tribal grouping, which includes the Wichita, Waco, Keechi, and Tawakoni peoples, was organized under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and the Oklahoma Welfare Act of 1935. The government for the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes is located in Anadarko, Oklahoma and includes a president and an executive committee who are elected by enrolled members to serve four-year terms. In the late twentieth century and continuing into the twenty-first century, the Wichita's interest in maintaining their heritage has increased with members learning traditional songs, dances, and language.
The Wichita and Affiliated Tribes maintain relationships with other tribal groups. They work with the Caddo and the Delaware on business development and have a yearly summer visitation with the Pawnee people. In 2016, however, the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma sued the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes to temporarily stop the Wichita's construction of a history center on land that may contain the remains of Caddo tribal members. After going through the judicial system, the Caddo eventually lost, and the center was built.
According to the website of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, 3,481 people reported that they were members of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. In the twenty-first century, the Indigenous groups worked to preserve their history, culture, and language through community outreach and education.
Bibliography
“Department of Justice.” Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, wichitatribe.com/justice/. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.
Flemming, Molly M. “Caddo Nation Sues Wichita Tribe Over History Center.” The Journal Record, 8 June 2016, journalrecord.com/2016/06/08/caddo-nation-sues-wichita-tribe-over-history-center-law. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.
“History.” Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, wichitatribe.com/culture/history. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.
“A New Beginning: 1934–Present.” Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, wichitatribe.com/history/a-new-beginning-1934-present.aspx. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.
Pool, Garrett. "Wichita." The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=WI001. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.
Sleeper-Smith, Susan. Why You Can’t Teach United States History without American Indians. University of North Carolina Press, 2015.