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 stone- tipped 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