1. Appearance Government Location in Texas transportation Food Sources
Name of Tribe
Appearance
Government
Name of Culture
A. How small or large of a group
do they live or associate with?
Small nomadic bands to large
confederacies?
B. Do they have leadership?
C. Do shamans have a role?
D. How do they interact with other
Cultures? Do they fight or
trade?
A. What do they look like? Do
they have special tattoos,
haircuts, jewelry or piercings?
B. What do they wear for
clothing?
C. Are they especially tall or
short?
D. Do they paint or grease
their bodies?
Location in Texas
transportation
Food Sources
Dwellings
A. How do they obtain their
food? Hunter/gatherers?
Farmers? Fishermen? A
combination of these?
B. Do they use special tools or
weapons to obtain food?
C. What do they hunt, grow, or
scavenge?
D. Is one type of food more
important than others?
A. What do their dwellings look
like?
B. Do their dwellings show that
they have adapted to their
surroundings and use available
materials?
C. Is their housing permanent or
temporary? WHY?
D. If their housing is temporary,
do they take it with them or
abandon it?
A. What is their common way of
transporting people or
equipment when they travel,
relocate, or hunt/fish/
gather?

2. NATIVE TEXANS Culture & Tribe Southeastern Caddo Gulf Karankawa Gulf
Coahuiltecan
Plains
Comanche
Pueblo
Jumano
Food
Housing
Appear-
ance
transpor-
tation
Govern-
ment

3. COMANCHE Plains Culture Comanche means “enemy” in the language of the
Ute Indians, their neighbors.
The Comanche became known as “Lords of the
Southern Plains.”

4. Comanche Government
The Comanche lived in small groups, called bands, that
were led by chiefs. Band chiefs would all meet
together to discuss and make decisions on important
things.

5. Comanche Appearance Comanche women wore long deerskin dresses.
Men wore deerskin breechcloths,leggings, and
shirts. In winter they wore buffalo hide coats.
They wore leather moccasins on their feet.
The Comanche wore feather headdresses – the
More feathers, the more achievements. They
wore their hair long. Men put it in braids.
The Comanche painted their faces for special
fighting or hunting occasions. They often wore
tribal tattoos on their chests.

6. Comanche Housing Comanche lived in tepees of tanned buffalo hides
and long poles The tepee was designed to set up
and break down easily like a modern tent. The
whole tribe could be ready to move in 30 minutes.

7. Comanche Food The Comanche staple food was the buffalo which
they dried or made into a sausage called pemican.
They also ate smaller game like deer or rabbit, fished
in rivers or ponds, and gathered nuts, berries, and
wild potatoes.

8. Comanche Transportation
The Comanche were skilled horsemen.
Children began riding around 4 years old.
The horse allowed the Comanche to
travel long distances in pursuit of
buffalo herds.

9. CADDO
Southeastern Culture

10. Caddo Government The Caddo lived in tribes of permanent villages.
The tribes were organized into a large confederacy
Which would decide important issues, trade with
each other, and provide protection for those who
were threatened.
The Caddos built large mounds of earth to put their
Important government and religious buildings on.

11. Caddo Appearance
The Caddo grew cotton, dyed it with vegetable dyes, and spun it into beautiful cloth. The Caddo also used
Leather to make clothes. Men usually wore breech cloths when it was warm.
Both men and women tattooed their bodies and faces.
Men would usually shave their heads, leaving one long
strip down the middle. Then they would paint their
shaved heads.

12. Caddo Housing The Caddo lived in tall, cone-shaped huts made of
poles and grass. They were furnished with chairs,
Beds, and animal skins. They were quite comfortable.

13. Caddo Food The Caddo were farmers. Their primary crop was
Corn, but they also farmed beans and squash.
Men hunted for small game and fished using a
trotline, which they strung across a creek to
catch several fish at one time. They would also
find berries, roots, and nuts.

14. Caddo Transportation Caddos walked most places. They did have canoes
to get down or across rivers. They also used dogs to
help them transport items on trips.

15. JUMANO
Pueblo Culture

16. Jumano Government The Jumano lived in small bands and did not
have a chief. Different bands helped each
other occasionally. Jumano representatives
would visit other groups to ask for help when
needed or to trade goods (barter) and
Services.

17. Jumano Appearance The Jumano usually wore clothing made
from animal hide. The men usually wore
little clothing at all.
Since many Jumanos were peaceful
traders (they bartered) throughout
Texas and beyond, they wanted to be
easily recognized. They tattooed stripes
on their cheeks. The men shaved their
heads, all except one long lock of hair,
which they decorated.

18. Jumano Housing The Jumano lived in dwellings made of adobe.
Sometimes these adobe houses would be built
together in the form of pueblos.

19. Jumano Food Farming provided the main source of food for the Jumano.
They farmed along the few rivers and learned how to
irrigate their crops. They grew corn, beans, and rice.
The Jumano also hunted small game and foraged for
edible cactii.

20. Jumano Transportation
The usual form of transportation for the Jumano was
to walk. To help them transport the goods they traded,
the Jumano would often attach a travois, or sled, to
a dog.

21. KARANKAWA
Gulf Culture

22. Karankawa Government Had a chief. This chief was appointed because he
was the first-born male of the oldest member of the
tribe.

23. Karankawa Appearance
Karankawa Indians were known to be very tall people.
Many were over six feet tall. The men wore simple
Breech cloths and the women wore grass skirts.
Since mosquitoes and other insects were a problem,
Karankawas would smear aligator fat over their
bodies for protection.
The Karankawa would also tattoo bold patterns on
their bodies.

24. Karankawa Housing Karankawa housing was temporary grass and cane
huts called wickiups.

25. Karankawa Food Fall and winter they would camp near the gulf to catch
Fish and other seafood.
Spring and summer they would camp in the forest to
hunt for small game and scaveng for nuts and berries.

26. Karankawa Transportation
The most prized possession of a Karankawa Indian
Was his dugout canoe.

27. COAHUILTECAN
Gulf Culture

28. Coahuiltecan Government
The Coahuiltecans organized themselves as small bands.
Sometimes these small bands made alliances with other
bands.

29. Coahuiltecan Appearance
*Wore very little clothing. Breech cloths, fiber sandals
* In winter, wore cloaks of rabbit of coyote fur.
* Were short, possibly because of continued poor diet.

30. Coahuiltecan Housing Coahuiltecan Indians sometimes built wickiup huts
out of poles and grasses.

31. Coahuiltecan Food * Men hunted small game with bows and arrows.
* They also scavenged for lizards,
snakes, and insects, and cactii.
* A favorite dish was to let a fish
lay in the sun for days to rot and
fill with maggots.

32. Coahuiltecan Transportation
They walked. These Indians were nomads – always
moving in search for food.