Misplaced Pages

#480519

36-468: The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe from Oklahoma and Texas . Their Tonkawa language , now extinct , is a linguistic isolate . Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the federally recognized Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma , headquartered in Tonkawa, Oklahoma . They have more than 700 tribal citizens. The Tonkawa's autonym is Tickanwa•tic (meaning "real people"). The name Tonkawa

72-593: A historic park. The Tonkawa Tribe is led by an elected president and council. Their current president is Russell Martin. The Tonkawa tribe operates several businesses which had an annual economic impact of over $ 10,860,657 in 2011. Along with several smoke shops, the tribe runs three different casinos: Tonkawa Indian Casino and Tonkawa Gasino located in Tonkawa , Oklahoma, and the Native Lights Casino in Newkirk , Oklahoma. The Tonkawa Hotel and Casino has

108-647: A language and culture. Fort Cobb Major William H. Emory, commander at Forts Washita and Arbuckle, established Fort Cobb in October 1859 on the west side of Pond Creek, near its confluence with the Washita River . The fort was named in honor of Howell Cobb , then Secretary of the Treasury. Several small tribes, including the Anadarko , Caddo , Tonkawa and Penateka Comanche had made peace with

144-731: A steakhouse, the Buffalo Grill and Lounge. The Tonkawa's tribal jurisdictional area is in Kay County, Oklahoma, and their headquartered are in Tonkawa, Oklahoma . A 60-acre property (24 ha), was purchased by the Tonkawa Tribe in 2023 in commemoration of its status as a site sacred to the Tonkawa. Sugarloaf Mountain, the highest point in Milam County, Texas , will become part of a historical park. The tribe owns

180-454: A variety of reasons; they may be a scattered tribe who no longer exist as an organized nation, or they have not completed the certification process established by the government entities in question, they may have lost their recognition through termination , or they may be a group of non-Native individuals seeking recognition as a tribe for other reasons. Some federally recognized tribes are confederacies of more than one tribe. Historically,

216-511: Is believed to have been just before or during the early European contact period. By 1700, Apache and Wichita people had pushed the Tonkawa south to the Red River which forms the border between current-day Oklahoma and Texas. In the 16th century, the Tonkawa tribe probably had around 1,900 members. Their numbers diminished to around 1,600 by the late 17th century due to fatalities from European diseases and conflict with other tribes, most notably

252-558: Is derived from the Waco word, Tonkaweya , meaning "they all stay together". In 1601, the Tonkawa people lived in what is now northwestern Oklahoma. They were made up of related bands. Historically, they were nomadic people, who practiced some horticulture. The Tonkawa, long thought to have been prehistoric residents of Texas are now thought to have migrated into the state in the late seventeenth century. Arrival in Central Texas

288-560: Is similar to that of a state in some situations, and that of a nation in others, holding a government-to-government relationship with the federal government of the United States . Many terms used to describe Indigenous peoples of the United States are contested but have legal definitions that are not always understood by the general public. The term tribe is defined in the United States for some federal government purposes to include only tribes that are federally recognized by

324-786: The Apache . In the 1740s, some Tonkawa were involved with the Yojuanes and others as settlers in the San Gabriel Missions of Texas along the San Gabriel River . In 1758, the Tonkawa along with allied Bidais , Caddos , Wichitas , Comanches , and Yojuanes went to attack the Lipan Apache in the vicinity of Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá , which they destroyed. The tribe continued their southern migration into Texas and northern Mexico , where they allied with

360-687: The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and those Alaska Native tribes established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.]. Such tribes, including Alaska Native village or regional corporations recognized as such, are known as "federally recognized tribes" and are eligible for special programs and services provided by the United States . The BIA, part of the US Department of

396-500: The Bastrop camp August 22nd, 1843. He met with "Chief Campos (sic)" and visited a dry goods store where Tonkawa were busy trading with residents of Bastrop. Campo had recently returned from a buffalo hunt, and later that year planned to "visit the coast .. to see the ocean and hunt mustangs and deer". Bollaert's eye-witness account of the tribe in Bastrop shows a people still confident in their ability to move about. Earlier that year there

SECTION 10

#1732776627481

432-648: The Comanche. March 5th, 1842 the Mexican Army under Ráfael Vásquez (general) marched into Texas and seized San Antonio. Months later in support of the Republic of Texas the Tonkawa and Lipans were mustered for an expedition against the Mexican invasion: "We understand that the whole tribe of Lipans and Tonkewas (sic) have been ordered to move to the vicinity of Corpus Christi, to accompany the army on its march to

468-715: The Confederate Commissioner for Indian Affairs, arrived to sign the treaties with the chiefs on August 12, 1861. However, the relations soured after the Confederate government showed it was unable to keep its promises. In particular, Agent Leeper behaved "cantankerously" toward the Natives. In return the chiefs were rude toward Leeper and finally demanded that he be removed. Leeper moved his family to safety in Texas. Many Natives, fearing reprisals, moved away from

504-457: The English word tribe is a people organized with a non– state government, who typically claim descent from a common founder and who speaks the same language . In addition to their status as legal entities, tribes have political, social, and historical rights and responsibilities. The term also refers to communities of Native Americans who historically inhabit a particular landbase and share

540-770: The Fort Cobb area to live in Kansas until the Civil War ended. About thirty men from tribes allied to the Confederacy were recruited to the Confederate Army and armed to guard the fort in 1862. No regular troops were assigned there until May, 1862. They collected and guarded the abandoned supplies into the summer, but left the fort in August. An armed party of Natives allied to the United States (Union) attacked

576-642: The Interior, issues Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood , which tribes use as a basis for tribal enrollment in most cases. Federally recognized tribes are "unique governmental entities and are not extensions of State or local governments." Some tribes, such as the United Houma Nation , do not have federal recognition, but are recognized at the state level using procedures defined by various states, without regard to federal recognition. Other organizations self-identify as Native American tribes for

612-636: The Lipan Apache. In 1824, the Tonkawa entered into a treaty with Stephen F. Austin to protect Anglo-American immigrants against the Comanche . At the time, Austin was an agent recruiting immigrants to settle in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Texas. In 1840 at the Battle of Plum Creek and again in 1858 at the Battle of Little Robe Creek , the Tonkawa fought alongside the Texas Rangers against

648-625: The Ponca Agency, and arrived at nearby Fort Oakland on June 30, 1885. On October 21, 1891, the tribe signed an agreement with the Cherokee Commission to accept individual allotments of land. By 1921, only 34 tribal members remained. Their numbers have since increased to close to 950 as of 2023. The Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma incorporated under the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act in 1938. December 12, 2023

684-730: The Rio Grande". The Tonkawas often visited the capital city of Austin during the days of the Republic of Texas (1836–1846) and during early statehood in the mid-19th century. By 1838 the Tonkawas' main camp was near Bastrop, Texas 30 miles east of Austin. The camp was on the east side of the Colorado River , below Alum Creek , on lands claimed by General Edward Burleson . William Bollaert, English writer, geographer, and ethnologist traveled through Texas in 1842 to 1843 visiting

720-672: The State of California formed rancherias and Nevada formed Indian Colonies . Multiethnic entities were formed by the U.S. federal government or by treaty with the U.S. government for the purpose of being assigned to reservations. For example, 19 tribes that existed in 1872 combined at that time to form the Colville Confederated Tribes, which is now the single federally recognized tribe, Colville Indian Reservation in Washington state . The international meaning of

756-609: The Tonkawa Tribal Museum in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, which shares the history and culture of the tribe through photographs, art, and artifacts with free admission. They also maintain the Tonkawa and Nez Perce cemeteries. The annual Tonkawa Powwow is held on the last weekend in June to commemorate the end of the tribe's own Trail of Tears when the tribe was forcefully removed and relocated from its traditional lands to present-day Oklahoma. The City of Austin and leadership from

SECTION 20

#1732776627481

792-582: The Tonkawa Tribe celebrated Austin-Tonkawa Friendship Day on September 12, 2024. The Tonkawa were made up of various groups. These groups are generally counted as Tonkawa: Additional bands, such as the Nonapho, Sijame, and Simaomo may have also have Tonkawan bands. Native American tribe In the United States, an American Indian tribe , Native American tribe , Alaska Native village , Indigenous tribe , or Tribal nation may be any current or historical tribe , band, or nation of Native Americans in

828-491: The Tonkawa Tribe purchased Sugarloaf Mountain, near Gause, Texas in Milam County. The mountain figures into a number of tribes' histories and is along El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail near the site of Rancheria Grande. The tribe knows it as "Red Mountain" and is a part of their origin story. The tribe partnered with El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association with plans to make it into

864-622: The Tonkawa were forced to move from Fort Griffin in Texas to the Oakland Agency in northern Indian Territory, present-day Kay County . They arrived on June 29, 1885, and have remained there to the present. This journey involved going to Cisco , Texas, where they boarded a railroad train that took them to Stroud in Indian Territory, where they spent the winter at the Sac and Fox Agency. The Tonkawas traveled 100 miles (160 km) to

900-410: The United States . Modern forms of these entities are often associated with land or territory of an Indian reservation . " Federally recognized Indian tribe " is a legal term in United States law with a specific meaning. A Native American tribe recognized by the United States government possesses tribal sovereignty , a "domestic dependent, sovereign nation" status with the U.S. federal government that

936-524: The United States forcibly removed the Tonkawa and other Texas Indian tribes to the Wichita Agency in Indian Territory, and placed them under the protection of nearby Fort Cobb . During American Civil War , the Tonkawa allied with the Confederacy. Texas also declared for the Confederacy, so the federal troops at the fort received orders to march to Fort Leavenworth , Kansas, leaving the Indians at

972-602: The Washita River. Rector found an acceptable site near Pond Creek (later renamed Cobb Creek). At the beginning of the Civil War, the garrison at Fort Cobb consisted of four companies of Federal troops. Colonel Emory ordered two companies sent to Fort Washita. The other two remained at Fort Cobb. Fort Washita was occupied by Confederate troops from Texas on April 17, 1861. On the same day, orders from Washington, D.C., directed that all Federal troops in Indian Territory should march to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas . Emory received

1008-446: The Wichita Agency on October 23, 1862, killed the white employees, put the corpses in the agency building and burned it to the ground. Agent Leeper escaped the attack and fled to Texas. On January 6, 1869 the last soldiers left Fort Cobb. They moved to Medicine Bluffs, where they established Camp Wichita on January 8. Fort Cobb was officially abandoned on March 29, 1869, and Camp Wichita was renamed Fort Sill . General Hazen transferred

1044-526: The Wichita Agency unprotected. On October 24, 1862, Pro-Union tribes, including the Delaware , Shawnee , and Osage decimated the Tonkawa in the Tonkawa Massacre . After the attack on the Tonkawa, by the summer of 1863, some survivors began migrating back south into Texas, some going as far as Central Texas including Austin, Texas. As the capital of a Confederate state, Austin during the Civil War

1080-499: The chiefs would move their people to sites near the Wichita Mountains. An area near Medicine Bluff along had already been approved in 1855 and 1858 by Agent Douglas H. Cooper as an acceptable place for a military post. Elias Rector, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, whose office was at Fort Smith, was to make the final site selection for a new Agency. Rector made an expedition to Medicine Bluff, arriving June 22, 1859. He

1116-634: The friendly tribes from Texas into Indian Territory along the Washita River. The removal, under U.S. Army escort, and commanded by Major George H. Thomas , began August 1, 1859. Before the removal, the chiefs of nine different tribes, including those living on the Brazos, plus the Wichitas, who already had a reservation in Indian Territory, met in a council with Army officers and Federal Indian Agents at Fort Arbuckle . The government representatives promised protection from both white Texans and hostile tribes if

Tonkawa - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-669: The government of Texas in 1854. In return, the Texas Legislature had created two reserves of land along the Brazos River . However, the Northern Comanche , more warlike people who dominated the area north of the Red River , continued to raid white settlements in northern Texas. The white settlers regarded the presence of any Indians as dangerous, and began attacking the friendly tribes along the Brazos. Trying to prevent overt war, Federal Indian Agents began moving

1188-421: The order while marching to Fort Cobb. The latter fort was occupied by a small contingent of Confederate troops under William C. Young and Indian Agent Mathew Leeper. In May 1861, Colonel Young made a "peace treaty" with the native tribes around the fort, promising them the same protections that they had with the U.S. government before the war. No official treaty was made with the tribal chiefs until Albert Pike ,

1224-563: Was accompanied by several Indian Agents and the chiefs of the Caddoes and Wichitas. He reported that the Medicine Bluff site was completely unacceptable because the heavy spring and summer rains caused creeks to overflow and become impassable, hot winds in summer caused "miasma", (an old term referring to a bad atmosphere) and malaria outbreaks had caused great suffering to the local Wichitas. The Rector expedition marched farther north to

1260-554: Was fortified anticipating Union attack so provided a refuge for the pro-Confederate tribe. After the Civil War, Texas being a Confederate state, Union forces occupied Texas, and in 1867 as many as 135 Tonkawa were escorted back north from Austin to Jacksboro, Texas by the Indian agent for the United States. That same year the Tonkawa were then resettled on a reservation near Fort Griffin in Shackelford County. Later, in 1884,

1296-487: Was news of a split in the tribe, one group heading to the Rio Grande raising Texas' concern of an alliance with Mexico, but as was reported "The main body of the tribe is still in the vicinity of Bastrop, and the chiefs profess to be still faithful to our [Republic of Texas] government". The group that split from the main tribe was described as "ten camps or families" comprising about "thirty or forty warriors". In 1859,

#480519