All about the ancient tribes
Traditional Kiowa religion included the belief that dreams and visions gave individuals supernatural power in war, hunting, and healing. Ten medicine bundles, believed to protect the tribe, became central in the Kiowan Sun Dance.
Religious Beliefs. The Kiowa revered the Sun, constellations such as the Pleiades, and natural forces such as the Cyclone, and gave special respect to the bison, bear, and eagle. Sendeh (or Sainday) is the main protagonist in Kiowa tales, as both culture hero and trickster; he has human rather than animal attributes.
In religion the Kiowas were polytheistic and animistic. There was a general belief in supernatural agencies. Their great tribal ceremonial was the Sun Dance or K’ado in early summer. In the Sun Dance the tribe came together for ten days or more.
The Kiowa were known for making things of leather, such as boots, clothing, and moccasins, which they also decorated with beads and painted designs. Kiowa men traveled far to trade with other tribes.
The Kiowa lived a typical Plains Indian lifestyle. Mostly nomadic, they survived on buffalo meat and gathered vegetables, lived in teepees, and depended on their horses for hunting and military uses. The historic Kiowa also ranged through southwest Colorado and southwest Kansas.
Pahy (the sun), one of many spiritual forces to act on the world, was highly revered but not worshipped by the Kiowa. Sun Dances have been performed by many different plains tribes. The tai-me was the most sacred object to the Kiowa and was the center of the dance.
Tonkawa, North American Indian tribe of what is now south-central Texas. Before colonization, the Tonkawa were nomadic bison hunters; their mobile villages of tepees were dispersed across the southern Plains landscape. They were notable warriors, whose offensive weapons included bows, arrows, and spears.
In 1867, the Kiowa were moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma. Today, they are federally recognized as Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma with headquarters in Carnegie, Oklahoma. As of 2011, there were 12,000 members.
It was a tough and dynamic environment that required a capacity to adapt in order to thrive. The nomadic hunting culture allowed the tribe to succeed in the plains, but beyond the bison, there were few resources. The Kiowa were a smaller tribe than some of the others in the region, which made them vulnerable.
The Kiowa tribe lived in tent-like homes called tepees. The tepees were constructed using long wooden poles that were covered with animal skins such as buffalo hides. The tepee tent was pyramid shaped, with flaps and openings.
The Kiowas traded regularly with other tribes of the Great Plains and the Western Plateau. They particularly liked to trade buffalo hides and meat to farming tribes like the Mandan and Pueblo Indians in exchange for corn. These tribes usually communicated using the Indian Sign Language.
When he returned to the Kiowa, he testified that the Comanche were honorable and trustworthy to the Kiowa chief, Poliakya. By the end of 1790, the two tribes formed a lasting alliance for mutual benefit. The Kiowa and Comanche alliance swiftly made them the dominant tribes of the southern plains.
The name Kiowa (pronounced KIE-uh-wuh) comes from the Comanche word “Kaigwa,” meaning “two halves differ,” describing Kiowa warriors who cut their hair on only one side and left the other side long. It later evolved into the name “Kiowa,” which means “the Principal People” to the tribe.