View source for Tonkawa

{{short description|Native American tribe in Oklahoma}}
{{other uses}}{{distinguish|Tonikawa}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group      = Tonkawa<br/>Tickanwa•tic
| image      = [[File:Tonkawa Oklahoma seal.png|230px]]
| caption    = Seal of the Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma
| population = more than 700<ref name=spthb/>
| popplace   = [[United States]] ([[Oklahoma]], formerly [[Texas]]<ref name=ohs/>)
| langs      = [[English language|English]], formerly [[Tonkawa language]]
| rels       = [[Christianity]], [[Native American Church]], traditional tribal religions
| related    = [[Coahuiltecan]]<ref name=swanton326/>
}}
The '''Tonkawa''' are a [[Native American tribe]] from [[Oklahoma]] and [[Texas]].<ref name="ohs">{{cite web |last1=May |first1=Jon D. |title=Tonkawa (tribe) |url=https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=TO003 |website=The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture |publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society |access-date=30 October 2024}}</ref> Their [[Tonkawa language]], now [[extinct language|extinct]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=International Encyclopedia of Linguistics|date=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press|last=Frawley |first=William |isbn=9780195307450 |edition=second |location=New York, NY |oclc=66910002}}</ref> is a [[linguistic isolate]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/tonkawaindianlan03hoij|title=Tonkawa, an Indian language of Texas|last=Hoijer|first=Harry|date=1933|publisher=New York : Columbia University Press|others=University of Pittsburgh Library System}}</ref> Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the [[Federally recognized tribes|federally recognized]] '''Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma''', headquartered in [[Tonkawa, Oklahoma]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma |url=https://www.bia.gov/bia/ois/dhs/icwa/agents-listing/locations/tonkawa-tribe-of-indians-of-oklahoma |website=ICWA Designated Agents Listing |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs |access-date=30 October 2024}}</ref> They have more than 700 tribal citizens.<ref name=spthb/>
==Name==
The Tonkawa's autonym is '''{{lang|tqw|Tickanwa•tic}}''' (meaning "real people"). The name '''Tonkawa''' is derived from the [[Waco people|Waco]] word, ''{{lang|wic|Tonkaweya}}'', meaning "they all stay together".<ref name=ohs/><ref name=swanton326/>
==History==
In 1601, the Tonkawa people lived in what is now northwestern Oklahoma.<ref name=ohs/> They were made up of related bands.<ref name=swanton326/> Historically, they were nomadic people, who practiced some horticulture.<ref name="spthb">{{cite web |title=Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma |url=https://spthb.org/about-us/who-we-serve/tonkawa-tribe-of-oklahoma/ |website=Southern Plains Tribal Health Board |date=April 10, 2017 |access-date=30 October 2024}}</ref>
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 is believed to have been just before or during the early European contact period.<ref>''The Prehistory of Texas'', Timothy K. Perttula (Editor). Texas A&M University Press, 2012, p.22, p.217</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Tonkawa Indians |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/tonkawa-indians |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=Texas State Historical Association |language=en}}</ref><ref>Prikryl, Daniel J. Fiction and Fact about the Titskanwatits, or Tonkawa, of East Central Texas. ''Bulletin of the Texas Archeological Society'' 72:63–72, 2001.</ref>
=== 18th century ===
[[File:Tonkawa lang.png|thumb|Tonkawa lands around the 18th century]]
By 1700, Apache and Wichita people had pushed the Tonkawa south to the [[Red River of the South|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 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 (Texas)|San Gabriel River]].<ref>Gary Clayton Anderson, ''The Indian Southwest, 1580-1830: Ethnogenesis and Reinvention'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999) p. 85</ref>
In 1758, the Tonkawa along with allied [[Bidais]], [[Caddos]], [[Wichitas]], [[Comanches]], and Yojuanes went to attack the [[Lipan Apache people|Lipan Apache]] in the vicinity of [[Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá]], which they destroyed.<ref>Anderson, ''The Indian Southwest'', p. 89</ref>
The tribe continued their southern migration into Texas and northern [[Mexico]], where they allied with the Lipan Apache.<ref name=ohs/><ref>{{cite web |last=Walker |first=Jeff |url=http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/local/x1169217822/Chief-returns |title=Chief returns » Local News » San Marcos Record, San Marcos, TX |publisher=Sanmarcosrecord.com |date=2007-11-16 |access-date=2011-11-11 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927145117/http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/local/x1169217822/Chief-returns |archive-date=2011-09-27 }}</ref>
=== 19th century ===
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 Ranger Division|Texas Rangers]] against the Comanche.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gwynne|first=S. C.|title=Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History|year=2011|publisher=Scribner|isbn=978-1-4165-9106-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/empireofsummermo00gwyn/page/7 7, 211]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/empireofsummermo00gwyn/page/7}}</ref> 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 the Rio Grande".<ref>''Colorado Gazette and Advertiser'', Matagorda, Texas, July 9, 1842</ref>
The Tonkawas often visited the capital city of [[Austin, Texas|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 (Texas)|Colorado River]], below [[Alum Creek, Texas|Alum Creek]], on lands claimed by General [[Edward Burleson]].<ref>Himmel, Kelly. ''The Conquest of the Karankawas and the Tonkawas, 1821-1859''. Elma Dill Russell Spencer Series in the West and Southwest, Texas A&M University Press, 1999, p.82</ref> William Bollaert, English writer, geographer, and ethnologist traveled through Texas in 1842 to 1843 visiting 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.<ref>Bollaert, William. ''William Bollaert’s Texas''. University of Oklahoma Press, first edition 1956, first paperback printing 1989, pp.188-190. Compilation of journal entries from 1842 to 1844, edited by Eugene Hollon. </ref> Earlier that year there 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".<ref>''The Morning Star''. Houston, Tex., May 6, 1843</ref>
In 1859, 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]].<ref name=ohs/>
During [[American Civil War]], the Tonkawa allied with the Confederacy.<ref name=ohs/> Texas also declared for the Confederacy, so the federal troops at the fort received orders to march to [[Fort Leavenworth, Kansas|Fort Leavenworth]], Kansas, leaving the Indians at the Wichita Agency unprotected. On October 24, 1862, Pro-Union tribes, including the [[Delaware Nation|Delaware]], [[Shawnee]], and [[Osage Nation|Osage]] decimated the Tonkawa in the [[Tonkawa Massacre]].<ref name="massacre">{{cite web |last1=May |first1=Jon D. |title=Tonkawa Massacre |url=https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=TO005 |website=The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History |publisher=Oklahoma History Center |access-date=30 October 2024}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tribal histories project |url=https://www.txdot.gov/business/resources/environmental/compliance-toolkits/historic-resources/tribal-histories.html |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=www.txdot.gov |language=en}}</ref> As the capital of a Confederate state, Austin during the Civil War was fortified anticipating Union attack so provided a refuge for the pro-Confederate tribe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fort Magruder, C.S.A Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=69091 |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref>
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.<ref>Winfrey, Dorman H. & Day, James M. ''The Indian Papers of Texas and the Southwest 1825-1916'', Volume 4, pp.188-195</ref><ref>[https://www.txdot.gov/business/resources/environmental/compliance-toolkits/historic-resources/tribal-histories.html Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma, Tribal histories project]. Texas Department of Transportation</ref><ref>''Dallas Herald, Saturday'', May 18, 1867, p.3. John Lovejoy, the agent in charge of escorting the Tonkawa north out of Austin, wrote a letter detailing the trip.</ref> That same year the Tonkawa were then resettled on a reservation near Fort Griffin in Shackelford County.<ref>By McGowen, Stanley S. ''The Texas Tonkawas'', p.20. State House Press, 2020. Distributed by Texas A&M University Press.</ref> Later, in 1884, the Tonkawa were forced to move from [[Fort Griffin]] in Texas to the Oakland Agency in northern Indian Territory, present-day [[Kay County, Oklahoma|Kay County]]. They arrived on June 29, 1885,<ref name=spthb/> and have remained there to the present.<ref name=massacre/> This journey involved going to [[Cisco, Texas|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 {{convert| 100|miles|km}} to the Ponca Agency, and arrived at nearby Fort Oakland on June 30, 1885.{{efn|From 1879 to 1885, some of the [[Nez Perce people]] who had surrendered at the end of the Nez Perce war had lived at Fort Oakland, near the present site of Tonkawa, Oklahoma<ref name="OSDE">[https://sde.ok.gov/sites/ok.gov.sde/files/documents/files/Tribes_of_OK_Education%20Guide_Tonkawa_Tribe.pdf "Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma." Oklahoma State Department of Education. Oklahoma Indian Tribe Education Guide. July 2014.] Accessed October 28, 2018.</ref>}}
On October 21, 1891, the tribe signed an agreement with the [[Cherokee Commission]] to accept individual allotments of land.<ref>{{cite book|last=Deloria Jr.|first=Vine J|title=Documents of American Indian Diplomacy Treaties, Agreements, and Conventions, 1775-1979|pages=346–348|year=1999|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-3118-4|author2=DeMaille, Raymond J }}</ref>
=== 20th century ===
By 1921, only 34 tribal members remained. Their numbers have since increased to close to 950 as of 2023.{{r|WTH 2023-12-23}} The Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma incorporated under the [[Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act]] in 1938.<ref name="OSDE"/>
=== 21st century ===
December 12, 2023 the Tonkawa Tribe purchased Sugarloaf Mountain,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brazos Region |url=https://www.elcaminorealdelostejas.org/brazos-region/ |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=El Camino Real de los Tejas |language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Rancheria Grande |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/rancheria-grande |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=Texas State Historical Association |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2017-12-04 |title=Association's Rancheria Grande Archaeological Project |url=https://www.elcaminorealdelostejas.org/associations-rancheria-grande-archaeological-project/ |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=El Camino Real de los Tejas |language=en-US}}</ref> 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 a historic park.<ref>{{Cite web |title=September-December 2023 Newsletter {{!}} Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma |url=https://tonkawatribe.com/september-december-newsletter-2023/ |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=tonkawatribe.com}}</ref>
== Government ==
The Tonkawa Tribe is led by an elected president and council. Their current president is Russell Martin.<ref name=spthb/>
==Economy==
The Tonkawa tribe operates several businesses which had an annual economic impact of over $10,860,657 in 2011.<ref name=oia>[http://www.ok.gov/oiac/documents/2011.FINAL.WEB.pdf 2011 Oklahoma Indian Nations Pocket Pictorial Directory.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424052416/http://www.ok.gov/oiac/documents/2011.FINAL.WEB.pdf |date=2012-04-24 }} ''Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission.'' 2011: 36. Retrieved 8 Feb 2012.</ref> Along with several smoke shops, the tribe runs three different casinos: Tonkawa Indian Casino and Tonkawa Gasino located in [[Tonkawa, Oklahoma|Tonkawa]], Oklahoma, and the Native Lights Casino in [[Newkirk, Oklahoma|Newkirk]], Oklahoma.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma |url=https://www.500nations.com/Oklahoma_Casinos_Tribes.asp |website=Oklahoma Casino List by Tribe |publisher=500 Nations |access-date=30 October 2024}}</ref> The Tonkawa Hotel and Casino has a steakhouse, the Buffalo Grill and Lounge.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gerian |first1=Charles |title=Tonkawa Casino gets gourmet steakhouse |url=https://www.blackwelljournaltribune.net/articles/12250/view |access-date=30 October 2024 |work=Blackwell Journal-Tribue |date=26 January 2022}}</ref>
== Land ==
The Tonkawa's [[tribal jurisdictional area]] is in Kay County, Oklahoma, and their headquartered are in [[Tonkawa, Oklahoma]].<ref name=spthb/>
A {{convert|60|acre||adj=mid| property}}, was purchased by the Tonkawa Tribe in 2023 in commemoration of its status as a site sacred to the Tonkawa.<ref name="WTH 2023-12-23">{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Alex |date=2023-12-23 |title=How the Tonkawa Tribe bought back sacred Sugarloaf Mountain in Central Texas |url=https://wacotrib.com/news/state-regional/how-the-tonkawa-tribe-bought-back-sacred-sugarloaf-mountain-in-central-texas/article_badf8912-a1d3-11ee-b30d-53b4e75de912.html |access-date=2024-01-19 |work=Waco Tribune-Herald |language=en}}</ref> Sugarloaf Mountain, the highest point in [[Milam County, Texas]], will become part of a historical park.<ref name="sacredSite">{{Cite news |last=Barnes |first=Michael |date=January 17, 2024 |title='We're home': 140 years after forced exile, the Tonkawa reclaim a sacred part of Texas |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/01/17/tonkawa-texas-sacred-sugarloaf-mountain/72241457007/ |access-date=2024-01-19 |work=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Institutions and events ==
[[File:Tonkawa turban 1880 OK OHS.jpg|thumb|200px|Tonkawa otter pelt turban, circa 1880, Oklahoma, [[Oklahoma History Center]]]]
The tribe owns the Tonkawa Tribal Museum in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, which shares the history and culture of the tribe through photographs, art, and artifacts with free admission.<ref name="travel">{{cite web |title=Tonkawa Tribal Museum |url=https://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.8104 |website=Travel OK |access-date=7 November 2024}}</ref> They also maintain the Tonkawa and Nez Perce cemeteries.<ref name="travel"/>
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.<ref name="tonk">[http://www.tonkawatribe.com/history.htm Tonkawa Tribal History.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304005251/http://www.tonkawatribe.com/history.htm |date=2009-03-04 }} ''The Tonkawa Tribe.'' (retrieved 7 Feb 2009)</ref>
The City of Austin and leadership from the Tonkawa Tribe celebrated Austin-Tonkawa Friendship Day on September 12, 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tribal histories project |url=https://www.txdot.gov/business/resources/environmental/compliance-toolkits/historic-resources/tribal-histories.html |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=www.txdot.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Tonkawa and Austin 1842 or Post-1862?, 2024 – Travis County Archives |url=https://traviscountyarchives.starter1ua.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_14f3de35-7799-416f-b671-72e6e2ad1c00/ |access-date=2024-11-07 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Tonkawa bands ==
The Tonkawa were made up of various groups.<ref name=swanton326>Swanton, [https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Indian_Tribes_of_North_America/Xpx6WoPz7xIC ''The Indian Tribes of North America'', p. 326</ref> These groups are generally counted as Tonkawa:
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* Cava
* Emet
* [[Ervipiame]]
* [[Mayeye]]
* Quiutcanuaha
* [[Sana people|Sana]]
* Tenu
* Tetzino
* Tishin
* Toho
* Tohaha
* Tonkawa (proper)
* Tusolivi
* Ujuiap
* Yojuane.<ref name=swanton326/>
{{div col end}}
Additional bands, such as the Nonapho, Sijame, and Simaomo may have also have Tonkawan bands.<ref name=swanton326/>
== Notable Tonkawa ==
* [[Placido (Tonkawa leader)|Plácido]] (ca. 1788–1862), chief who allied with Stephen F. Austin
* [[Clara Archilta]] (Tonkawa/Apache/Kiowa, 1912–1994), painter and beadworker
==See also==
*''[[Eurycea tonkawae]]''
* [[Tonkawa Tribal Housing, Oklahoma]]
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book |last1=Swanton |first1=John Reed |title=The Indian Tribes of North America |date=2003 |publisher=Genealogical Publishing Company |isbn=9780806317304 |pages=326–27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xpx6WoPz7xIC}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite book |title=The conquest of the Karankawas and the Tonkawas, 1821-1859 |last1=Himmel |first1=Kelly F. |year=1999 |publisher=[[Texas A&M University Press]] |location=College Station, Texas |isbn=978-0-89096-867-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AbaHlsz3VtkC&pg=PP1}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Tonkawa}}
* {{Official website|http://www.tonkawatribe.com/ }}
* [https://tonkawatribe.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/museumbooklet2020.pdf Tickanwa•tic: Informational Guide to the History and Culture of the Tonkawa Tribe]
* {{Handbook of Texas |id=bmt68 |author=Jeffrey D. Carlisle |name=Tonkawa Indians}}
{{Native American Tribes in Oklahoma}}
{{Native American Tribes in Texas}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonkawa}}
[[Category:Tonkawa| ]]
[[Category:Plains tribes]]
[[Category:Native American tribes in Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Native American tribes in Texas]]
[[Category:Federally recognized tribes in the United States]]
[[Category:Guadalupe River (Texas)]]
[[Category:Kay County, Oklahoma]]