Kickapoo Texans - Institute of Texan Cultures

4-Kickapoo Texans
The Early Kickapoos
The Kickapoos, whose name means, "he
moves about," once lived in the Great Lakes
region near Lake Erie. French explorers met
them there in the 1640s. For the next 200
years, the Kickapoos were at war with other
tribes. Even with their amazing fighting abilities, they were forced from their woodland
homes in Wisconsin and Illinois and pushed
westward by the arrival of Europeans.
By 1824 there were 2,200 Kickapoos living in
small bands in western Missouri. Some 700
Kickapoos eventually obtained reservation 1hese Kickapoos were members of the Tribal Council
land in Kansas, where they lived as farmers. in 1995. What might they be doing sitting around
Other Kickapoos moved further west into the the table?
Indian Territory of Oklahoma, where they
remained in 2003. Another group settled in
Spanish Territory along the Sabine River. in The Kickapoos were very independent and
refused to let others give them orders. They
what would become Texas, where they fought
traveled where they pleased and paid no atagainst incoming settlers.
tention to the border between Mexico and
Texas. They lived and farmed in Mexico durLiving in Texas and Mexico
ing the winter and moved north across the
In 1837 some Kickapoos in Indian Territory border to Eagle Pass in the summer.
were forced out. The government of Mexico
invited them to form a settlement along the Kickapoo Cultural Folkways
Mexican frontier to protect against the raids
Kickapoos believed that contact with the lifeof Comanches and Lipan Apaches.
styles of others would end their own culture
Some Kickapoos joined the Mexican military and way of life. Because they distrusted outand raided South Texas settlements. They siders and lived far from other people, they
received 78,000 acres as a reward for their have kept more of their cultural ways than
services to the Mexican government. They many other Indian people.
traded that land for 17,352 acres in the Santa
Rosa Mountains of the Mexican state of The Kickapoos spoke Algonkian and kept
no written records. The elders orally passed
Coahuila, south of Eagle Pass.
on knowledge of the past. Tribal religion was
They started the village of Nacimiento m very important to them. Some Kickapoos left
Mexico, where they still hunt and farm.
Indian Territory in Oklahoma and went to
join the Texas band because the missionaries
would not stop trying to make them accept
Christian beliefs.
Sacred bundles were a major part of their religion and were used in the New Year ceremony
held in early February. Rituals with the sacred
bundles took place in homes over a period of
seven days. A special person announced the
arrival of the New Year, based on the fullness
of the moon, as the people began their feast.
Hunters collected deer bones, which were a
part of the ceremonies, and puppies were fattened and cooked for the ceremonial feast.
Following the New Year's event, religious
games began. The games were played in
honor of their gods in hopes of good hunting. Lacrosse was the most important game,
with sometimes over 100 men playing. A
deerskin ball was tossed onto the playing field
and scooped into a webbed mitt attached to
a stick. The ball, without being touched by
anyone's hands, was tossed from player to
player. When the ball was tossed into the
goalpost, a score was given.
The Kickapoo people remain tied to many
of their old ways. Witchcraft is blamed for
such things as accidents, deaths, diseases, and
pain. Kickapoos get rid of hair clippings and
fingernail and toenail clippings very carefully.
They believe witches may use these personal
items against them. Adult Kickapoos used to
carry a bit of plant root called Solomon's Seal
to protect them against dangers and witches.
They might also hang the plant root by the
door to keep out evil.
In 1983 Texas Kickapoos were granted tribal
status by the U.S. government and received
a land grant near Eagle Pass. They built the
Lucky Eagle Casino in 2001. It employed a
large number of community members. The
profits were used for health care, housing,
food, and education. But, with more contact
with other people, some of their cultural ways
began to disappear.
Amazing Kickapoo Texans
Chief Papikwano (I880-?) was the tribal
leader of the Kickapoos in 1954. Chief Papikwano's duties included calling the all-male
Tribal Council together. The council solved
the problems of the tribe. The chief was also
in charge of land assignments that gave newcomers a place to live and farm. The chief
gave up leadership, though, for four months
each year beginning in December, when the
religious chief took over to conduct the religious ceremonies and events of the tribe.
Tua-Na-Ki-Ki-Coas (I 907 -?) was given
the name Marquerita Salazar by the U.S.
Immigration Service. She was one of 600
Kickapoos who carried a piece of paper
stamped "PAROLEE" that let them cross the
U.S. border to get jobs.
While the men picked fruits and vegetables
as migrant workers moving from field to
field, Marquerita and her grandchildren
lived in homes called wickiups under the
International Bridge between Eagle Pass and
Piedras Negras. The women built the wickiups of cane and river reed, covering them
with canvas, plastic, tin, or cardboard. The
homes formed the shape of those covered
with wood bark made centuries ago in the
northern woodlands of their ancestors.
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