ANT 348 Project over the Kiowa Indians and the Shoshone Tribe.

1. APACHE DREAMS: AN EXAMINATION FROM
HISTORY TO TODAY
Margaret Powell ANT348: Native American Anthropology
Dr. Sorensen July 28, 2014
Pictures from http://www.kiowatribe.org.

2. America: the land of the free. The expansion of the country was
based on the belief of Manifest Destiny, but the inhabitants of this
country might argue against it. Native Americans, as Indians are called
now, populated America long before the first settlers arrived here, but
their population has continued to diminish over the course of history.
This has been true for many of the tribes, like the Kiowa Apaches, but
the population of the tribe is gradually increasing despite the absence
of the majority of the land previously sacred to them. A thorough
examination of the Kiowa Apache tribe will be given, along with a
comparison of the tribe with the Shoshone (Shoshoni) tribe to fully
examine the complexities of the Kiowa tribe as a whole.
Introduction

3. Introduction of the Kiowans and the
Shoshones
Drying meat on the Kiowa Reservation (Kracht, n.d.)

4. Who Are the Kiowa Indians?
The Kiowa Apaches are a part of the entirety of the Plains
Indians. The Plains Indians’ lands stretch from Canada to Texas, but
their lands have been confiscated in order to expand the “white man’s
destiny.” It is said that the majority of those who are left in this tribe
have been confined to a small area around Northern Oklahoma
(Rand, 2008). These lands are not enough though as the population
continues to swell over the next several years. The historical
population of this tribe is unknown, but the population of this tribe in
this present day and age is around 12,000, according to the US
Census (2014). As time goes on, the population will continue to grow.
The problem is the fact that there may not be enough land for them
all.

5. Who Are The Shoshone Indians?
The Shoshoni, on the other hand, are different from the
Kiowa in several ways. They were a tribe in the northern part of
North America, with colder climates but equal hospitable land.
They were an agricultural society, meaning they planted and
harvested in order to sustain their tribe. They may have moved
on the fact of depletion of plant-based sustenance. Also, the
men were not the head of the food gathering, unlike the Kiowa
Apaches. It is said, “As the primary food providers, women
possibly obtained as much as 80% of the day-to-day diet . . . of
edible plants” (Oswalt, 2009, pp. 173).

6. Origin Story and Migration HistoryKiowans on the move.
(Kracht, n.d.).

7. Kiowa Origins
A man by the name of N. Scott Momaday (n.d.) gave an account
of a story told down through the generations on how the Kiowa Indians
became one on Earth. His grandmother passed it to him, and it came to
her by those that came before her. It reads,
You know, everything had to begin, and this is how it was: the Kiowas came one
by one into the world through a hollow log. There were many more than now, but not all
of them got out. There was a woman whose body was swollen up with child, and she got
stuck in the log. After that, no one could get through, and that is why the Kiowas are a
small tribe in number. They looked all around and saw the world. It made them
glad to see so many things. They called themselves Kwuda, ‘coming out’
(Momaday, n.d).

8. Migration
They came into North America via the Bering Strait. They
migrated down through Canada, and they joined up with the Crows and
other Plains Indians. Of course, the tribe is pushed further down the US,
by the government and other tribes like the Sioux and the Lakota. It is
said, “By the 1850’s the Kiowas inhabited a large territory west of the
ninety-eighth parallel, covering much of southeastern Colorado and
northeastern New Mexico as well as southern Kansas, western Indian
Territory, and northwestern Texas” (Rand, 2008, pp. 11). They were
much like the majority of Plains Indians, although they were much
feared.

9. Shoshone Origins
The Shoshone have an interesting tale on how they came to be
in existence. The story begins with two figures called Coyote and Water
Girl. According to Jim Tybo (as cited by Oswalt, 2009), Coyote, a
trickster, found a way to copulate with Water Girl, who previously
stopped Coyote from having relations with her with a vagina filled with
teeth. She became pregnant and gave birth to several children. After
they matured, the more pretty ones left with the mother, but the less
attractive individuals left with Coyote, becoming the Shoshone people.
This is a horrible way to describe life of a tribe, but it seems to be a
humble explanation.

10. Migration
The migration of the Shoshone tribe is quite different than the
Kiowa Indians mainly because of where they thrive. The Shoshone are
desert people, so it is not surprise that they would arrive in the US from
Mexico, along with the Paiute. The Great Basin people were nomadic
in nature, mainly because the water in the areas they were living in
were sparse (Oswalt, 2009). They were comfortable living is desert
conditions, so it is easy to say that they may have been doing this for
centuries before.

11. Historical and Contemporary History
Three Kiowa Men: 1898 (Kracht, n.d.).

12. Kiowa Relations
Eventually, the government had corralled the entirety of the tribe
into Oklahoma, which severely depleted the sacred lands of the Kiowa
tribe. This led to treaty war between the two factions, and some state,
“Provisions of the 1865 Little Arkansas Treaty forced the Kiowa and
Comanche to relinquish lands in Kansas and New Mexico. The Kiowa,
Comanche, and Apache were confined following their subjugation at the
end of the Red River War in May 1875” (as cited by Kracht, n.d.). They
have since swelled the size of their population, working on the land they
are trapped on.

13. Shoshone Relations
The Shoshone have always had a hard time with the
government. One main instance was when silver was found within the
Nevada hills. According to W. Oswalt (2009), “The whites proceeded
to displace the Indians without compensation and subsequently
tapped the deep hard-rock silver deposits with costly and complex
equiptment” (pp. 185). They became displaced, and they continued to
be so by the government. Eventually, they were corralled within
Nevada by the government, much like the Kiowa, on reservations
provided. The main similarity that all the Native Americans within this
country and Canada is the fact that they have been ill used by the
government.

14. Descent, Kinship, Political Structure, and Religious
Beliefs
Kiowa Gourd Dance
Procession 4th of July
Carnegie Park 2011.
(YouTube, 2011).

15. The Decent of the Kiowans and
Shoshone
Several tribes throughout the US practice either matrilineal or
patrilineal descents within their tribe, but the Kiowa and Shoshone tribes are
different. They practice bilateral descents (Kracht, n.d.). Bilateral descent is
where both the male and female side of the family is important. When faced in
a matrilineal descent, the wife’s mother and womanly ancestors are important,
whereas in a patrilineal descent focuses on the husband’s family and his male
ancestors. When a bilateral descent is available within the tribe, the newly
married couple will settle within close distance of family. This is quite true
within today’s society, although not as often as it was in previous decades. The
Kiowa and Shoshone tribes have been practicing this type of kinship system
for many years before European immigrants arrived at the shores on the US,
and there could be something relative to the positive comparison between the
two. Of course, that is a discussion for another time!

16. Kinship of the Kiowans
So, the Kiowans practice a bilateral descent, and it is
stated,
“With exceptions, collateral relatives in the grandparents'
generation were recognized as grandparents, a person's cousins
were "brothers" and "sisters," siblings' children were "sons" and
"daughters," and great-grandparents and great-grandchildren
reciprocally addressed one another as siblings” (Kracht, n.d.). The
family is very close-knit, and the intermingling of families allowed
for a veritable force on protection.

17. Kinship of the Shoshone
The Shoshone are very much the same as the Kiowa Indians.
They have the same terms as the Kiowans for their kin, as well as
cousins. It is said, “The kinship terms for parents and their siblings
were the bifurcate merging type, whereas cousin terminology was the
modified Eskimo type” (Oswalt, 2009, pp. 179). Any marriage would
increase this ten-fold, which could increase the likelihood of successful
farming and hunting. This allowed the families to become a condensed
force for protection and sustainability.

18. Political Structure of the Kiowans
The political and economic situation of the Kiowa tribe is quite simple to
describe and understand. The Kiowa followed a system much like what
Europeans have been practicing in their own countries. The social castes within
were separated, even throughout the political sphere. There is no telling who had
the system first, but the idea is very similar. The Kiowas were practicing this type
of economic separation long before Europeans arrive in the continent of North
America. It is said,
Ondedw kindreds (ten percent of the total population) were led by high-ranking men who possessed
supernatural "power" that contributed to their success as great warriors and owners of tribal or personal
medicine bundles. Next were Ondegupa, or ‘second rank’ kindreds (thirty to fifty percent) represented by
lesser ranked leaders, and below them were the kwwn (ten to fifty percent), the dapom, "bums," or "no-
accounts," and the go.bop "captives"(ten percent) (Kracht, n.d.).
This was based on power and whomever had the most riches. It discriminated by

19. Political Structure of the
Shoshone
Within the Shoshone, the male is the main decision maker in
the tribe. It is said, “A male with proven decision-making abilities
became a family cluster leader . . . leadership preferably passed along
the paternal line, but a male antelope shaman could also become a
local leader” (Oswalt, 2009, pp. 180). The Kiowas do not place
heredity on the top of the leader list. The preferable way should be
much like the Kiowas unless the heredity was weakened somehow,
like the loss of understanding in dealing with strenuous or unintended
situations.

20. Religious Structure of the
Kiowans
Religion is an important part of the Kiowa tribe. They take their beliefs
seriously, and they integrate their beliefs throughout every minute of their lives.
The Kiowa worshiped animals and nature. Animals were sacred to the tribe, with
the spirits able to harm or heal within the tribe. They also believed the sun was the
most important in their lives, causing them to do dance rituals for protection.
These “Sun Dances” were used to band the tribe together in order to have
cohesion during work or warfare (Rand, 2009). Eventually, the dances were
dropped, and Ghost dances became popular. Ghost dances were practices
requiring the use of a substance (peyote is common) in order to commune with the
Dead for the betterment of the tribe (Kracht, n.d.). Peyote is a popular cactus used
in many Native American rituals, and the US even allows this usage for rituals
within the country with no penalty.

21. Religious Structure of the
Shoshone
Much like the Kiowans, the Shoshone were animalistic in their
religion. The spirits of those Shoshone that are deceased can come
back to others during dream states (Oswalt, 2009). It is said, “ an
immortal spirit helper, usually a bird or animal, adopted the dreamer.
From this helper, the person acquired a sacred song and learned ritual
practices and prohibitions . . .” (Oswalt, 2009, pp. 181). A shaman was
used as well, for they might have much more dream sequences in
order to doctor those of the tribe. Dances, much like the Kiowans, were
a big part of the religious system. These can be used as a way to heal
the intended recipient (Oswalt, 2009).

22. Sovereignty Issues
What is sovereignty? It is stated that sovereignty is “the ‘power of a people to
make governmental arrangements to protect and limit personal liberty by social
control’ and demonstrated how pervasively changes in the Supreme Court's
interpretation of this intangible influenced Native American lives” (as cited by
Garrison, 1996, pp. 265).

23. Kiowa Sovereignty
 The Kiowans had a very poor relationship with the US government to begin
with. The main example is through land ownership. It is said, “The Kiowas’
early history on the southern Plains indicates a sophistication that was
essential to successful conduct of relations in that world. Their command of
southern Plains politics contrasted starkly with American settlers’ imaginative
portrayals of irrational, warring savages” (Rand, 2008, pp. 37).
 The government was certainly not happy, and the government began taking
land without any sincere thought to the Kiowans. In the mid-1800’s, a main
treaty was introduced between the government and the Kiowa tribe within the
Medicine Lodge Creek of Kansas, aptly named as the Treaty of Medicine
Lodge Creek (Rand, 2008). The Kiowas, having been oppressed by the
soldiers of the US government and the unlawful acquisition of Indian land,
wanted nothing but peace to live and survive on their land. The government
did not care, and they simply just took from the Kiowa.

24. Shoshone Sovereignty
 The main treaty for the Shoshone tribe was the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley.
The treaty was not a sovereignty issue, however, because it recognized the
tribe and their land, but the treaty did allow the Europeans to stay on the
land they were on. It is said, “ It was a treaty of ‘peace and friendship’ . . .
[and gave] the Indians [a right to] receive goods, supplies, and livestock
valued at $5,000 each year for 25 years” (Oswalt 2009, pp. 186). Of course,
this never happened because of errors of the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs).
 This treaty is still being debated today because the Shoshone believe that
the government had violated the treaty by not abiding by it. The Shoshoni
want their ancestral land back as a result. The government wants to offer
money in exchange, but it has negative consequences for the pride of the
Shoshone and their heritage (Oswalt, 2009).

25. Conclusion
A thorough examination of the Kiowa Apache tribe has been given, along
with a comparison of the tribe with the Shoshone (Shoshoni) tribe to fully examine
the complexities of the Kiowa tribe as a whole. The Kiowans have been through
much strain to get to the positive era of occupied US rule. The Kiowans have
adapted their lives to fit within the US only because the US has recognized them as
a tribe. The majority of Native American tribes explored have had the same
experiences with the US, but there has been only a couple that have adapted
positively to US assimilation. The Kiowa tribe could be one. The tribes are similar
within their religious beliefs than anything, and both tribes believe that animals and
their spirits are to be revered and protected. The Shoshone is very similar to the
Kiowans in virtually every way, which goes to show that although they are
separated, they have more in common than they know. They have both had
hardships in surviving, and without help, they may soon perish, taking the history of
the US with them. What a sad day that would be for future generations.

26. References
Garrison, T. (1996). “The Nadir of Native American Sovereignty.” Reviews in American History (24.2). Retrieved
from http://muse.jhu.edu.proxy-
library.ashford.edu/journals/reviews_in_american_history/v024/24.2garrison.html.
Kiowasuga. (2011). “Kiowa Gourd Dance Procession 4th of July Carnegie Park 2011.” YouTube. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HgrjaZJALs.
Kiowa Tribe. (2011) “Photos.” Retrieved from http://www.kiowatribe.org
Kracht, B. (n.d.) “Kiowa.” Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved from
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/K/KI017.html.
Momaday, N.S. (n.d.) “The Kiowa Creation Story.” Retrieved from http://public.wsu.edu/~hughesc/creation_kiowa.htm.
Mayhall, M. (2010). "KIOWA INDIANS," Handbook of Texas Online
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/bmk10.
Oswalt, W. H. (2009). This Land was Theirs: A Study of Native North Americans (9th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford
University Press.
Rand, J. (2008). Kiowa Humanity and the Invasion of the State. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. Retrieved
from http://site.ebrary.com.proxy-
library.ashford.edu/lib/ashford/docDetail.action?docID=10217007.
US Census Bureau. (2014). “American Indian and Alaska Native: Census 2010.” Retrieved from