The Kiowas

The Kiowas

By: Faith Moye

Cultural Origin

• The Kiowa Indians came from

different directions and ended up in

the Texas Panhandle, which

also included western Oklahoma and northeast New

Mexico.

How did The Kiowa get their food?

• They followed the Buffalo herds. The men hunted and the women gathered plants, roots and berries where they could find them.

What did they eat?

• They ate primarily Buffalo meat, that the men hunted and the plants, roots and berries that the women gathered. They were called Hunter-Gatherers.

What type of shelter did they live in?

• They lived in Tee pees which are easy to move. Being nomadic, (they moved a lot) they moved around a lot to follow the Buffalo herds. The entire camp could be torn down and ready to go in an hour.

What did they wear?

• The women wore deerskin dresses painted with yellow and green tribal designs. Men wore breechcloths and leather leggings and usually went shirtless. They wore moccasins on their feet and in winter they wore long buffalo-hide robes.

The Kiowas Gourd Dance • Kiowa stories tell the tale of a

young man who while separated from the rest of the tribe for many days. Approached a hill and heard an unusual kind of singing coming from the other side. He saw a red wolf singing and dancing on its hind legs. The man listened to the songs all afternoon and through the night and when morning came, the wolf spoke to him and told him to take the dance and songs back to the Kiowa people. The "howl" at the end of each gourd dance song is a tribute to the red wolf.