Texas Caddo Indians

By Caven Fuentes

• The Caddo Indians were farmers who lived in East Texas. There were 2 main groups of Caddo in Texas. There were the Kadohadacho that lived in large villages along the Red River where the Oklahoma and Arkansas border are today. The other group of Caddo were the Tejas or Hasinais Caddo that lived where Nacogdoches is today. The Hasinai were made of many tribes that were organized into a confederacy they called Tejas. Tejas is the Spanish spelling of the Caddo word. That is where Texas comes from and Texas in Caddoan means “those who are friends”. The Caddo territory was from East Texas into Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. The Caddos used the resources around them.

Map of Caddo Indian Territory

• The Caddo Tribe lived in East Texas in the piney forests. It extended into Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. This area provides good climate for farming. This area has many springs, creeks, streams and rivers. There are also large and small lakes and swamps. Pine trees are the most common trees, but there are other hardwood trees like oak, walnut, pecan and a bois de arc.

Caddo Weapons

• The bois de arc tree is important to the Caddo, it is used to make their bows and arrows, which is used for hunting and war. The Caddo also used the bows for trade with other Indian tribes that did not have bois de arc wood.

Caddo Clothing

• Caddo men wore breechcloths and sometimes leather leggings to protect their legs. Caddo women wore wraparound skirts and poncho tops made of woven fiber and deerskin. The men and women wore earrings and moccasins. The men didn’t usually wear shirts, but in cold weather. They also usually had short hair that they made into Mohawks. The women wore their hair in a bun.

Caddo Food Sources

• The Caddo were farmers and they planted crops. They raised corn, beans, squash, sunflower seeds and pumpkins seeds. The also hunted deer, turkey ,rabbits and other animals that lived in the Piney Woods. The women gathered plant foods like acorns, black berries and many other types of plants and fruits.

Caddo Hut

• The Caddo lived in cone shaped grass huts. They would use and wood frame and then cover it with cut can and long grass. The huts were large enough to have furniture. There were beds and chairs inside the huts and buffalo skins with the hair on them were used as blankets to keep warm in the winter.