Tonkawa

Their Tonkawa language, now extinct, is a linguistic isolate.

Tonkawa
Tickanwa•tic

Seal of the Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma
Total population
611
Regions with significant populations
United States ( Oklahoma)
Languages
English, formerly Tonkawa language
Religion
Christianity, Native American Church, traditional tribal religions
Related ethnic groups
Wichita, Waco, Tawakoni, Kichai, Guichita

Tonkawa people are enrolled in the federally recognized Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma.

The Tonkawa's autonym is Tickanwa•tic (meaning "real people"). The name Tonkawa is derived from the Waco tribal word, Tonkaweya, meaning "they all stay together".

Recent research indicates that as of 1601 the tribe inhabited what is now northwestern Oklahoma. By 1700, Apache and Wichita enemies had pushed the Tonkawa south to the 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 diminishes 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.

In 1758, the Tonkawa along with allied Bidais, Caddos, Wichitas, Comanches, and Yojuanes went to attack the Lipan Apache in the vicinity of Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá, which they destroyed.

 

The tribe continued their southern migration into Texas and northern Mexico, where they allied with the Lipan Apache.

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 Rangers against the Comanche.

The Tonkawas often visited the capital city of Austin during the days of the Republic of Texas and during early statehood.

In 1859, the United States removed the Tonkawa and a number of other Texas Indian tribes to the Wichita Agency in Indian Territory, and placed them under the protection of nearby Fort Cobb. When the American Civil War started in 1861, Texas declared for the Confederacy, so the federal troops at the fort received orders to march to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, leaving the Indians at the Wichita Agency unprotected.

In response to years of animosity (in part regarding rumors that the Tonkawas engaged in ritual cannibalism against defeated enemies ), a number of pro-Union tribes, including the Delawares, Wichitas, and Penateka Comanches, attacked the Tonkawas in 1862 as they tried to escape. The fight, known as the Tonkawa Massacre killed nearly half of the remaining Tonkawas, leaving them with little more than 100 people.

The tribe returned to Fort Griffin, Texas where they remained for the rest of the Civil War. After the war, the tribe was returned to Texas.

In October, 1884, the United States removed them, once again, to the new Oakland Agency in northern Indian Territory, where they have remained. This journey involved going to 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 travelled 100 miles (160 km) to the Ponca Agency, and arrived at nearby Fort Oakland on June 30, 1885.

On October 21, 1891, the tribe signed an agreement with the Cherokee Commission to accept individual allotments of land.

By 1921, only 34 tribal members remained. Their numbers have since increased to close to 950 as of 2023. The Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma incorporated under the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act in 1938.

A 60-acre property (24 ha), was purchased by the Tonkawa Tribe in 2023 in commemoration of its status as a site sacred to the Tonkawa. Sugarloaf Mountain, the highest point in Milam County, Texas, will become part of a historical park.

The Tonkawa tribe operates a number of businesses which have an annual economic impact of over $10,860,657 (as of 2011). Along with several smoke shops, the tribe runs three different casinos: Tonkawa Indian Casino and Tonkawa Gasino located in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, and the Native Lights Casino in Newkirk, Oklahoma.

 

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.

The Tonkawa were made up of various groups. These groups are generally counted as Tonkawa:

• Eurycea tonkawae