~ History ~
The Kiowa People were one of the few original "true" plains tribes. According to historic accounts, prior to the 1600's, the Kiowa roamed the open plains, hunting buffalo, of what would later become southern Alberta. The Kiowa slowly migrated south, and eventually resided in the region of the upper Missouri River during the early 1600's. Still migrating away from the north, the Kiowa soon moved into an area southeast of the Yellowstone River. Here they came into contact with the Crow (c.1650), another of the original plain's tribes, who gave the Kiowa permission to settle around the Black Hills. While living there, the Kiowa acquired (c.1710) the horse, probably from the Crow. Their trade was mainly with the Arikara, the Mandan, and the Hidatsa.
Pushed southward by the invading Cheyennes and Sioux who were being pushed out of their lands in the great lakes regions by the Ojibwa tribes, the Kiowa moved out of the Black Hills and down the Platte River basin to the Arkansas River area; Comanche territory.
In 1790, after a bloody war with the Comanache, the Kiowa reached a permanent peace with their enemies. According to Lewis and Clark, the Kiowa were on the North Platte River (southern Wyoming) in 1805, but not much later they occupied the Arkansas River region (southern Colorado). Later the Kiowa, who had allied themselves with the Comanche, raided as far south as Durango, Mexico, attacking Mexicans, Texans, and other Native People, principally the Navajo and the Osage.
"Little Bluff" c.1805-1866 was the principal chief of all Kiowas during the Fur Trade Era
In 1837 the Kiowa were forced to sign their first treaty, providing for the passage of Americans through Kiowa-Comanche land along the Santa Fe Trail; the presence of settlers in increased numbers accelerated hostilities toward non-Natives. After 1840, when the Kiowa made peace with the Cheyenne, four groups, the Kiowa, the Cheyenne, the Comanche, and the Apache, combined to fight the eastern tribes, who had migrated to Indian Territory. This caused more hostility between Native Americans and the U.S. government, and U.S. forces finally defeated the confederacy and imposed the Treaty of Medicine Lodge in 1867.
~ Lifestyle ~
The Kiowa lived a typical Plains tribe lifestyle. Mostly nomadic, they survived on buffalo meat and gathered vegetables, lived in lodges, and depended on their horses for hunting and military uses. From their hunting grounds along of the Arkansas River, the Kiowa were notorious for long-distance raids; traveling as far west as the Grand Canyon region, south into Mexico, and north into Canada. Even though the winters in their homeland were harsh, the Kiowa tended to enjoy this climate and did not spend much time away from their land.
