When the average Texan thinks of "Native Americans" or "Indians" as the older generation calls them, images of warriors on horseback come to mind. People assume that the tribes were similar and all of them lived in Texas before the white settlers arrived.
The reality about the Native Americans of Texas is much different from the Hollywood image. When the Americans arrived in the early 1800s, the land now known as Texas was home to at least eight distinct tribes. Each tribe had its own language and culture. Several tribes had migrated to Texas from other parts of North America.
The Comanches were the classic buffalo hunters on horseback. They lived in present day Wyoming in the 1600s. By the early 1800s they had migrated to Texas. Their warrior culture soon clashed with that of the Spanish colonists and the Americans who moved into Texas in the mid 1800s.
The Apaches migrated to Texas from present day Canada around 1528. In the 1700s they were driven toward present day northern Mexico by the invading Comanches. The Apaches were forced to become fighters in order to survive.
The Caddo were farmers and traders who lived in the forests of east Texas. The word "Texas" comes from the Caddo word meaning "those who are friends." They made bows and arrows for other tribes.
The Cherokees were pushed into Texas by the Americans around 1823. This tribe formerly lived in the Tennessee and Kentucky area. They had been in contact with European settlers since the 1700s. They wore European style clothes, lived in European style houses and used metal tools.
As you can see, the Native Americans of Texas have a complex history of migration and conflict between other tribes as well as the white settlers.
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