Native American History of Texas

Native Americans were not of a single culture. These cultures migrated from Asia and Europe to North America over 30,000 years ago. The name “Indians” came from Christopher Columbus because he thought he had discovered new continents of Asia, in the East Indies. Instead it was North and South America. However the name “Indians” remained.

There were fout types of cultures of the Native Indian tribes that occupied Texas. They are from the western gulf, southeast, southwest, and the plains. The bands or tribes varied in languages and cultures. The early settlers became familiar with the names Apache, Lipan, Comanche and Karankawa, as many face raids from the native tribes. Before the Texas history was written there were 45,000 Indians. By the 19th century there were a few thousand left. American settlers backed by the United States Calvary and the Anglo military conquered and killed many of the Indians and pushed them out of their land.

The Karankawans were the first tribe the Spanish meet when coming to the new land. This tribe lived along the coast line. They were friendly with the new comers, but later faced extinction and all were destroyed before the Civil War. Texas became a battlefield in the 19th century during the Mexican and civil wars. The night of the Comanche Moon brought raids on the settlers. Eventually the Indians were defeated and drove into Mexico. The natives who remained were taken to Indian territory or killed.
There are many tribes of Native Americans left in Texas but only three are the government will recognize. The Alabama-Coushatta, Kickapoo and the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo.