Tonkawa Tribe

This photo depicts members of the Tonkawa tribe, taken in 1898. The picture was taken in the Texas Hill Country. The Tonkawa was the leading tribe of several sub tribes that made up the Tonkawan linguistic family. They were nomads that lived west from south central Texas and western Oklahoma to eastern New Mexico. They were well known hunters of buffalo and deer, but never hunted wolves since they believed they were created from one. They used bow and arrows until trading for firearms with the Spanish. They had several ‘dances’, one being the “Peyote Ritual” that was a religious ceremony. Peyote naturally grew in South Texas and Northern Mexico and became known as a "sacrificial medicine" used by many tribes. Their dwellings were temporary in nature like brush houses or tipis covered with bison skin. The men wore more jewelry than women did, as seen in the image, but both wore minimal clothing made out of bison skin mostly, except in the winter months. The tribe started selecting a "princess" to serve as a civic ambassador starting in 1977 to commemorate a legacy tradition. Even though most of the current tribe women cannot speak the language, they are trying to rekindle a spark of old customs and culture from their heritage.