SS Week 5: American Indians of Texas

Why do you think some of the American Indians made a canoe?

• They were bored.

• They could use the canoe to fish for food.

• Making a canoe was part of a religious ceremony.

• Making a canoe was a the first step before they got a face tattoo.

Based on the clues in the illustration, this group of people most likely belonged to the_____ tribe.

• Lipan Apache

• Tonkawa

• Caddo

• Jumano

Many American Indian tribes throughout history have called Texas their home. Some tribes are INDIGENOUS, or native, to Texas. These include the Caddo, Karankawa, Apache, Lipan Apache, Jumano, Comanche, and Wichita tribes.

What does INDIGENOUS mean?

• a person who was not born in the location where they now live (non-native person)

• friendly, or cheerful

• new to a religion

• a person who was born or comes from a particular place (a native person)

1. Read the passage.

2. Use text evidence to support why you think the Comanche were fierce warriors.

3. Type your answer to the question "Why were Comanche considered fierce warriors?"

The Comanche lived in bands throughout the Plains of Texas. They were among the first American Indian groups to find and tame wild horses. Comanche warriors were taught at an early age how to ride and fight on horseback. The fearless Comanche warriors forced other tribes off their land and controlled much of the southern Plains. Comanche were nomads who survived by hunting bison throughout the year.

The Comanche often fought with and killed settlers trying to build houses on their hunting grounds. They were often assisted in battle by their allies, the Wichita and Kiowa Indians. Diseases like smallpox and cholera killed many Comanche during the 1800s. White settlers hunted the buffalo to near extinction. This made it difficult for the Comanche to survive, too.

Draw what you think the Wichita people looked like based on the paragraph's description of them in Week 5.

Which sentence best supports the idea that different tribes lived in Texas?

• These tribes left their homelands due to an influx of American settlers.

• Many American Indian tribes throughout history have called Texas their home.

• Each tribe used natural resources to survive.

• Europeans created laws against hunting in Texas.

This tribe hunted buffalo and gathered food. The men of this tribe had short hair on the left and long hair on the right.

• Caddo

• Karankawa

• Lipan Apache

• Jumano

This tribe lived along the Coastal Plains of Texas and fished and hunted along the Gulf.

• Caddo

• Jumano

• Karankawa

• Lipan Apache

These people lived in a dome-shaped hut and were a tribe made up of multiple tribes.

• Karankawa

• Jumano

• Tonkawa

• Caddo

Draw the 2 types of houses the Wichita tribe used.