The Wichita Indians: Traders of Texas and the Southern Plains 1540-1845 (Volume 87) (Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students Texas A&M University)

About this book

When two Wichita traders first encountered Europeans visiting the Pecos Pueblo in 1540 the Wichita tribes dominated the Southern Plains area which stretched from Kansas to Central Texas. In the three centuries that followed the Wichitas would be forced to negotiate with competitors both European and Indian for land resources trade and their very survival. The Wichita Indians presents a thorough narrative of these bands from their first contact with Europeans until 1845 when the United States annexed Texas. Historian F. Todd Smith provides background information on the Wichita Indians provenancethe separate tribes of Taovayas Tawakonis Kichais Wacos and other bands whose shared language and culture united them for survival when external pressures increased. Offering detailed descriptions of their battles negotiations trading practices and survival strategies Smith traces the Wichitas struggles to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances and defend themselves from encroaching tribes and white settlers. A companion to Smiths other works on the early Caddos and the post-1845 Wichita and Caddo peoples The Wichita Indians fills a gap in the history of Native Americans by focusing on this important tribe whose influence peaked on the Southern Plains long before the United States came into being.