Everything about The Caddo totally explained
The
Caddo are a nation, or group of tribes, of
Southeastern Native Americans who, in the
16th century, inhabited much of what is now
East Texas, western
Louisiana and portions of southern
Arkansas and
Oklahoma. Today the Caddo are a cohesive tribe with their capital at
Binger, Oklahoma, and the
Caddoan dialects have converged into a single language. The current Chairperson of the Caddo is
LaRue Parker.
This article covers the Caddo as a tribe, or nation.
For other Caddoan languages see:
Caddoan languages
History
The
oral traditions of the Caddo suggest that they developed their culture in Arkansas and spread out to the south and west from there. At one time both the Wichita and Pawnee were part of the same nation as the Caddo, a fact attested to in that the Wichita and Pawnee spoke Caddoan languages. Between
500 and
800 AD the Caddo emerged as distinct and separate nation.
The Caddo tribes were divided into three confederacies, which were linked by a common language; the Hasinai, Kadohadacho, and the Natchitoches. The Haisinai and Kadohadacho lived in what is now
East Texas and the Natchitoches in what is now Northwestern
Louisiana. The Haisinai lived in the land from
Nacogdoches, Texas, which was originally a Caddo settlement, area to the
Neches River. The Haisinai were given the name Tejas by Spanish Explorers, based on the Caddo word táysha?, "friend", and this later became the source of "Tejas" and later "Texas" (Bolton 2002:63-64). The Kadohadacho settled the land from the
Caddo Lake area to the
Red River. The Nachitoches settled around
Natchitoches, Louisiana, which was originally a Caddo settlement, and in the
Cane River Valley.
The Caddo first encountered
Europeans in
1542 when the
Hernando de Soto Expedition came through their lands. De Soto's force had a violent clash with one band of Caddo Indians, recorded by his expedition as the 'Tula', near
Caddo Gap, Arkansas. This event is marked by a monument that stands in the small town today. With the arrival of
missionaries from
Spain and
France a
small pox epidemic broke out that decimated the population. The Caddo invited the
European missionaries to return and upon their return a worse epidemic reduced the population to only 1,000.
In
1859, the state of
Texas removed the remaining Caddo from its territory to a
reservation in Oklahoma and in
1874 the Caddo officially united as a distinct tribe.
Geography
The Caddo lived in the
Piney Woods eco-region of the United States up to the foothills of the
Ozark Mountains and often near the
Caddo River. The Piney Woods is a dense forest of
deciduous and
conifer flora covering rolling hills, steep river valleys, and intermittent
wetlands called
Bayous. Several Caddo villages were resettled, including the community of
Elysian Fields, Texas, and
Nacogdoches and
Nachitoches both of which have kept their original names. The Caddo were progressively moved further west until they reached what is now western Oklahoma. The geography of the drier plains was quite a contrast to the lush hilly forest that were formerly their homeland.
Culture
To be written along the lines of
Institutions
The Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma is a federally recognized tribe. It is currently considering changing its official name to the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma. A tribal constitution, adopted in
1938 and revised in
1976, provides for a tribal council consisting of eight members with a chairperson, based in Binger, Oklahoma. They maintain administrative centers, dance grounds, and several community centers. Several programs exist to invigorate Caddo traditions.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Caddo'.
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