The Wichita, related to the Pawnee, were farmers who grew crops and traded tobacco. They lived in tipis and conical grass dwellings, practiced dances for fertility and adopted the Ghost Dance. They were forced to relocate several times and now have over 1,900 members governed by the Wichita Tribal Council.
The Wichita are Native Americans who once occupied areas in central Kansas, as well as parts of Oklahoma and Texas, and are closely related to the Pawnee. Because the tribe practiced tattooing, the people were also known by the French as the Pawnee Picts. The Wichitas were primarily farmers who grew corn, squashes, and tobacco, which was used to trade with neighbors; the tribe was also known for hunting American bison.
Generally, the Wichita people lived in an area known as Quivira, which was visited by the Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado in 1541. Quivira is believed by many historians to be an area located near Great Bend, Kansas. Their language belongs to the Caddoan branch of Hokan-Siouan.
The Wichita people lived in tipis when they traveled and built permanent conical-shaped grass dwellings about 40 to 50 feet (12.2 to 15.2 meters) in diameter that resembled haystacks. This tribe practiced a dance for agricultural fertility and in the late 19th century adopted the Ghost Dance, a ritual lasting five consecutive days. The Ghost Dance was part of a religion that prophesied a peaceful end to white westward expansion and a return of the land to Native Americans.
In 1765, the Wichita people were forced south by hostile northern and eastern Native American tribes, and they built a village on the north branch of the Red River in Oklahoma. A severe smallpox epidemic eventually forced them to abandon the village and relocate to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. During the American Civil War, the tribe fled back to the site which became known as Wichita, Kansas. In 1872, the Wichita people ceded all land to the United States (USA) and later settled on a reservation in western Oklahoma, which was later dissolved. In 1990, there were more than 1,200 Wichitas in the United States, concentrated mostly in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas.
By 2010, Wichita and affiliated tribes had more than 1,900 recorded members with more than half living in the state of Oklahoma. They are governed by the Wichita Tribal Council, which is made up of registered members age 18 and older. Tribal membership is limited to those who possess at least one eighth of Wichita blood in their heritage.
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