Texas Indigenous Reservations

1. As the population of Texas grew larger and larger, the lives of Native indigenous groups and new settlers came into closer contact. The interactions between these groups of people were a mix of peaceful negotiations and some hostility.  The Native indigenous groups sometimes felt threatened by the new settlers.

On thing that is very important to know and understand about Native American indigenous groups is that all of the tribes were very unique.  If you can stretch your memory all the way back to September and the beginning of the school year, we studied 4 or 5 of these individual indigenous groups.

Remember how the Caddo and the Apache had different weapons? Do you remember that the Karankawa and the Tigua had different ways of building their houses? Well, there are a number of other ways that each tribe was unique and separate from the others.

Now, as the new settlers came to Texas and took over more and more land, the Native Texas needed ways to preserve and guard the language, lifestyle and beliefs of each tribe.  After several years of struggle between the Native Texas and the new settlers, the government decided to make special areas where the indigenous tribes could live peacefully and apart from others.  These designated areas were called, reservations.

Let's take a look at some of the characteristics and special features of different indigenous tribes and why it was so important to try and save their culture, beliefs and language.

Native Texan Facts for Kids

Texas Indigenous Tribal Names

Flags of Various Native Tribes

2. Looking at the following photos, what can you imagine is happening in the lives of these different indigenous peoples.  What can you see in their faces, the garments they are wearing, the surrounding area or the other objects they have with them? Write a descriptive paragraph about what you seen.