The Caddo were a group of about 25 Native North American tribes that originally lived in present-day Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Their villages were scattered on the fertile lands along the Red River.

Society and culture

The Caddo obtained most of their food by farming. They raised corn, pumpkins, squash, and beans. They also used bows and arrows to hunt deer, bear, and small game animals. After they acquired horses, Caddo hunters began traveling to the southern Plains several months each year in search of buffalo.

The Caddo lived in dome-shaped houses made from grass stuffed into a wooden frame. In each village, the houses were built in a circle around a ceremonial plaza. There they performed the Turkey Dance to honor a war victory and the Morning Dance to celebrate the dawn.

The Caddo were skillful potters and basket makers. They wove cloth from vegetable fibers and, on special occasions, wore cloaks decorated with feathers. They also wore nose rings and tattooed their bodies.

History

In the 1540s, the Caddo welcomed Hernando de Soto's Spanish soldiers into their territory. The name of Texas comes from a Caddo word for “friend.” Spanish and French traders visited regularly by the early 18th century. The French were the Caddo's favored trading partners. The Caddo traded their corn to other tribes for animal furs. They then gave the furs to the French in exchange for European goods, such as metal tools and pots.

As more and more non-Indians arrived, the Caddo began to lose their lands. Many moved into what are now western Texas and Oklahoma. In an 1835 treaty with the United States, the Caddo remaining in Louisiana gave up their territory and joined relatives in Texas. They lived there in peace until 1859, when they were threatened by their white neighbors. They fled to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). There they settled on a reservation along the Washita River, which they shared with the Wichita Indians.

By the end of the 20th century, there were about 3,000 Caddo in the United States. Many lived in tribal lands in Oklahoma. There, the Caddo still perform the Turkey Dance and other traditional ceremonies.