Introduction:
The Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a Native American Tribe residing now in Binger, Oklahoma. The tribe began as hundreds of tribes in South West Arkansas, South East Oklahoma, North East Texas, and North East Louisiana, and according to our reconstructed baseline, all shared similar languages, cultures, beliefs, and were intermarried. It wasn’t until roughly the 1860’s that the Caddo Nation ended up in Oklahoma. They still practice many of the traditional dances, pottery making techniques, and more than their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. This will, however, will discuss who the Caddo were: their traditional lifestyle and their language, the tribes that joined to become the present day tribe, the historical contact from Europeans. Then who the Caddo are: their lifestyle, social, political, and economic standing, how it is different from that of the general population, and their contemporary issues. “ The emergence of Caddo culture throughout this region is indicated by A.D. 900, or shortly thereafter.” (Handbook of North American Indians Vol. 14) Their distinct ceramic pottery and “superb” artifacts are what lead the evidence to this point in time.
Environment
The Caddo began as hundreds of tribes, in the same general vicinity with similar language, intermarried, and culture. The area they lived in was South West Arkansas, South East Oklahoma, North East Texas, and North East Louisiana. The area was the Gulf Coast plains and the Ouachita Mountains, however, most lived within the plains. “The vegetation consists of mixed woodlands dominated by pine and oak.
People, Population, & Language
The peoples of the Caddo Nation, were farmers, potters and creators, and bow traders. The tribe began as 25 tribes, according to the recorded names by Spanish and French explorers, but who were those tribes? (Perttula) There were three “head” tribes that, after European Contact, became one. These three tribes were the Hasinai, Cadohadacho, and Natchitoches. When the Europeans first arrived, the Caddo were respected and considered civilized. Unfortunately, after the Louisianna Purchase, they too met the same fate as many tribes before them. They were told to move from their lands. Scattering all of these tribes that spoke, Caddo, in various directions.
Their creativity set them apart from the various other tribes. They were highly skilled in pottery making, and avid traders. Many ethnographers find pieces of Caddo pottery remains scattered across the country. As well as pottery the Caddo traded many things, but their main fame was for their exquisite bows and trading in salt.
There are three clusters of “Caddo” The Hasiani, the Kadohadacho, and the Natchitoches.The Hasiani is currently the best document, and they reside in present-day Texas. The Kadohadacho, are four groups living along the Great Bend of the Red River. The Natchitoches, is actually two communities, the Natchitoches and Doustioni. They are located in present-day Louisiana. These groups spoke the Caddo Language, Caddoan, is spoken in the same dialect by the Hasiani and the Kadohadacho, however, the Natchitoches speak a different dialect.
Aboriginal Life
Life for the Caddo, prior to 1500, included, horticulture, a “highly distinctive and technically sophisticated ceramics, artifacts: stone, bone, antler, and marine shell”, a distinct settlement pattern, warfare, trade, political organization, social organization, and religion. Throughout this paper, I will cover the infrastructure, structure, and superstructure of life as a Caddo, through pre-history, based on knowledge from the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 14.
“The yearly economic cycle for the Caddo included horticulture, collecting wild plants and hunting.” (HNA p628) The major source of food of the Caddo was through horticulture with corn and squash being the major crops. Each household in the tribe had a plot and was responsible for maintaining it throughout the year. Cultivation was primarily the women's responsibility. While agricultural production was one of the main sources of subsistence, they hunted and gathered throughout the year as well. The main source of animal game was deer. Although rabbit, quail, turkey, and bear were also hunted. Bear was the main source of fur and oil, along with meat, for the tribe. Nuts and berries were the main things gathered throughout the Caddos tribes. The nuts included acorns, pecans, and walnuts, were the nuts gathered. The berries and fruits gathered included Plums, permissions, and cherries. A few times a year the Caddo would fish, collecting them, smoking them, and storing them for later in the season. Occasionally members of certain western Caddo peoples would participate in a bison hunt.
“The kinship terminology has been characterized in broad terms as an example of the Iroquoian system.” The Iroquoian systems are one of the six branches of kinship today. The Caddo descent is through, most, Caddo tribes matrilineal, meaning that it is traced through the mother's lineage. Political offices and Clans were passed through the male line, most often. If the mother’s clan was stronger, children would be members of that clan. This is in relation to the Crow branch of kinship, showing that the Iroquoian system is a more recent development for the tribe. Through Anthropological baseline studies from the 1700s, a variation of clans was referenced. “Mooney identified clans named Sun, Thunder, Eagle, Panther, Raccoon, Beaver, Crow, Bear, Wolf, and Bison” Another source only recorded Eagle, Panther, Racoon, Beaver, Crow, Bear, Wolf, and Bison. Swanton identified Buffalo, Bear, Panther, Wolf, and Beaver. It is valid to assume that there is evidence of clans within the Caddo Indian Tribe. “These clans were largely endogamous matrilineal.” If a woman belonged to a stronger clan, then the children would be apart from her clan. If the man belonged to a stronger clan, then the male children would belong to his clan and the female children would belong to the mothers' clan. “Clan affiliation indicated that Caddo social organization was structured by principles that ranked individuals in terms of seniority and relative strength. “ (HNAI p.624)
Political Organization and Authority through the Caddo tribes began with the headman, or kahdi, who would function as the political leader, settle disputes between villages and stay in touch with the xinesi. The Xinesi is the deity of the tribe. He is the only one able to communicate and negotiate with the spirit world. His role throughout the tribes included being the regional head preset, maintenance of a continuous fire within the fire temple, and communication with the two coninisi: “heavenly children.” The xiensei was usually male, was exempted from any labor, and rarely ever left their compound. Most positions of authority were held by males, however, there are notes of two cases of high-ranking women leaders within the tribes. Herni de Tonti recorded a female leader within the Kadohadacho tribe in 1690, and Gaspar Jose de Solis reported another within the Nabedache town. Besides the headman and the Xinesi, the war leaders and the warriors were often considered members of the political high-ranking class. “The war leader was elected by general vote of the populace and held considerable authority over members of the war party. Highly success war members were given the title amayxoya meaning ‘great warrior.’
The Caddo’s religion during the 1500’s was a belief in a supreme god, known as kahdi. Kahdi means the chief above, or headman in the sky. This belief comes from a tale of a boy who was formed from drops of his mother's blood after she was killed by a serpent monster. The boy was formed and avenged his mothers’ death by killing the great beast. After he ascended into the sky with his grandmother and aunt. This is when he became the kahdi. The story of origin for the Caddo is contradictory and fragmented. The one I will discuss is from the Kadohadacho where the Caddo originated from a cave in the hill. The main part of important of this story is that an old man carried fire, a pipe, and drum and an old woman carried corn and pumpkin seeds. These objects brought into the world by an old man and old woman play a prominent role in contemporary Caddo tribe religion and life. The Xiensi is the only man that can communicate with the Kahdi, which is why his role is vital to the tribe. Fire is a sacred item for the Caddo. Every household has a continuous fire burning, fueled by the embers of the fire temple on the xiensi compound. Throughout the year the Caddo performed several ceremonies and rituals to better their favor during wartime, hunting, and harvesting. They also believed that most of their lives were linked to the rituals and forces associated with the spirit world.
Contact & Historical Changes
The first European Contact that the Caddo peoples had been of Spanish origin, to be specific the De Soto entrada. This first contact did not stay long, and it was roughly 100 years later that they would return. (Perttula) When they did return it was to battle the French for control over the Caddo lands. They remained peaceful with the Europeans, although the diseases that they carried, mainly smallpox, was detrimental to the Caddo population. They formed alliances with the French, to trade, due to their deteriorating population. Between 1800-1859, the settlements began to push the Caddo out of their lands, and since their population was so small they could no longer defend it. 1835, was the year of the Louisiana Purchase, which moved most of the Caddo into Texas. Once again they were forced to relocate during the civil war, and once more when they finally resettled in Oklahoma.
The first major contact, as I stated, was of Spanish Origin. The Hernando de Soto expedition entered their territory in 1541. The following year de Soto died, which was likely lucky for the Caddo, as they did not receive major contact from Europeans for another 100 years. In 1686 René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle tried to begin a colony on the Texas Coast. He stumbled upon Caddo Country looking for supplies and a way to the Mississippi River. He went back to the coast peacefully with corn and supplies, but returned a year later, and became to try to convert the Caddo to Christianity.
The Spanish attempts to subjugate native included the “establishment of mission and military detachments.” (HNAI) The had the goal to begin pre-reservation reservations, where they would religiously and culturally convert the native peoples. Their attempts with the Caddo begin in 1690 with the Hasinai territory, six more were established later that year, and four were launched among the Kadohadacho. The Hasinai mission was abandoned in 1693, which foretells their complete lack of success among the Caddo tribes. The places where the mission was launched were also hit the hardest by epidemic beginning in 1691. The Spaniards were ultimately seen as the cause of this disease. This, along with their aggressive strategy to subjugate the native eventually lead the Caddo to the French.
The French began their contact with the Caddo through a trading post in Louisiana in 1713. Their tactic was to use trading goods to eventually extend their influence into the Caddo tribes. This was ultimately successful. The French traded firearms, metal tools, clothing, and combs for hides, horses, and slaves. A well-developed relationship based on trade paved the way for the Caddos to rely on European trade over trade amongst other natives. Relying on trade affected their traditional forms of subsistence and their social organization through lack of the control community leaders. Through the French treating the Caddo as partners rather than subjects, the Caddo were more willing to protect them over the Spanish.
Disease such as smallpox and measles ran throughout the tribe, claiming over 3,000 Indians lives in 1691, to an unnumbered amount by the 19th century. These grand population losses caused many tribes to come together. “As many Native American groups, the Caddo responded to population loss and European challenges to their culture by taking advantage of new economic opportunities.” (HNAI) In the 18th century, the Caddo were able to preserve their traditional kin-based modes of production including maintaining their relationships with the Europeans and other indigenous groups. The Caddo leaders worked a political intermediary to reduce intertribal hostilities, however, it ended up turning groups like the Apache, Osage, Choctaw, and Chickasaw into tribal enemies. The Caddo became their targets. Their continuing drops in population lead to their loss of the hold on their traditional homelands. In 1800, more whites began settling in Caddo Country. By 1835, the year of the Louisiana Purchase, Caddo land was sold. They were forced to sign a treaty giving them annual payments for 5 years. This is the time of the first relocation, to Texas. In Texas, their population continued on the decline and warfare between Europeans and other tribal nations forced even more Caddo to band together. Here they became farmers and raised livestock before they were moved once more into Oklahoma. In 1859, the Caddo were displaced to western Oklahoma, then as the Civil War broke out, they were displaced again as “Confederate troops were unable to protect them.” (HBNAI) Finally, they settled into their present-day home in Oklahoma in 1872, with the Wichita and Delaware Tribes. The Ghost Dance became prominent at the end of the nineteenth century. John Wilson translated the Wovoka’s Ghost Dance into Caddoan Ideology. This was extremely effective to the Caddo peoples, as it gave them a way to cope with social and demographic stresses from extreme population decline. John Wilson was also a prominent leader in the Caddo’s conversion to the Native American Church. He introduced the "Big Moon version of Peyote ceremony, through sacred fire.
In 1902, each Caddo persons were awarded an allotment of 160 acres, but the land not allotted to the Caddoan people was sold off. This was brought through the Dawes Act of 1887. The Dawes act was an act of U.S. Congress for the allotment of reservation land to individual Indians. “the Indians selected the acreage, which the federal government then held in trust for at least twenty-five years.” (Oswalt p. 42) This act was meant to destroy traditional Indian lifeways and “domesticate them into the United States culture, by doing away with their “collective land base.” They finally received some relief by the federal government in 1934, with the Indian Reorganization Act. The Indian Reorganization Act was enacted to correct what the Dawes Act had done. It was also the first step toward the federal government carrying for the individual cultural lifeway. It acquired more land, kept it free from taxes, and put it under control of the federal government. The Caddo established a tribal council in 1938, which lead to much self-determination by the Caddo. Although the leaders were traditionally men, there was an increase in women in leadership roles.
Modern Environment and Contemporary Life
Although the Caddo’s history has been extremely disturbed, they have made an extreme effort in preserving their culture. “One of the most striking features of traditional Caddo culture is the great quantity of social dances that are preserved to this day.” (Caddo Nation) These dances are the Duck Dance, the Alligator Dance, the Bear Dance, the Clara Brown Dance, the Murrow Family Dance, and the Turkey Dance, along with the dozens of Bell Dance songs. These dances range throughout the year, and the Hasinai Society even organizes several more. Along with the preservation of dances, the Caddo have other aspects of the culture preserved as well. The main inclusion of this is they are still marvelous potters. Jeri Redcorn is one these potters, who use Caddo traditional shape and design in pottery.
There are two organizations that help to even greater preserve Caddo culture through regular meetings. These are The Caddo Culture Club and the Hasinai Society. The Caddo Culture Club was the first group that was established to help with the preservation of the Caddo culture. They host several events throughout the year including “The Annual Caddo Culture Day,” “The Yearly Caddo Conference,” and “An Annual Dance.” They even meet every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, and they welcome the public to join. The Hasinai Society is an organization that focuses on preserving music and dance, language, and traditional crafts. (Caddo Nation)
The Caddo language is preserved today. It is a “member of the Caddoan language family,” and each different band of the Caddo have a different dialect and can be understood by all Caddo speakers in a general sense. Hasiniai and Hainai, are the most widely used dialects. A foundation called the Kiwat Hasinai Foundation is the one who actually grouped materials together for a CD and a phrase book of the Caddo language. These CD’s and phrase books along with an Educational coloring language book has been made available at The Caddo Heritage Museum.
Politics began in the Caddo in 1936, when “they adopted a Tribal Charter and set up a formal government with an elected chair main and tribal council.” (Perttula) Two years after the tribal charter was adopted, the Caddo develop the Constitution for the Caddo Indians of Oklahoma. Their government stills lives on today as a tribal council, hearing council, and an election board. “The tribal council has eight members: the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Oklahoma City Representative, Binger Representative, Anadarko Representative, and Fort Cobb Representative.” (Caddo Nation) The only two positions that are paid is the Chairman, and the term of office is four years. The tribal council works together through the representation of individual bands along with making decisions for the tribe as a whole.
As well as having a well developed governing system, the tribe also has a firefighters program. This team of firefighter consists of “professionally trained wildland firefighters, skilled in wildfire suppression, hurricane relief efforts, prescribed burning, trail construction, road clearance, and timber stand improvement.” Compared to the general population's local firefighters who may fight fires and be trained to do so, but mostly are paramedics and EMT in Alabama. These teams of 10 to 20 man crews, spend 80 hours in training courses provided by the US Forest Department. They have served various clients including: “U.S. Forest Service, Cibola National Forest, New Mexico Osceola National Forest. Florida Dept of Forestry, Texas Dept. of Forestry, U.S. Forest Service Region 8, Washita National Forest, National Grasslands of Texas, Kisatchie National Forest, BIA, Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Isabella.” (Caddo Nation)
The Caddo are very much concerned with the well-being of their peoples. This is why their economic standing has continued to grow. In 2006, the Caddo Nation looking to promote “tribal economic development, self-sufficiency, and sovereignty,” created the Caddo Nation Gaming Ordinance with the help of the State of Oklahoma and Department of Interior. They currently own one Casino in Gracemont, OK.
As the Caddo Nation’s main concern is the well-being of their peoples The Community Health Program, is a yearly assistance for Caddo tribal members with their health. It gives the Caddo people health care services in rural areas, as they will make appointments, deliver medication, perform home visits, monitor patients, provides assistance with health equipment, and educate them on health.
They also provide a training program for Heritage Resources Technicians (HRT), which teaches tribal members to resource management work: wildfire suppression, prescribed burning, trail construction, and archeological surgeries under a supervised Archeologist.
Although the need for jobs is not as higher, there are still many Caddo in an extreme poverty level. The Caddo Nation provides housing assistance to a tribal member who makes below 36,000 with a home. There are continued Income limits for the larger the family gets. Along with an Elderly rental program, this affordable homeownership programs gives tribal members opportunities that they would not have outside of the community.
With the Tribes increase economic success, they are building along with the State of Oklahoma the Oklahoma American Indian Cultural Center. This Cultural Center is said to be built by the end of 2019, and it is expected that it will bring $20 billion over the next 10 years.
The small amount of information we have about the Caddo Nation prior to European Contact suggests that their lives have changed drastically. While the BIA, and United States has forced them to become more “Americanized” they have held onto their culture, language, and traditions. Their lives differ from those in the general population by their increased efforts in order to succeed. The Caddo people, much like many tribes, fought for where they are today and are proud of their heritage. This differs from the general population, by the living traditions. The general population does find value in the traditions of their ancestor, while the Caddo people do. The Caddo lifestyle is also more inclusive with their tribe than rather a suburb would be. The trace of ancestry is also quite different from the general population. Americans tend to trace their ancestry through their father, which is why the women take the man's surname. The Caddo traces their ancestry matrilineally, through the mother. Lastly, if you want to claim you are a Caddo you must prove it with one-sixteenth of your blood matching that of a Caddo born after the day of the signing of the constitution. I would argue that life for the Caddo is undefinable by the general population.
Contemporary Issue
The use of tobacco is commonly associated with Native Americans for its role in traditional and ceremonial life. Whether it was the exception to a leadership position or sealing a peace treaty, if you were a Native American in prehistoric times you used tobacco commonly in one way or another. As life for Native Americans has changed, so has their use of tobacco. The contemporary issue I will discuss today is that the harm the new age fascination with tobacco causes amongst Native people, specifically the Caddo Indian Tribe of Oklahoma.
Despite the long and rich history Native Americans have with smoking tobacco for ceremonial use, there are little to no studies were done on the present day effects of Native American peoples. I personally found this quite frightening since there are hundreds of studies done each year on other races/ethnicities. Anyways even with surplus studies on the effects that Native peoples have experience with tobacco are evident. They still struggle with smoking tobacco, yet it is no longer due to their rich history with tobacco, but for recreational use and occasionally ceremonies. “American Indians have high rates of habitual tobacco use, particularly smoking, although chewing and dipping are also practiced. Smoking rates among adult American Indians are the highest for any race/ethnicity in the United States.” 1 A prospective study was done by Cardiovascular disease (CVD), has shown that Native American peoples are just as susceptible to the negative harm caused by habitual tobacco use, as any other race. This study showed that roughly 33 % of the population of women were current smokers, and 44% of the population of men were currently smokers. This population came from a sample of Native Americans in Arizona, North and South Dakota, and Oklahoma. Tobacco use is the major source of death and disease among all American, Native peoples not excluded. This is an issue that they face, although it appears that the usage has lower about 10% between 1990 and 1995. The cultural and traditional association with tobacco complicates but does not total prevent preventative efforts against tobacco. Can you imagine something that your ancestor did for thousands of years, and you never knew it to cause them health-related problems. It would likely become hard to believe anti-tobacco preventative efforts. The problem, however, is not associated with the traditional ceremonial use, but the habitual and daily use of tobacco products among Native peoples.
Oklahoma Indians, specifically the Caddo are the most prominent users of tobacco. The Oklahoma Youth Tobacco Survey took place in high schools and middle schools in Oklahoma. This survey found that those who classified themselves as Native American consisted of the highest proportion of current smokers.”23% of middle school students and 42 % of high school students.” The study also shows that smokeless tobacco was most common among American Indian boys.
“Native American Behavioral Risk Factor Survey The Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, designed specifically for American Indians in Oklahoma, had 3,307 individuals who responded to the queries needed for analysis, of which 1,286 were males and 2,021 females. The data showed that the rate of current smoking for men aged 18 years was 43% (n=558) and for women, 38% (n=766).”This study focusing on males and females 18 years old or older found that these rates are 15% higher than the Year 2000 Goal for the country.
The Strong Heart Study was conducted for the Seven Tribes of Southwest Oklahoma (Apache, Caddo, Comanche, Delaware, Fort Sill Apache, Kiowa, and Wichita) sampled females and male from 45 years to 74 years old. The highest rates of smokers were in males 48 to 49 years old, with a drop of roughly 10% when they were reevaluated. “ There were seven males and three females who reported smoking tobacco only during Native ceremonies.”
Each of these studies conducted with unique data shows that “smoking rate is high for American Indians compared to other racial/ethnic groups. “ Cigarette smoking is the most common among users, and they are a major risk for both lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. American Indians are not immune to these effects of smoking tobacco, however, cancer does occur less frequently in the American Indian populations. It is much harder for Native peoples to “just say no,” when it comes to tobacco, that is still an integral part of the ceremonies the practice. While in Oklahoma it is very prominent for even children as young as 11 years-old to be using tobacco products. From an emic perspective, I would like to see how the Caddo feel about habitual tobacco use versus ceremonious use to compare to this study. From an etic perspective, I would like to do a study specifically on the Caddo youth, and what makes tobacco products attractive to them.
Conclusion
Beginning as early as 900 AD, the Caddo Indian Tribe have been a unique set of Native Americans. Their traditional culture is rich in ritual, art, and various similar speaking tribes joining together. The influence of European settlement on the Caddo, forever altered their history. From hunting and gathering and trading with other tribes to trading for guns and relocation there is history that will be unfortunately lost forever. The majority of these accounts are a reconstructed baseline, meaning that they took place prior to 1500 and up until present day. The majority was based on a 1700 study from Spanish Missionaries. As the Caddo nation has formed from many individual tribes through hardship and relocation caused by the European settlers, specifically the Spanish and French as they settled in the areas closest to the Caddo. Their traditional life has faded, some, but overall the language, traditional dances, and art has not wavered. They’ve made a new home in Binger, Oklahoma, using casinos as a main source of income.