Who Are the Kiowa?
The Kiowa are a Plains people currently based in Oklahoma, with approximately 12,000 enrolled members in the Kiowa Tribe (federally recognized). Their name "Cáuigù" means "Principal People." They speak Kiowa, a Tanoan language related to the Pueblo languages—linguistically unique among Plains tribes. Originally from the northern Rockies, the Kiowa migrated to the southern Plains, becoming powerful horse warriors who dominated much of present-day Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. The Kiowa are renowned for their pictographic calendars, warrior societies, and the Kiowa Six—artists who founded modern Native American art.
Calendar Histories
The Kiowa developed unique pictographic calendars recording tribal history—two events per year (winter and summer) depicted in spiral or linear sequences. These calendars, painted on hides, documented events from the early 1800s through the reservation era. Major events—battles, epidemics, celestial phenomena—served as mnemonic devices for oral historical traditions. Calendar keepers maintained and interpreted these records. Several calendars survive in museums; their study has enabled reconstruction of 19th-century Kiowa history with remarkable precision. This indigenous historiographic tradition demonstrates sophisticated approaches to recording the past.
Kiowa Six
The Kiowa Six (or Kiowa Five)—Spencer Asah, James Auchiah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope, Lois Smoky, and Monroe Tsatoke—studied at the University of Oklahoma in the late 1920s, creating a distinctive flat-style painting that became foundational for modern Native American art. Their work, depicting traditional ceremonies, dances, and warriors, brought Kiowa imagery to international attention. The tradition they established influenced generations of Native artists. Oscar Howe, T.C. Cannon, and contemporary artists trace lineage to this movement. The Kiowa Six demonstrated that indigenous art could engage modern contexts while maintaining cultural authenticity.
Contemporary Kiowa
Modern Kiowa in Oklahoma pursue cultural preservation while addressing economic challenges. The tribe has limited gaming (Kiowa Casino) and faces poverty rates common to Oklahoma tribes. Language preservation is critical—Kiowa has approximately 1,000 speakers, declining but more viable than many Plains languages. Cultural programs maintain the Gourd Dance and other traditions. Kiowa artists continue the Six's legacy; the Kiowa Black Legging Society and other warrior societies remain active. How the Kiowa sustain their artistic traditions, preserve language, and build economic capacity shapes this principal people's future on the southern Plains.
References
- Mooney, J. (1898). Calendar History of the Kiowa Indians
- Meadows, W. C. (2010). Kiowa Military Societies: Ethnohistory and Ritual
- Szabo, J. (1994). Howling Wolf and the History of Ledger Art