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÷Migration

The Wichita people initially resided in settlements around the Arkansas River in 1541. In the mid-eighteenth century, Spanish and French settlers noted that the Wichita people were driven from their place in the Arkansas valley. Attacks from the Osage tribe drove them to Texas, where they resided until the 19th century, when Texan settlers drove them to the Washita Valley, where they currently reside today.

Organization

The Wichita organized themselves as a loose group of different tribes, connected only by a common language or dialect. They had a history of intermarriage and alliance with other groups. Notably, the women of the Wichita worked with the Pueblo to harvest crops and engage in trade. Pueblo women were recorded to have intermarried with Wichita people and lived together in Wichita villages.

Language

Conflict with Texans in the early 19th century and Americans in the mid 19th century led to the major decline in population. The Wichita people then merged settlements, until they signed a Reservation treaty in 1848 with America.

Reservation Treaty

Trade/Economic

Due to geographical isolation, trade conditions were challenging for French and Spanish settlers to overcome. The French traded with the Wichita primarily for their horses during the 16th century.

Post-Contact History

Coronado was noted to have treated the Wichita poorly.

Social Structure

Though specific structures in the 16th century are unclear, the Wichita were thought to be organized by ranking of each tribe. Tribes were also thought to have been led by two chiefs.

Under the Reservation System

Wichita people relied heavily on bison.

Though most Wichita groups had migrated, several Wichita groups remained in northern Quivira.

The Wichita had most of the control over the Middle Arkansas River in 1719.

The Wichita economy focused on hunting, but was also based on horticulture, root-gathering, and fruits and nuts.

They also made armor from bison hides.

Regarding religion, La Harpe noticed that the Wichita people "had little of it". He did, however, gain knowledge on the presence of a Great Spirit that the Wichita worshipped. '

The Wichita people's relationship with the Osage is ambiguous - it is said to have been "cautiously hostile", but many Osage groups attacked them in the 18th century, eventually driving them out of the Arkansas River Basin.

The Wichita were allies with the Comanche and traded with them. They had formed an alliance in 1746 that lasted for more than a decade.

Their migration in 1714 was partly motivated by their proximity to European traders.

Horses played a large role in the Wichita people's lifestyle. Increased access to horses in the mid 17th century caused Wichita hunting styles and seasons to become longer and more community-oriented.

The Wichita first gained their European commodities in the mid 18th century, inspiring them to maintain close ties with the French in the 19th century.

For the most part, Wichita relationships were harmonious and cooperative. Notably, the Wichita were allies with the Comanche and traded with them. However, they were enemies with groups such as the Pawnee, the Missouri, and the Apache. The Apache were the Wichita's worst enemies, having driven them out of their homes before contact with Europeans.

Trade was important for the French. French traders were eager to exchange their goods with Wichita settlements as they traveled from Louisiana to Santa Fe.