Tonkawa Tribe

United States

Indigenous Peoples of the United States

Indigenous Peoples of Oklahoma

Tonkawa Tribe

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Tonkawa chiefs 1898.jpg

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Various spellings: Tonkawa, Tonkaway

Ancestral homeland: central Texas

Tribal Headquarters

Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma
1 Rush Buffalo Road
Tonkawa, OK 74653-4449
Phone: 1.580.628.2561
Fax: 1.580.628.3375

• The Tonkawa Indian Tribe Official Website

Population: 1984: Total enrollment 181.

History

Brief Timeline

1530's: First contact with Spanish explorers: Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca

1540's: Francisco Vasquez de Coronado

1682: Rene Robert Cavelier de La Salle's Expedition

1847-59: The tribe was under the jurisdiction of the Texas Agency

1846: Treaty with the Comanche,Aionai, Anadarko, Caddo, Etc.,

1855: The tribe assigned to a reservation-

Tonkawa scouts served with the Texas Rangers against the Comanche.

1859: The tribe was under the jurisdiction of the Wichita Agency

1861-65: Tonkawa braves served as scouts for the Confederate Army

1859: The tribe was relocated to Washita River in Indian Territory

1865: Some members of the Tribe fled to Texas until 1884

1876-80: In Texas the tribe was under the jurisdiction of the Central Superintendency.

1884: Those who had fled to Texas removed to Indian Territory.

Agency

Pawnee Agency  (Nebraska and Oklahoma)

Texas Agency

Wichita Agency

Superintendency

Southern Superintendency

Central Superintendency

Additional References to the History of the Tribe

Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, gave a more complete history of the Tonkawa tribe, with estimations of the population of the tribe at various time periods.

Records

The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters.They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:

• Allotment records
• Annuity rolls
• Census records
• Correspondence
• Health records
• Reports
• School census and records
• Vital records

Agency Records

Tonkawa Records(Allotment,School,and Vital)1895-1952. FHL|Films: 1205529 and 1204634

Correspondence and Census

Tribe	Agency	Location of Original Records	Pre-1880 Correspondence M234 RG 75 Rolls 962 Roll Number	FHL Film Number	Post 1885-Census M595 RG 75 Rolls 693 Roll Number	FHL Film Number
Tonkawa	Pawnee Agency, 1871-1964	Washington D.C. and Fort Worth	Rolls 661-68	-	Rolls 338-43, 386-91	Films 579746-579753
Tonkawa	Texas Agency, 1847-59	Washington D.C.	Rolls 857-61	-	-	-
Tonkawa	Wichita Agency, 1859-78	Washington D.C.	Rolls 927-30	-	-	-

Land and Property

Tribally owned 160.00 acres. Allotted land: 238.24 acres

Treaty

• 1846 Treaty with the Comanche,Aionai, Anadarko, Caddo, Etc.,

Vital Records

• Pawnee Agency, M595,
  • births and deaths 1924-1932, FHL Film: 579750

Important Web Sites

• Constitution and By-Laws of the Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma.
• The Tonkawa Indian Tribe Official Website
• Tonkawa Tribe Wikipedia

References

Bibliography

• Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives; Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
• Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1906 Available online.
• Klein, Barry T., ed. Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian. Nyack, New York: Todd Publications, 2009. 10th ed. WorldCat 317923332; FHL book 970.1 R259e.
• Malinowski, Sharon and Sheets, Anna, eds. The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Detroit: Gale Publishing, 1998. 4 volumes. Includes: Lists of Federally Recognized Tribes for U.S., Alaska, and Canada – pp. 513-529 Alphabetical Listing of Tribes, with reference to volume and page in this series Map of “Historic Locations of U.S. Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Canadian Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Mexican, Hawaiian and Caribbean Native Groups” Maps of “State and Federally Recognized U.S. Indian Reservations. WorldCat 37475188; FHL book 970.1 G131g.

Vol. 1 -- Northeast, Southeast, Caribbean

Vol. 2 -- Great Basin, Southwest, Middle America

Vol. 3 -- Arctic, Subarctic, Great Plains, Plateau

Vol. 4 -- California, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Islands

• Sturtevant, William C. Handbook of North American Indians. 20 vols., some not yet published. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978– .
  

Volume 1 -- Not yet published

Volume 2 -- Indians in Contemporary Society (pub. 2008) -- WorldCat 234303751

Volume 3 -- Environment, Origins, and Population (pub. 2006) -- WorldCat 255572371

Volume 4 -- History of Indian-White Relations (pub. 1988) -- WorldCat 19331914; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.4.

Volume 5 -- Arctic (pub. 1984) -- WorldCat 299653808; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.5.

Volume 6 -- Subarctic (pub. 1981) -- WorldCat 247493742; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.6.

Volume 7 -- Northwest Coast (pub. 1990) -- WorldCat 247493311

Volume 8 -- California (pub. 1978) -- WorldCat 13240086; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.8.

Volume 9 -- Southwest (pub. 1979) -- WorldCat 26140053; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.9.

Volume 10 -- Southwest (pub. 1983) -- WorldCat 301504096; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.10.

Volume 11 -- Great Basin (pub. 1986) -- WorldCat 256516416; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.11.

Volume 12 -- Plateau (pub. 1998) -- WorldCat 39401371; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.12.

Volume 13 -- Plains, 2 vols. (pub. 2001) -- WorldCat 48209643

Volume 14 -- Southeast (pub. 2004) -- WorldCat 254277176

Volume 15 -- Northwest (pub. 1978) -- WorldCat 356517503; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.15.

Volume 16 -- Not yet published

Volume 17 -- Languages (pub. 1996) -- WorldCat 43957746

Volume 18 -- Not yet published

Volume 19 -- Not yet published

Volume 20 -- Not yet published

• Swanton John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin #145 Available online.
• Waldman, Carl. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. New York, New York: Facts on File, 2006. 3rd ed. WorldCat 14718193; FHL book 970.1 W146e 2006.

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)