TONKAWA

nearly extinct North American Indian people of south-central Texas whose language is considered by some to belong to the Coahuiltecan family and by others to be a distinct linguistic stock in the Macro-Algonquian phylum. Satellite groups of the Tonkawa included the Ervipiame, Mayeye, and Yojuane. The Tonkawa belonged to the Plains group of nomadic bison-hunting Indians and lived in scattered villages of tepees. They were notable warriors; among their offensive weapons were firearms, bows and arrows, and spears. In battle they wore leather jackets and caps decorated with horns and brilliant plumage. At one time or another the Tonkawa fought most of their neighbours, from the Apache to the Caddo. They had a reputation for cannibalism. After 1770, when their relations with the Spanish became friendly, they obtained firearms in exchange for tallow, deerskins, and buffalo robes. For a time they had friendly relations with the Texans. In 1858 they were employed as scouts against the Comanche and Wichita. In 1859, however, the Tonkawa were removed north from the Brazos River reservation to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). The Tonkawa population of perhaps 1,500 at the time of their first European contact (1691) decreased as a result of warfare and disease; by the late 20th century the Tonkawa reservation in Oklahoma was reported to have a total population of about 60.