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Wichita
Land:
The Wichita Indians dwelled between the Arkansas, Kansas, and the Brazos River now located in Kansas and Oklahoma.
Government:
The Wichita and Affiliated Tribes have an enrolled membership of over 1,900 people. Enrolled membership is restricted to possessing at least one-eighth degree blood quantum of Wichita descent. Over half of this membership resides within the state. The Wichita Governmental Headquarters are centered within the largest concentration of Wichitas living in Oklahoma. However, through modern methods of communication, all Wichita's have access to their government, no matter where they live.
Politically, the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes are governed by the people through a body known as the Wichita Tribal Council, composed of all enrolled members who are eighteen years of age or older. This Council empowers an elected body of seven committee members known as the Wichita Executive Committee to govern the Tribe's sovereign responsibilities. Each member of the Executive Committee serves a term of four years and can be re-elected without intervention. The Wichita Executive Committee is composed of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and three Committee members. The Wichita Executive Committee also appoints Commissioners to the Wichita Housing Authority. All Wichita Tribal members retain their rights as citizens of the state of Oklahoma and of the United States of America. Future civil protection for Wichita people are afforded under the Indian Civil Rights Act (1968).
Traditions:
The Wichita were traditionally an agricultural tribe, but also engaged in buffalo hunting. They cultivated corn, pumpkins, and tobacco, which they bartered with their neighbors. Their permanent dwellings were cone-shaped ranging from forty to fifty feet in diameter and were thatched with grass. When travelling they lived in tipis.
The Wichita settlements in present-day Oklahoma and Texas were not as extensive as those in Kansas but were numerous throughout much of Oklahoma and (Hammond 2) spanned into north central and northeast Texas. The Wichita presence in this three-state region is centuries old. Our importance and power within this region withstood both Spanish and French exploration and did not begin to diminish until the U.S. began its westward expansion in the late 18th century.
Additional Reading
Wichita
Wichita Indians
The Great Plains
Native Americans of Kansas
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