The Settlement Of Texas, Part One: The Native Americans

• published: 13 Jun 2015
• views: 1

The settlement of Texas dates back almost 12,000 years ago, to the first evidence of Native American occupation. This two-part video traces the settlement of our Lone Star State up through 1836: from those early times, up to the arrival of the Spanish and French, and including the influx of the Americans. In this first part, we'll learn about the Archaic Indians, the Coastal Hunter/Gatherers, the Plains Hunters, early Native American farmers, and the Mounted Invaders. The cultures and lifestyles of these different tribes come to life in this program through hundreds of artifacts, paintings, drawings, maps, graphics and historic sites. Noted archaeologists and historians (Tom Hester, Robert Ricklis, Nancy Kenmotsu and Towana Spivey) provide important analysis and insight into our state's various Indian tribes. We'll visit historic Indian sites across the state and see the tools, the art and the religion of these early Texans. From rock cave shelters of the Trans-Pecos, to the famous Lubbock Lake Landmark, and the Caddoan Mounds of East Texas, we'll get an in-depth look at these tribes and how they lived. We'll also visit with the modern tribes of Texas: the Alabama-Coushatta, Kiowa, Comanche, Wichita and Seminole, to name a few. We'll go to an Indian Pow Wow and join in the celebration and dance. We'll also gain an important perspective into what it's like to be a Native American today, trying to reconcile often conflicting identities from both the outside world and from within the tribe itself.