Native American tribe of the Algonquian language family and of the Eastern Woodlands culture area. The tribe originally lived in central and southern Wisconsin.

The name Kickapoo is derived from the Algonquian Kiwigapawa, meaning "he who moves about." These Native Americans were extremely successful warriors who raided lands far from their villages; they also served as mercenaries for the French, Spanish, British, and Mexicans. When not on raids the Kickapoo lived in permanent villages, subsisting by raising corn, beans, and squash and by hunting buffalo. Their society was divided into bands based on patrilineal descent. The Kickapoo strongly resisted European culture and religion and, to a large extent, retained their own ways.

In the period before the American Revolution, the Kickapoo moved southward into the Wabash region now included in the states of Illinois and Indiana, and during the Revolution and the War of 1812 they joined the other tribes of the Ohio Valley in siding with the British against the Americans. In 1819, after ceding their lands in Illinois to the U.S. government, they settled in Missouri and later in Kansas. About 1852 a large portion of the tribe made another migration southward through Texas into Mexico, where they became known as the Mexican Kickapoo.

Today Kickapoo communities are found in northern Coahuila State, Mexico, and in northeastern Kansas and Oklahoma. In 1990, 3,577 persons in the United States identified themselves as Kickapoo, the majority living in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas.

"Kickapoo," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Texas Indians, The Kickapoo

Housing

The Kickapoo were not a nomadic people and thus, did not move around much once they were settled in an area. They built wooden, bark covered structures for houses. These houses (owned by the women) are called wickiups or wigwams. They raised crops, gathered fruits and nuts when in season, fished the rivers and hunted deer, bear and small game. Wood, gathered from the forests provided material for many of the tools and implements. For example, flint points, attached to wooden handles, served many purposes in day-to-day living and elaborately carved wooden war clubs were used in battle.

Traditional clothing

Deerskin was used for clothing and moccasins. The men decorated their clothing with silver brooches or exquisitely crafted beadwork which wass applied by the women. Traditional clothing for women consisted of finely tanned garments.

Text & picture from the Texas Indians Site, for more info please visit this site.

The Kickapoo

By common tradition, the Kickapoo and Shawnee believe they were once a single tribe but separated after an argument over a bear's paw.

[The Kickapoo's] most distinctive characteristic has been a stubborn resistance to acculturization with the white man, and it is difficult to think of another group of Native Americans which has gone to such lengths to avoid this. The tendency of the Kickapoo to avoid direct contact has made it easy to dismiss them as unimportant. Although they never played a lead role, the Kickapoo, like a good character actor, were involved in so many things that their overall contribution was enormous. While reading their history, they seem to disappear at times into a story of another people, only to suddenly resurface in another place and time. Years after the leading tribes with the famous names were gone, the Kickapoo were still in the midst of the struggle to preserve native America.

Population

Originally, as many as 4,000. By 1660 almost all Great Lakes Algonquin were living as refugees in mixed villages in Wisconsin. Intermarriage and mixed populations made accurate counts impossible. The French estimated there were 2,000 Kickapoo in 1684 but by 1759 had increased this to 3,000. Later counts were equally suspect. By 1817 the Kickapoo had absorbed the Mascouten, and the American estimate was 2,000. This seems to have been the last time the Kickapoo stood still long enough to be counted. A federal Indian agent during 1825 gave 2,200, but he admitted only 600 of them were actually on the Missouri reserve. 200 were still in Illinois, and at least 1,400 others were scattered somewhere between Missouri and Mexico. In 1852 there were 600 living in Kansas, but 300 left for Mexico soon afterwards followed 100 more in 1862. About 800 Kickapoo returned from Mexico (1873-78) and were sent to Oklahoma. Oklahoma and Mexican Kickapoo have routinely travelled back-and-forth ever since, so the 1910 census listed 211 in Kansas, 135 in Oklahoma, and an estimated 400 in Mexico.

Current figures give over 2,500 Kickapoo in the United States divided between the 500 in Kansas and approximately 2,000 in Oklahoma. In addition, there are 700 members of Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas who live in both Texas and Mexico.

Names

The name comes from the Algonquin word Kiwegapawa "he stands about" or "he moves about." Other names were: Auyax (Tonkawa), Hecahpo (Otoe), Higabu (Omaha-Ponca), Ikadu (Osage), Kicapoux (French), Ontarahronon (Yuntarayerunu) (Huron), Quicapou (French), Outitchakouk (French), Shakekahquah (Wichita), Shigapo (Shikapu) (Kiowa-Apache), Sikapu (Comanche), and Tekapu (Huron).

Culture

The Kickapoo language is virtually identical to Shawnee, and culturally the two were very similar except for some southern cultural traits which the Shawnee had absorbed during the years they had lived in the southeastern United States. Typical of other Great Lakes Algonquin, both lived in fixed villages of mid-sized longhouses during summer. After the harvest and a communal buffalo hunt in the fall, the Kickapoo separated to winter hunting camps.

The Kickapoo were skilled farmers and used hunting and gathering to supplement their basic diet of corn, squash and beans. Many Indian agents in the 1800s were startled just how well the Kickapoo could farm, but modern Americans would probably be just as surprised to learn how important buffalo hunting was to Kickapoo in Illinois during the 1700s.

Before most of the other tribes in the area, the Kickapoo were using horses to hunt buffalo on the prairies of northern Illinois - a skill which allowed their rapid adaptation to the lifestyle of the Great Plains after removal.

Like the Shawnee, the Kickapoo were organized into patrilineal clans with descent traced through the father, but the brothers and sisters of the mother had special responsibilities in raising the children.

from First Nations, for complete history and more information, please visit the First Nations site