Historic Native Peoples of Texas

by William C. Foster, Alston V. Thoms (Introduction)

Several hundred tribes of Native Americans were living within or hunting and trading across the present-day borders of Texas when Cabeza de Vaca and his shipwrecked companions washed up on a Gulf Coast beach in 1528. Over the next two centuries, as Spanish and French expeditions explored the state, they recorded detailed information about the locations and lifeways of Texas's Native peoples. Using recent translations of these expedition diaries and journals, along with discoveries from ongoing archaeological investigations, William C. Foster here assembles the most complete account ever published of Texas's Native peoples during the early historic period (AD 1528 to 1722). Foster describes the historic Native peoples of Texas by geographic regions. His chronological narrative records the interactions of Native groups with European explorers and with Native trading partners across a wide network that extended into Louisiana, the Great Plains, New Mexico, and northern Mexico. Foster provides extensive ethnohistorical information about Texas's Native peoples, as well as data on the various regions' animals, plants, and climate. Accompanying each regional account is an annotated list of named Indian tribes in that region and maps that show tribal territories and European expedition routes. This authoritative overview of Texas's historic Native peoples reveals that these groups were far more cosmopolitan than previously known. Functioning as the central link in the continent-wide circulation of trade goods and cultural elements such as religion, architecture, and lithic technology, Texas's historic Native peoples played a crucial role in connecting the Native peoples of North America from the Pacific Coast to the Southeast woodlands.

366 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Brendan Steinhauser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed William Foster's detailed accounting of the Indian tribes of Texas. Most people are familiar with the tribes that moved into Texas in the 1700's and 1800's, like the Comanches. But this book focuses in on the tribes that were there long before that. The level of detailed placement of each tribe encountered by the Spanish and French is fantastic. Foster breaks it down into specific counties, towns, and often creeks or streams.

As someone who grew up in Fayette County, Texas, I really enjoyed reading about the local tribes in that area, including the Sanan-speaking Toho and Tohaha. It was interesting to see mentions of my hometown, Flatonia, as well as nearby communities like Moulton, Shiner, La Grange, and Yoakum. Given that the traditional crossing of the Colorado River was a few miles north of La Grange, it is not surprising to see so many mentions of this area in the book. The Indians used the trails and campgrounds in and around Fayette County for centuries, and left their cultural and historical mark there, and throughout Texas.

"Historic Native Peoples of Texas" is a great read for anyone interested in Texas history, Native American culture or history, ethnography, cultural geography, or anthropology. Kudos to Foster for providing a valuable resource to future historians of Texas, whether professional or avocational.