Kicking Bird Also known as Tene-angop'te, "The Kicking Bird," or "Eagle Striking," and as Watohkonk, "Black Eagle," was the high chief of the Kiowa

Kiowa

The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...

 Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 tribe. He was born around 1835, not a lot is known of his early life except his grandfather was a Crow captive that was adopted by the Kiowa. It was said he signed the first Kiowa Treaty in 1865 in Wichita, Kansas. This ultimately set up the boundaries of the reservation established in the Treaty of Medicine Lodge in 1867. Kicking Bird was a strong supporter of peace and tried to encourage his people to acknowledge what he believed to be unavoidable. With the Kiowa, Kicking Bird participated in many battles and raids during the 1860's and 1870's. Kicking bird was an advocate of education for his tribe. Along with the help of Thomas C. Battey, an Indian Agent, began the actions to open a school for the Kiowa tribe. However Kicking Bird suddenly died at Cache Creek under mysterious circumstances on May 3, 1875, he was buried at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in the post cemetery. It is rumored he had been poisoned by another member of the Kiowa tribe. He is not to be confused with Kicking Bird in the film, Dances With Wolves

Dances with Wolves

Dances with Wolves is a 1990 epic western film directed by and starring Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake and tells the story of a Union Army Lieutenant who travels to the American frontier to find a military post, and his dealings with a...

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Sources

• Hoig, Stan. The Kiowas and the Legend of Kicking Bird. Boulder: The University Press of Colorado, 2000. ISBN 0-87081-564-4

Further reading

• Hosmer, Brian C. (May 30, 2010). "Kicking Bird". Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
• May, Jon D. "Kicking Bird". Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved 2010-06-27.