Review Essay: New Religions and Old Ways Kiowa Religious Change and Continuity in a Time of Upheaval

Abstract

The Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma is a sovereign Indigenous nation with historic ties to what is now the Southern Plains region of the United States. Kiowas have a distinct history, language, culture, and religion. The nineteenth century brought significant changes to practitioners of Kiowa religious traditions. In October of 1867, members of the Kiowa, Comanche, Kiowa-Apache, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho nations signed the Medicine Lodge Treaty (a singular descriptor for what was actually a series of treaties) with the U.S. government. As more Euro-Americans had moved West following the Civil War, settlers and the U.S. military disrupted and attacked Native communities whose lands they sought to claim. Warriors from Native nations throughout the Plains had resisted the intrusions, at times with deadly violence. The U.S. government, concerned about the cost of continuing armed engagements, wished to establish a military truce with Native nations. But more than that, the federal..