Description
The Kaw Nation, Oklahoma (or Kanza or Kansa) is a federally recognized Native American tribe in Oklahoma and parts of Kansas. It comes from the central Midwestern United States. It has also been called the "People of the South wind", "People of water", Kansa, Kaza, Konza, Conza, Quans, Kosa, and Kasa. Their tribal language is Kansa, classified as a Siouan language. The toponym "Kansas" was derived from the name of this tribe. The name of Topeka, capital city of Kansas, is said to be the Kaw word Tó Ppí K?é meaning "a good place to grow potatoes". The Kaw are closely related to the Osage Nation, with whom members often intermarried. The Kaw is a member of the Dhegiha branch of the Siouan language family. Oral history indicates that the ancestors of the five Dhegiha tribes migrated west from the east, possibly somewhere around the Ohio Valley.
Language
The Kanza, Kaw, or Kansa language was spoken at the time of contact along the Kansas River in present day Kansas.
Culture
Most of the men plucked their arms, chins, eyebrows, and most of the scalp with a wire apparatus. A narrow strip of hair was left on top and in the back and was sometimes colored with vermilion or decorated with the tail feather of a war eagle. An important chief might attach a deer tail on the back of his neck. Most males wore a blue or red breech-cloth which was held on with a girdle, plus leggings and moccasins made from deer skins. They decorated their ears with beads, tin trinkets, or porcelain sticks, and many had tattoos. Women planted, tended, and harvested the crops such as corn, beans, pumpkins, potatoes, and squash and foraged for nuts, berries, and roots. They processed, stored, and cooked the food. They often accompanied the men on the bison hunts, butchering the animals where they had fallen. The women dried the meat and dressed the bison robes and other animal skins. Prior to European contact, women made clothing from animal skins.