Fort Griffin's Tonkawa Pow-Wow Experience

By Eric Abercrombie, Fort Griffin staff

The Fort Griffin State Historic Site staff had the privilege of attending the 2011 Tonkawa Tribe Pow-Wow in Fort Oakland, Oklahoma this year. The Tonkawa Indian tribe was once on a reservation in Fort Griffin, Texas. While here, many of them served as scouts for the U.S. Army and helped the Army accomplish its mission of eliminating hostile Indian threats in Texas in the mid-1870s. Fort Griffin was abandoned in 1881, and the Tonkawa were removed in October 1884. They were placed on reservation land in northern Oklahoma in 1885 and continue to reside there today as they carry on the traditions of their ancestors.

Tonkawa Camp at Fort Griffin

While we were visiting the tribe, we took the opportunity to look around their visitors center and museum. Inside, the walls are covered with black and white photographs and cases of artifacts that date as far back as the days of Fort Griffin.  Some of the notable artifacts on display include Tonkawa buckskin leggings and moccasins, and a Spencer carbine rifle that was issued by the U.S. Army to a Tonkawa scout at Fort Griffin. There were several familiar photos of known Tonkawa scouts who were at Fort Griffin, but many more we had never seen before.

Tonkawa moccasins

Later that evening, I attended the first evening of a three-day pow-wow. The pow-wow consisted of singing, drumming, and dancing. Many of the dancers were very ornate in their regalia and had spent a lot of time and money preparing. One Tonkawa dancer told me that he had spent years working on his outfit.

There were obvious modern aspects to the pow-wow, but many traditional aspects as well. For example, the traditional, brush-covered shelter is still the preferred shade at the pow-wow, and the dancers in the traditional regalia looked almost identical to photos I’ve seen of the Tonkawa of the late 1800s.

Tonkawa Dancers, late 1900

Overall, we had a great time with the Tonkawa people and look forward to having them back at Fort Griffin for a visit. While at Fort Oakland, we had the opportunity to talk to the chief, Don Patterson, about joining us for the Fort Griffin annual living history event in October. He seemed very enthusiastic about bringing several people with him to share their story and culture with everyone at our annual event.

Fort Griffin State Historic Site is located 15 miles north of Albany on U.S. Hwy 283, in the Texas Forts Trail Region.