Kiowa << KY uh wuh >> are a Native American tribe that lives largely in Oklahoma and elsewhere in the Southwestern United States. According to the 2020 U.S. census, there are about 7,000 Kiowa. Most of them live in rural communities near Anadarko, Carnegie, and Mountain View, Oklahoma. Other tribal members live in urban areas and work in law, medicine, teaching, and other professions.
The Kiowa once hunted buffalo on the plains. They were fierce warriors and raided many white and Mexican settlements, especially from 1850 to 1870.
According to tribal tradition, the Kiowa once lived as nomadic hunters in a region that was covered by snow much of the year. They later moved to the Rocky Mountains near what is now Yellowstone National Park. The Kiowa next migrated to the Black Hills of eastern Wyoming and southwestern South Dakota, and then to the Southwestern plains. In 1867, Kiowa chiefs agreed to settle on a reservation in the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) with two other tribes, the Comanche and the Kiowa Apache. The three groups became known as the KCA tribes. They adopted a constitution in 1932.
In 1963, the KCA tribes abolished their constitution and, in 1970, the Kiowa adopted their own tribal constitution. The tribe is governed by the Kiowa Indian Council, which consists of all members who are at least 18 years old. The Kiowa Business Committee, an elected group, manages tribal programs in such fields as business, education, and health.
