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Kicking Bird, also known as Tene-angop'te, "The Kicking Bird", "Eagle Who Strikes with his Talons", or "Striking Eagle" (c. 1835 - May 3, 1875) was a High Chief of the Kiowa people in the 1870s. It is said that he was given his name for the way he fought his enemies. He was a Kiowa, though his grandfather had been a Crow Nation captive who was adopted by the Kiowa. His mysterious death at Fort Sill on May 3, 1875, is the subject of much debate and speculation.
Though he was a great warrior who participated in and led many battles and raids during the 1860s and 1870s, he is mostly known as an advocate for peace and education among his people. He enjoyed close relationships with whites, most notably the Quaker teacher Thomas Battey and Indian Agent James M. Haworth. The close relationships he enjoyed with whites engendered animosity among many of the Kiowas, making him a controversial figure. He would become the most prominent peace chief of the Kiowas, following the lead of a previous head chief, Dohasan. Kicking Bird was diplomatically active and signed the Little Arkansas Treaty of 1865 and the Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867 and was instrumental in moving his people to reservations.
He fought against the Ute people, Pawnee people, Navajo people, and in raids along the Santa Fe Trail where he may have been shot in 1864. On November 25, 1864, Kicking Bird, then a member of Dohasan's band of Kiowas, fought alongside Kiowas, , , and Arapaho people as Kit Carson regular troops collided with the Indian forces in the Battle of Adobe Walls.
As Kicking Bird matured, he recognized the futility of the raiding that dominated Plains Indian societies during the 19th century and adopted a conciliatory leadership approach that focused on cultivating friendly relationships with whites. He rose to prominence in his late 20s and was acknowledged as a promising young Kiowa in 1859 by James Brice, who wrote "Kicking Bird was said to be a good Indian by white men that knew him and would some day become influential with his people and the government." Kicking Bird was noticeably absent from Kiowa peace treaties of the late 1850s and early 1860s, most likely because he had yet to earn his status as a Kiowa chief. It was not until 1865, around the age of 30, that Kicking Bird would become a Kiowa sub-chief.
A series of clashes between the Plains Indian and white settlers, such as the Sand Creek Massacre, induced peace talks in 1865. It is during this period of diplomacy between whites and Indians that Kicking Bird began to make his mark in a peaceful leadership position. He first emerged into public consciousness when he signed the Little Arkansas Treaty in 1865. He was especially active in returning white captives as evidence of good intentions while the terms of the Little Arkansas Treaty were being discussed.
The Little Arkansas Treaty moved the major Plains Indian to reservations which were never entirely established, and which were later reduced in size by the Treaty of Medicine Lodge; also, promised annuities were never distributed. These two issues would have long-lasting implications that Kicking Bird and other Kiowa chiefs would wrestle with in the following years.
Kicking Bird's first actions as sub-chief were for peace, but he was primarily concerned with the annuity situation. When the Kiowa had moved onto the reservations, they had been promised annuity payments for buying food and supplies; however, the annuities were not always paid as promised, and were being handled by a corrupt agent who hampered the promised flow of goods. The Kiowa faced immense hardship as a result. Kicking Bird recognized that most of the bad feelings in his tribe stemmed from the annuity situation. Because of this, Kicking Bird was placed in a delicate position between warriors who wanted to go on the warpath and those that wanted peace with the whites. His close relationship with whites and peace-talks belittled his leadership position in the eyes of many Kiowa. As a result, after the head chief Guipago, Satanta emerged in a prominent leadership role among his people, and his reputation as a war-maker made him the dominant Kiowa figure to be reckoned with in the eyes of whites and other Indians.
Indian-white friction resurfaced following the Little Arkansas Treaty, and Kicking Bird was influential in maintaining peace, proving himself receptive to both Indian and white demands. The terms of the treaty were largely unfulfilled and hostilities throughout the Plains necessitated a new peacemaking treaty: the Treaty of Medicine Lodge. Alongside older and wiser chiefs like Black Kettle and Ten Bears, Kicking Bird realized the futility of militant opposition. During discussions at Medicine Lodge, he was prominently seated in the council circle and worked for a resolution of the annuity situation, but Satanta ultimately stood out as the leading Kiowa chief after the head chief Guipago. Kicking Bird was one of the first signatories of the Treaty of Medicine Lodge; Satanta too signed the treaty, but Guipago refused to do it. The Treaty of Medicine Lodge moved the Kiowa onto a reservation and promised annuities of food, clothes, equipment, weapons, and ammunition. The promised annuities were rarely fulfilled, however, which engendered tribal animosity toward the reservations and assimilation policies. This dissatisfaction was a central obstacle to Kicking Bird's peace efforts.
In response to the lack of annuities and tribal land, the Kiowa and their contemporaries resorted to looting and plundering throughout the Plains, which undermined Kicking Bird's efforts towards peace. On January 15, 1870, a body of Kiowas under Satanta intercepted a Texas herd driven by Jacob Hershfield and robbed the drovers of money and supplies before killing some 150-200 head of cattle. Kicking Bird arrived on the scene and defused the situation. Hershfield accounted that had it not been for Kicking Bird, he and his men would have died.
Kicking Bird received intense criticism for his close relationships with white people and his renunciation of hunting and advocation of farming. The ranks of warring chiefs Satanta and Guipago swelled in comparison and Kicking Bird lost much tribal support. When the Kiowas hosted a sun dance to celebrate the Summer Moon of 1870, many warriors talked of staying out on the Plains instead of living on reservations with inadequate annuities. Kicking Bird spoke strongly against this and urged that the tribes cultivate friendly relations with the whites and continue to live on reservations. Though a chief, Kicking Bird received much scorn during the sun dance from young Kiowas, and the lack of respect was evident. They said "he had been a great warrior before the white men penned him up on the reservation. Now he talked like a woman."Brown, 248.
In July 1870, his war party, some 100 strong, crossed the Red River into Texas and confronted a Kansas-bound herd in Montague County, Texas, taking horses, mules, blankets, and other property. A few of his braves broke away from the war party and captured a mail stage at Rock Station, provoking a response from nearby Fort Richardson. On July 12 Captain Curwen B. McClellan and several of his officers from the Sixth Cavalry attacked Kicking Bird's encampment near present-day Seymour, Texas. In a long battle under a hot sun, Kicking Bird displayed his military genius and his right to his chieftaincy after thoroughly defeating McClellan's forces by engaging the soldiers in a frontal skirmish and sending two pincer columns to flank his enemy and strike the rear.Brown, 249. In the battle, he was said to have personally lanced one soldier.
The Battle of Little Wichita River reaffirmed Kicking Bird's martial acumen and also reinforced his status as Kiowa chief. His victory marked the end of his military career and he expressed regret that tribal divisions forced his hand in the battle. He would spend the rest of his life cultivating peace with whites.
The schism between peace-minded and war-minded Kiowa leaders was exacerbated by the increased presence of the U.S. military and Quakers by the end of 1870. Kicking Bird was clearly the foremost advocate for an accommodation with the United States, but was opposed by Satanta, Guipago, Ado-ete (Big Tree), Maman-ti, and Tsen-tainte. He represented the Kiowa peace-faction in numerous intertribal meetings and promised that the Kiowa would live respectfully on the land, but again stressed that without the necessary annuities from the government, his people were forced to stray from the reservations to survive.
Kicking Bird engaged in numerous activities to placate Texas governor Edmund J. Davis, who was strongly opposed to releasing Satanta and Big Tree. Many Kiowas followed his example and acknowledged that peace was the only viable option for release. The Kiowas returned captives and livestock without ransom, and even offered to rescue captives from other tribes. For his conciliatory work among the tribes, Kicking Bird received a silver medal. In some instances, Kicking Bird threatened not only his own warriors but war parties from other tribes as well in order to stop the raiding.
During a June 1873 sun dance, Kicking Bird personally prevented a major Indian outbreak. Discouraged about Satanta and Big Tree's imprisonment, many chiefs clamored for a multitribal assault on the outside forces. Kicking Bird spoke against military action and urged patience. The excitement abated, and the chiefs agreed to wait. This meeting was maybe the closest the Plains tribes would ever come to a multi-tribal assault.
Finally, on October 7, 1873, Satanta and Big Tree were released, a result of Guipago's straightforward explanation to Indian agent James Haworth that the patience of his Kiowa warriors, as well as his own, was wearing thin after the Kiowa had lived up to their promises by remaining peaceful in the summer of 1873. According to his apologists, Kicking Bird's skillful negotiation in the release of Satanta and Big Tree earned him the loyalty of nearly two-thirds of his tribesmen.
Kicking Bird was successful in keeping his followers on the reservation, but Guipago's scorn towards the "road of peace" and attitude towards that of war severely undermined Kicking Bird's efforts at pacification. On June 27, 1874, a consolidated force of warriors launched an attack that would become known as the Second Battle of Adobe Walls. Guipago and Satanta were among the Kiowas participating in the skirmish. Following the battle, Kicking Bird and Satanta were in favor of making peace, but Guipago and several other chiefs refused and advocated war against the whites. Kicking Bird worked earnestly to keep his people unified and avoid conflict, but both of his goals proved elusive.
In response to the increase of Indian raids throughout the Plains, the United States War Department overrode the Quaker Indian peace policy and issued orders to separate the Kiowas into two groups of friendly and unfriendly Kiowa. True to his word, Kicking Bird led three-fourths of the Kiowa back to their reservation at Fort Sill, which had become a city of refuge for his people. Meanwhile, Indian hostilities continued and Kicking Bird actively sought to pacify the raiding Kiowas and protect them from punishment. He succeeded in bringing six chiefs and 77 tribespeople, who surrendered their arms, to the reservation. Meanwhile, the hostile chiefs led the remainder of the Kiowa westward with the objective of reaching safe haven at Palo Duro Canyon, while the U.S. Army followed at their heels.
When Satanta stepped down as war chief in late 1874, to be arrested immediately thereafter, and Guipago surrendered early the next year, Kicking Bird became the only remaining Kiowa chief with a sizable following. Consequently, the U.S. Army gladly named him Kiowa principal chief in 1875. Throughout late 1874 and early 1875, Kicking Bird assisted the Army with their efforts to track the hostile Kiowas.
As chief and the principal intermediary between federal authorities and his tribe, Kicking Bird was put in charge of the Kiowa captured in the 1874-1875 uprising. When it was decided that some of the hostile Kiowa would be sent to Florida for incarceration at Fort Marion, Kicking Bird was required to choose which of his tribesmen would go. This greatly disturbed Kicking Bird, who considered it no easy chore but ultimately in the best interest for peace. He reluctantly chose Guipago, Maman-ti (Walking-above), Tsen-tainte (White Horse), and 23 other Kiowas, while Satanta was sent back to Huntsville. , Cheyenne people, Arapaho people, and Mexican captives were also sent to Fort Marion, for a total of about 70 prisoners. His acquiescence to the demands of the army was interpreted as treason by many members of his tribe, but others grudgingly accepted Kicking Bird's action as a peace measure.
After waiting for tensions to settle among the Kiowa, Kicking Bird agreed to take Battey back with him to his camp. Kicking Bird's brother Ze'bile invited Battey to share his lodge and Battey soon began teaching. The first Kiowa classes opened on January 23, 1873, and were hampered by a language barrier and intrusive and curious onlookers. Early on, Battey faced some opposition but was protected by Kicking Bird and other chiefs. Kicking Bird's interest in schooling for the Kiowa children was paramount in bringing education to his tribe but in the context of the assimilation policy, not all Kiowa welcomed white education.
With many influential Kiowa following the path of formal education for Kiowa children set by Kicking Bird and Battey, the first school for the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache children of Fort Sill post was established. The school opened on February 27, 1875, and Agent Haworth appointed two chiefs from each of the tribes to serve as a board of education. Forty-four Kiowa and Comanche children were soon enrolled.
The most popular story maintains that Kicking Bird was poisoned by a vindictive tribesman. It was widely assumed that, with his death occurring relatively soon after the departure of the Fort Marion prisoners, an angry Kiowa or a white who stood to gain from the chief's death slipped poison into his coffee. One account holds that Kicking Bird may have been poisoned by one of his wives for having delivered her brother to Fort Marion.
Another story maintains that the medicine man Maman-ti placed a hex of death on Kicking Bird for his role in naming prisoners to be sent to Fort Marion, himself included. Most contemporary Kiowas accepted this legend, though it too proves inconclusive. Had Maman-ti's hex of death been successful, he would have perished three days after Kicking Bird. Instead, his death came on July 29, 1875 (three months after Kicking Bird's), and may have been the result of the close confinement within the walls of the old Spanish Fort.
Still another account of Kicking Bird's death maintains that something may have been wrong with his heart that caused his death. Agent Haworth noted that the night before his death, Kicking Bird had been up late and told someone that "his heart felt just like someone had hold of it pulling it out." The next morning, as was custom for almost all diseases, Kicking Bird went to the creek and came back after he felt better. Shortly after coming out of the water and having a cup of coffee, Kicking Bird died. This version fits descriptions in modern medical science of someone having a heart attack, but is not conclusive.
Kicking Bird had a daughter, Topen, as well as five other children, with his first wife, who died in 1872. After he remarried in 1874, he had a son Little John, who was ten months old when Kicking Bird died.
His known brothers were Pai-Talyi' (Son-of-the-Sun, or Sun Boy), Ze'bile (Big Arrow), and Coquit. His father was Andrew Stumbling Bear.
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