Wichita+Food

Wichita Food
by Ellen The Wichita diet was simple, and in addition to simplicity, the people had easy access to the basics of their diet as hunters, gatherers, and farmers. The main components of the Wichita diet were fruits and vegetables, and the gently rolling hills of northern Texas and southern Oklahoma provide the ideal location to raise multiple crops. They primarily raised corn or maize, beans, melons, pumpkins, tobacco, and squash. The tribe's women were the main sedentary farmers in addition to their role in cooking. Wichita women also gathered wild nuts and berries in the attempt to obtain as much food as possible.

The Wichita men typically assisted growing and harvesting crops, but on occaision, they would go hunting or fishing. The meats and fish that were brought back to the tribe were shared and often they would eat their meat raw. The plains of northern Texas were home to hundreds of buffalo that were hunted and killed by many tribes including the Wichitas. Tribesmen would go on a hunt for days at a time and they would shelter in teepees, similar to the shelter of nomadic Texans that follow the buffalo. The Wichita men used the bow and arrow to hunt in the plains. Nearly every single part of the buffalo is used, and the hides are tanned and used to make clothing and leather bags.

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 * Works Cited**
 * 1) Rocha, Rodolfo, et al. __Celebrating Texas: Honoring the Past and Building the Future__. Austin, Texas: McDougal Littell, 2003.
 * 2) The Wichita Indians. 1 February 2005. R E Moore and Texarch Associates. 4 October 2009.
 * 3) Warren, Betsy__. Indians Who Lived in Texas__. New York: Hendrick-Long Publishing Company, 1991.
 * 4) Wichita Indian Fact Sheet. Native Languages of the Americas website. 4 October 2009
 * 5) "Wichita -- Waco." __Texas Indians__: p20. EBSCO. Colleyville Middle School Library, Colleyville, Texas. 4 October 2009.
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