Kicking Bird

Kicking Bird
Chief Kicking Bird
Born	1835 Possibly Oklahoma
Died	May 3, 1875 Fort Sill, Oklahoma
Nationality	Kiowa
Other names	The Kicking Bird Eagle Who Strikes with his Talons Striking Eagle
Known for	A Chief of the Kiowa Indian Nation, warrior, peacemaker
Relatives	Stumbling Bear (father) Son-Of-The-Sun (brother) Big Arrow (brother) Coquit (brother)

Kicking Bird, also known as Tene-angop'te, "The Kicking Bird", "Eagle Who Strikes with his Talons", or "Striking Eagle," was a High Chief of the Kiowa in the 1870s. It is said that he was given his name for the way he fought his enemies. Born in 1835, Kicking Bird was a Kiowa though his grandfather had been a Crow 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 in his tribe. 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.

At the time of Kicking Bird's birth in 1835, the Kiowas inhabited the Texas Panhandle, western Oklahoma, and southwestern Kansas. Not much is known of his early life, but he participated in the Kiowa warrior tradition and was a renowned warrior and hunter. His early success qualified him as an “onde,” or Kiowa warrior supreme, granting him first-rank social status in his tribe. In addition to an outstanding war-record, to be an “onde” required that a man be wealthy, be of generosity, have an aristocratic demeanor, and maintain an imposing presence on horseback – all qualities possessed by Kicking Bird.

He fought against the Utes of Colorado, Pawnees of Nebraska, Navajos of New Mexico, 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, Comanches, Apaches, and Arapahoes as Colonel Christopher “Kit” Carson's regular troops collided with the Indian forces in the Battle of Adobe Walls.