AKOKISA INDIAN VILLAGE

Living off the land

Houston’s history often begins with the Allen Brothers founding the city in 1836. However, native forerunners occupied the Texas Gulf Coast dating back to 100 A.D. While museum artifacts and accounts written by foreign explorers offer insight into the lives of the early Native Americans, the Akokisa Indian Village in Jesse Jones Park provides visitors with the experience of the indigenous way of life. As nomadic hunters and gatherers, the Akokisa people moved with the seasons. Spring Creek, running along Jones Park, operated as a passageway between summertime stays on the coast and winters spent inland. Reconstructed dwellings close to the area they once inhabited demonstrate how the Akokisa tribe sought balance with nature.

Palmetto-thatched, domed structures, called wikiup, were created for easy transport. In the shade of the open-air brush arbor, food was prepared from nuts and berries, along with bread made from the tubers of the greenbrier plant. The Council Lodge served as the community hub. Ceremonies took place in the sweat lodge, overseen by the medicine man who also treated ailments. An example of a coastal dwelling, the chickee, shows how the Akokisas combated mosquitos by raising the open-air structure, lighting a smudge fire to smoke out the pests, and smearing alligator fat on the skin as a repellent.

Every September, Native American Heritage Day is celebrated with a rethatching of the dwellings, archery and animal tracking activities, and a performance by Conroe’s Chikawa Aztec Dancers.

TIP: Traders Village holds an annual Native-American Championship Pow Wow, with two days of tribal dance competitions, arts and crafts, and a teepee village.