(1) What were the principal groups of Native American peoples in Texas at the time that the Spanish first appeared? Prior to Europeans arrival there were four distinctive groups located in what today is called Texas. These groups are divided into regional areas as the Indians of the coastal areas (Karankawan & Coahuiltecan), Indians of the Plains (Comanches, Apaches, Kiowas and Tonkawas - central and northwest Texas), Indians in Northeast Texas (Caddo, Hasinai- belonged to the Caddo tribe), and the Jumano Indians of Trans-Pecos area.What kinds of social structures did they have, and how equipped were they to deal with Europeans?Indians of the coastal areas:This group lived in small family units with no formal political organization and moved around in the coastal areas looking for sustenance supplied from the land. Social life revolved around the family units and each small band had a chief that presided over the group. The religious life of the coastal Indians were primitive and suggested a belief that all life is produced by a spiritual force and that the universe, as an embodiment of order and harmony, was governed by these supernatural entities. Basically whatever happen to them was because of the supernatural forces in heaven who were controlling the events they had no direct input or control over. The Coastal Indians were well equipped to fight and protect their region as seem when they captured Panfilo de Narvez party near Galveston, Texas and attacked and destroyed the French garrison of Fort St. Louis near Vanderbilt, Texas. However, these bands of Indians were not as aggressive as those Plain Indians of Texas.Indians of the Plains:The Indians of the Plains organized in-groups of families with a Chief ruler of each unit, but did not have a formal political structure. These groups depended heavily on Buffalo for their livelihood. This group wandered across the plains following or looking for Buffalo, but was stationary f...
