Dohasan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dohäsan (Little Bluff)
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Chief Dohäsan, painted by George Catlin 1835.
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| Born | late 1780s to early 1790s |
| Died | 1866 |
| Nationality | Kiowa |
| Other names | Little Mountain Little Bluff Top-Of-The-Mountain |
| Occupation | Chief |
| Known for | Last Undisputed Principal Chief of the Kiowa, warrior, war-chief |
| Predecessor | A'date (Former principal chief of the Kiowa) |
| Relatives | Dohá (father) Dohäsan (nephew) |
Dohäsan (born in the late 1780s or early 1790s – died 1866) was an important Native American leader. He was a War Chief for the Kata or Arikara band of the Kiowa people. Later, he became the main leader, or Principal Chief, of the entire Kiowa Tribe. He held this important role for 33 years!
Dohäsan is best known as the last undisputed Principal Chief of the Kiowa people before they were moved to reservations. He also led the Plains Tribes in one of the biggest battles ever fought against the United States Army.
Contents
What's in a Name?
Dohäsan's name was passed down in his family. It has been translated in different ways, like Little Mountain, Little Bluff, or Top-of-the-Mountain. The name is a bit tricky because it refers to a small hollow in a bluff, not the bluff itself. His father was also a chief named Dohá, meaning "Bluff."
Even though his father was a chief, Dohäsan got his name and his role as war chief from his uncle. When Dohäsan died, his nephew took over his name and leadership role.
Life Before Becoming a Main Chief
Dohäsan's band was called Arikara because they traded a lot with the Arikara people. Because the Kiowa traded with people from the US, Spain, and France, European-Americans knew them well. Dohäsan was known to traders as early as the late 1820s.
He became known as a strong and clever warrior and a successful war chief. Dohäsan was also a member of a special group of elite warriors called the Koitsenko.
Being the main chief of the whole Kiowa people was not a family position. The elders and leaders from all the different Kiowa bands would meet and choose the Principal Chief. This chief usually held the position for the rest of his life.
Dohäsan became the Principal Chief of the Kiowas in the spring of 1833. This happened after the elders and sub-chiefs decided to remove the previous chief, A'date. This decision came after A'date's village was attacked by Osage warriors at a place called Cutthroat Gap. Dohäsan was the last main chief of the Kiowa Tribe while they were still a free people.
Leading the Kiowa People
After Dohäsan became the Principal Chief, the United States Army learned about him. A big attack on a Kiowa village led Colonel Henry Dodge to travel to Western Oklahoma in the summer of 1834. Dohäsan was there to meet the colonel and his group.
An artist named George Catlin was with the expedition and drew Dohäsan's picture. Catlin described Dohäsan as a kind and calm person when conditions were peaceful. He noted Dohäsan's long hair, decorated with many silver pieces, which reached down to his knees.
The army's goal was to stop the fighting between different Plains Tribes. In May 1837, Dohäsan was one of the main leaders who signed the Fort Gibson Treaty. This treaty was an attempt by the US government to end fighting among the tribes in Indian Territory.
However, these treaties didn't stop the Kiowas' frequent raids for horses and other goods. They also didn't really slow down the fighting between tribes. Texas was often raided by Kiowa and Comanche groups. Annual raids into Mexico also became a regular event.
During his raids, Dohäsan and his people, along with their Comanche allies, would spend winters in the Staked Plains. This area, especially around the Canadian River valley and Palo Duro Canyon, was a good base for winter and for planning their yearly raids.
In 1845, Lt. James William Abert sketched Dohäsan at Palo Duro Canyon. In 1851, Dohäsan led a group of Kiowa warriors and allied Comanches against the Pawnees in Kansas. Most of the Pawnee warriors were killed in that battle.
Dohäsan's name appears again in army records in 1857. He successfully led his warriors out of a surprise attack by Mexican soldiers near El Paso, Texas. The Mexican soldiers had followed the raiders from Mexico, hoping to defeat them. Instead, most of the Mexican troops were killed or wounded.
As the American Civil War was about to begin, the American government wanted to keep the Kiowa friendly. In late 1859, Major John Sedgwick's troops gave Dohäsan an old army ambulance wagon as a gift. When Dohäsan couldn't figure out how to drive the horses, he had two Kiowa boys ride the horses while he sat in the driver's seat.
In 1861, when US officials threatened to stop giving gifts to the Kiowas and send soldiers if they didn't stop their raids, Dohäsan was very angry. He called the "white chief" a fool with the "heart of a woman."
The First Battle of Adobe Walls
Dohäsan is remembered in history for leading the Native American forces at the First Battle of Adobe Walls. This battle happened on November 26, 1864, near the ruins of an old trading post in Hutchinson County, Texas.
It was one of the biggest fights between European-Americans and Native Americans on the Great Plains. It was also the largest battle ever between the Comanche, Kiowa, and their allies against non-Natives. The battle started because General James Henry Carleton wanted to punish the Comanche and Kiowa for attacking wagon trains. The Native Americans saw these wagon trains as invaders who were killing the buffalo and other animals they needed to survive.
Colonel Kit Carson was ordered to lead his soldiers against the winter camps of the Comanches and Kiowas. On November 10, 1864, Carson left Fort Bascom with 335 cavalry soldiers and 75 Ute and Jicarilla Apache scouts. His force also had two small cannons called howitzers, wagons, and supplies.
Carson decided to march to Adobe Walls, a place he knew well. Bad weather, including an early snowstorm, made their progress slow. On November 25, 1864, Carson's group reached Mule Springs, about 30 miles (48 km) west of Adobe Walls. Scouts reported a large Native American camp at Adobe Walls. Carson ordered his cavalry to move forward, with the wagons and howitzers following behind.
Around two hours after sunrise on November 26, 1864, Carson's cavalry attacked a Kiowa village of 150 tepees. Chief Dohäsan and his people quickly fled, warning nearby Comanche villages. Carson moved forward to Adobe Walls and set up his defense there. He soon realized there were many Native American villages in the area, including a very large Comanche village.
It's believed that around 3,000 Native Americans were opposing Carson, though the actual number of warriors was probably closer to half that. Still, Carson saw that he was greatly outnumbered by the warriors coming to fight him.
Dohäsan, helped by leaders like Satank, Guipago (Lone Wolf), and Satanta (White Bear), led the Kiowas in the first attack. Fierce fighting broke out as the Kiowa, Kiowa Apache, and Comanche warriors repeatedly attacked Carson's position. It's even said that Satanta used his own bugle to answer Carson's bugle calls!
Carson was able to fight off the attacks mainly because of his clever use of the two howitzers. After six to eight hours of continuous fighting, Carson realized he was running low on cannon shells and ammunition. He ordered his forces to retreat. The angry Native Americans tried to stop his retreat by setting fire to the grass and brush near the river. But Carson was smart. He set his own fires to burn a path and retreated to higher ground, where the howitzers continued to hold off the Native Americans.
When evening came, Carson ordered some of his scouts to burn the tepees of the first village. During this, the Kiowa-Apache chief, Iron Shirt, died when he refused to leave his tepee.
Even though Carson had to retreat because he faced much more opposition than he expected, the United States Army called the First Battle of Adobe Walls a victory. Carson was probably outnumbered 10 to 1, and his smart use of fires and the howitzers stopped his forces from being completely defeated. Carson lost 6 dead and 25 wounded, while about 50-60 Native Americans were killed.
However, the Kiowa and their allies had forced the American army to retreat from the field. Dohäsan, who was likely in his 70s, had led the largest group of Plains Native Americans ever gathered against the army. He had forced a well-armed force to retreat and give up the fight that day.
Treaty and Passing
In October 1865, Dohäsan signed the Little Arkansas Treaty. However, he strongly protested being confined to a reservation. He stated that the Kiowas owned all the land from the North Platte River to the upper Texas Panhandle and needed space to roam freely. Shortly after, in early 1866, he passed away.
The Start of the Reservation Era
As mentioned earlier, the chief position in the Kata or Arikara band of the Kiowa Indians was passed down in the family, but not always from father to son. In this case, it was not.
Dohäsan's nephew, Agiati, also known as "Gathering Feathers," took on his uncle's name in 1864. The younger Dohäsan took part in the remaining battles as the Kiowa fought to stay free. But time was running out for their traditional way of life. He was part of a group that went to Washington in 1872 to ask the government to let the Kiowa remain free.
Afterward, as the remaining Kiowa moved to the reservation, the younger Dohäsan lived peacefully with his family on the reservation near Fort Sill until his death.
Artist and Calendar Keeper
Dohäsan was the main calendar keeper among the Kiowa for most of the 1800s. He brought many new ideas to Kiowa art. In his winter count, which recorded important events each year, he added a picture for each year's summer Sun Dance. He also introduced images of "counting coup" (brave acts in battle) to painted tipi designs.
When Dohäsan died, his nephew Agiati became a calendar keeper. Then, Agiati's son, Silver Horn (1860–1940), took over. Silver Horn became one of the most productive Kiowa artists.
Dohäsan's original calendar is now in the collection of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1892, the younger Dohäsan gave his family's annual calendar history, which his uncle had started, to Captain Hugh L. Scott. Scott then donated it to the Smithsonian Institution.
Dohäsan's descendants include his granddaughter, Betty Nixon. She helped start the Mid-America All-Indian Center in Wichita, Kansas, in 1976.
