Kids and Karankawas


 


Kids & Karankawas was hosted by Matagorda County Historical Commission and  Matagorda County Museum on October 18, 2022.

Visitors traveled through several "camps" in the style of the Karankawas as they moved to various areas along the Gulf Coast.
Their camping ground in Matagorda County was near Oyster Lake in the Collegeport area.


 

 


Camp Karankawa

First stop was the Matagorda County Museum Karankawa exhibit to learn about the Karankawa way of life including food and clothing, or lack thereof. Each JA received a small bag of native pecans like the Karankawas ate.


 


Camp Arrowhead

Displays of arrowheads were found at Camp Arrowhead where each JA received an arrowhead of their own to take home.


 


Camp Alice

At Camp Alice, each JA heard the story of Alice Williams Bridges Oliver who befriended the Karankawas who camped on her father's land near Collegeport in Matagorda County and recorded over 500 of their words. After losing her list as an adult, she was able to recall about 100 of the words and her list is still used today by Karankawa researchers. They learned the Karankawa word for dog was KISS, so each JA stopped by the "kissing booth" to choose a KISS for their bag.


 


Camp Count

At Camp Count, each JA learned how to count in the Karankawa language and took a counting card to add to their bag.
Even cowboys can count like a Karankawa!


 


Camp Shell

JA participants viewed shells from Matagorda Beach that Karankawa children would have collected in the 1800s. They watched a short
video of a moon snail drilling a hole in the shell of a cockle. Each JA received a cockle shell necklace to wear and a sand dollar to place in their bag.


 


Camp Paint

Karankawa were known to have many tattoos, and each JA took a turn at the face painting camp.


 


 


Exhibit Packet

 

Final stop was an exit packet which included:
THC flyer, "What Does An Archeologist Do"
Look Up Bay City Tour
Matagorda County For Kids Young and Old cd
Magnifying glass
Dosinia shell
A thank you for attending with websites to visit for more information

 


Photos courtesy of Faye Cunningham and Kristi Lee