Haway!

My name is Betty Gaedtke or Te-mi-zhi-ka (little buffalo woman). I am an enrolled member of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma (Quapaw Nation) and part of the Buffalo clan.  I served on the Quapaw Business Committee (Council) from August 2013 until August 2017.  My grandmother was Nora Buffalo Brock, one of the last pureblood Quapaw Indians when she passed away in 1987. Sadly, there are no living pureblood Quapaw Indians left in existence. My great grandparents were Joseph Buffalo and Sinni Brown Buffalo, pureblood Quapaw. My great great grandparents were Te-zhi-ka (Buffalo Calf) and Kah-dah-skah & Red Sun Quapaw and Wah-tah-she-kah, all pureblood Quapaw.

The Quapaw Indians are a branch of the Sioux from the upper Ohio River Valley that broke away and went downstream on the Mississippi River, hence our name Ogahpah or Kwapa or Quapaw (the downstream people). We settled in many places from the Missouri boot heal down through Arkansas, along the St. Francis River, the White River, the Mississippi River and the Arkansas River. We prospered very well in those areas with our most populated area being along the Arkansas River about 30 miles east of current day Pine Bluff, Arkansas. We numbered about 10,000 at that time. The main village of Osotouy located there was first visited by French explorers Marquette and Joliet in the late 1600’s, followed by LaSalle and then by Tonti, who built a fort there named Arkansas Post, the first capital of Arkansas. The explorers’ scouts were from various tribes and pronounced Kwapa in variations and translated several times, ending up sounding like Akansa, hence the name of the state, Arkansas. Our tribe is most recognized for our exquisite pottery we made and is some of the most sought after Mississippian pottery today. These pots are recognized by the nodina clay, red and white swirl markings, the head pots, effigy pots and the grey clay pots with incised markings. Pots had multiple uses and were also buried with the dead. By the time the Indian relocation began, our tribe had severely dwindled due to disease brought by the French and Spanish. In the early 1800’s we ceded millions of acres of land to the United States for $500 and $10,000 in supplies, most which never came. With no place to go, we settled with the Caddo Indians along the Red River. Due to disease and starvation our numbers further dwindled to less than 200. Some went back to Arkansas and barely survived while most relocated to NE Oklahoma where we currently reside. Our numbers have since grown to over 5000.

My passion is creating pottery in keeping with our culture. In 2012 I learned how to make our pottery with the styles and decorations of the past. My pots are not antique but are authentic Quapaw pottery and all of them are signed and smoked.