With the mascot debate continuing to rage on, it is important to remember the culture of local Kansan tribes. Here is a list of tribes that have been a part of Kansas for centuries:

Arapaho: The Arapaho speak a unique language known as Heenetiit, which is a Algonquian language that branches off of the Gros Ventre tribe. They are federally recognized for the reservation known as Arapahoe Tribe of the Wind River Reservation. They used to be staunch allies with the Cheyenne before the intervention of the United States military. Their culture was centered largely on warfare and they were adept at horseriding and its combat advantages.

Cheyenne: A tribe also using the Algonquian language, the Cheyenne’s language was known as Tsisinstsistots. A Cheyenne prophet, known as White Medicine, was fabled for predicting the introduction of the U.S. military into Native matters, and the conflict that erupted between the Cheyenne and the U.S. Government. Like the Arapaho, the Cheyenne were highly skilled on horseback but were not known to start conflicts. They tended to be Stalwart Defenders of their lands and their allies’ lands. Along with the Arapaho the Cheyenne were present at the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado territory where innocent men, women and children were slaughtered  by U.S. troops.

Comanche: Speaking the Shoshoni dialect, this tribe got its name from the Ute word for “enemy” which is Komansi. The Comanche were known to sell the victims of their victories of tribes that they had beaten in conflicts to Spanish and Mexican settlers, as well as taking their own captives from said foreign settlers. The Comanche were known as some of the most skilled horsemen of the plains Native Americans.

Kansa: The name Topeka translates to “a good place to grow potatoes” in the Kansan language known simply as Kansa, which is a dialect of the Sioux language. The Kansa lived in what is now Manhattan, in a village known as the Blue Earth Village. Also referred to as as the Kaw, the Kansa tribe had a close relationship to the Osage tribe. These two tribes typically married into each other, as well

Osage: Typically feared by other tribes for their abnormal height, ranging up to seven feet tall, the Osage were a tribe formerly of the Ohio River Valley before they were forced to move due to invasions by the Iroquois tribe. The Osage were famous for their buffalo hunts and for being courageous and fierce warriors.

Pawnee: One of the most powerful plains tribes, the Pawnee were one of the tribes known to stiffen their hair into mohawks. They faced the loss of many of their people as they were cut down by diseases brought by European settlers. The mother is the keystone member of the family structure of the Pawnee, and the people of the tribes were often associated by the villages their mothers were from. One group of the Pawnee known as the Skidi practiced human sacrifice as they believed it caused increased soil fertility. An act passed in 1975 known as the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance act gave the Pawnee a return to self government.