Kikapu - Orientation

Identification. The Mexican Kikapu originated in the regional frontier that divided the United States from Canada. They began to migrate to Coahuila, Mexico, in the middle of the nineteenth century, and in the 1980s they were provided a locale in Texas. In Mexico they are recognized as Mexican citizens, although their status has not been well defined. Since 1983, they have been recognized by the U.S. government as members of the Kikapu band of Texas and granted citizenship.

Location. The Kikapu have migrated to many U.S. locales as well as to Mexican states such as Coahuila and Sonora. In Coahuila there exists a very traditional Kikapu group situated in a place named by them, El Nacimiento de la Tribu Kikapu, about 32 kilometers northeast of the city of Múzquiz, covering an area of 7,000 hectares. The terrain is semiarid, with the Río Sabinas contributing a needed supply of water.

Demography. Throughout its history, the Kikapu population has changed little in number, varying between 1,500 and 2,500. In Mexico, the 1990 population estimation enumerated 700 Kikapu. The constant movement between Mexico and the United States has made it difficult to establish an exact count of the group.

Linguistic Affiliation. Kikapu, a language of the Algonquian Family, is directly related to Sauk and Fox. Because there is a close relationship between the Oklahoma and Texas/Coahuila Kikapu groups, it is not surprising that there is no dialectal variation between the two different regions where Kikapu is spoken.