The Kiowa were first located along the Columbia River in Canada in 1700. They lived where the springs flowed westward. The traders of Canada's British Columbia gave the first written account of the Kiowa about 1700.
They migrated from Arrow River in 1700 to the Upper Yellowstone (Missouri River), then on into the Black hills about 1780. It was here that the Lewis and Clark Expedition came across large Kiowa encampments. They continued downward through Nebraska and Kansas to Oklahoma and Texas.
Kiowa, the name designated for the Kiowa People at the time of European contact, has no meaning in the Kiowa language. Ancient names of the tribe are Kwu-da and Tep-da, meaning "pulling out" and "coming out" respectively. It is possible that these names are related to the tribe's mythical origins. The Kiowa in later years, have also refered to themselves by the name Kom-pa-bianta or people of the "large tipi flaps". This name was known among the tribe long before their affiliation with the Southern Plains tribes or, later, with the white man. Today, they call themselves Kaui-gu which identifies them as a group.
{that they weren't from anywhere. except "here", in a boundariless and very big sense. it's hard to get ahold of, that idea, their center, their 'roots', within, held in the memories of the people themselves, not architecture, not place, but the almost liquid movement through time and land.} much more at 'Kiowa Nation'
