Tehan (Kiowa)

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Tehan (also Tejan) lived around 1856–1874/75. He was a white captive who was taken by the Kiowa and adopted by their chief Maman-ti. His name comes from the Kiowa pronunciation of “Texan.” Under Maman-ti, he became a strong warrior and fought in the Red River War at about eighteen. He was captured by U.S. forces and imprisoned, though he thanked the soldiers for saving him. On September 14, 1874, he escaped during the Battle of Lyman’s Wagon Train and returned to the Kiowa camp. He later joined a raid with Chief Big Bow in the Llano Estacado region of Texas and died on that expedition. There are varying stories about his death: one says he was captured during the raid and possibly executed after giving information; another says he died of thirst while retreating; another says he went to Fort Sill to care for his adopted mother after his foster father died at Fort Marion. Tehan’s story was told in the Canadian film Dreamkeeper, where Scott Grimes plays him.