Native American History in Fort Worth

Tribes like the Comanche, the Wichita, and the Kiowa called the Fort Worth area home long before settlers arrived, and Indigenous sites, exhibits, and activities offer residents and visitors the opportunity to learn more about the Native American tribes native to Texas and their role in shaping Fort Worth’s city identity.

The Sid Richardson Museum, an art museum focused on the American West, features several paintings that depict Native American tribes in Texas and provide some insight on their lives.

The Amon Carter Museum of American Art’s permanent collection includes paintings and photographs by Western artists like Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, who frequently highlighted Native Americans in their work, and the museum has hosted exhibitions in the recent past that showcase the work of Indigenous artists.

The National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum celebrates pioneer history through exhibits that tell the stories of settlers from different cultures and the Native American tribes who call the Fort Worth area home.

NATIVE AMERICAN SITES

QUANAH PARKER

Among the most prominent Native American leaders in Fort Worth’s history is Quanah Parker, a celebrated Comanche chief who regularly visited the city (and famously led members of his tribe in full regalia on a ride through the Cowtown Coliseum). A statue of Parker now stands in the courtyard outside the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, and Quanah Parker Park, a public green space on the Trinity River, was named in his honor. An exhibit dedicated to Parker can also be found in the Stockyards Museum (as Parker frequently spent time at the Stockyards). At Log Cabin Village, you can check out the Parker Cabin, a mid-19th-century house once occupied by Parker’s great-uncle.

Another historical site connected to Quanah Parker is the Burk Burnett Building, a downtown skyscraper built in 1914 that was the tallest building in Fort Worth at the time. Cattleman and rancher Samuel Burk Burnett, a good friend of Parker’s, purchased the structure, and due to restoration efforts by future owners, visitors to the building’s lobby can see much of its design as it appeared during Burk Burnett’s time.