J. NiCole Hatfield (Nahmi-A-Piah)
Contemporary painter J. NiCole Hatfield (Nahmi-A-Piah) is a Native Oklahoman who draws her inspiration from old historical photographs of her proud tribal women. Comanche/ Kiowa (Numunuu/ Khoiye-Goo)
It has been archaeologically recorded that the Kiowa originated in the Kootenay Region of British Columbia, Canada. The tribe then migrated to Western Montana and continued to move until they inhabited present day Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Historically, earliest written records indicate Kiowas in the northern basin of the Missouri River, but they migrated south to the Black Hills around 1650 where they lived with the Crow tribe.
The Kiowas moved down the Platte River basin to the Arkansas River area after they were pushed southward by the invading Cheyennes and Sioux who were being pushed out of their own lands in the great lake regions by the Ojibwa tribes. There they fought with the Comanches, who already occupied the land.
Around 1790, the two groups made an alliance and agreed to share the area. From that time on, the Comanches and Kiowas formed a deep bond; the people hunted, traveled, and fought wars together. An additional group, the Plains Apache (also called Kiowa-Apache), were also affiliated with the Kiowas at this time.