VETERANS STORY: A 'Real Dog' among warriors

The Native American Kiowa were a warrior people. Originally from the northern Missouri River Basin, the Kiowa traveled to the Black Hills in present-day Wyoming and South Dakota. The invading Cheyenne pushed the Kiowa tribe south until the Sioux forced them westward into the Great Plains. Obtaining a vast portion of the central and southern Great Plains, the Kiowa and Comanche tribes formed a mutual defense alliance. Eventually, the Kiowa and other Native Americans formed new alliances to resist and/or stem the encroachment by Eastern civilizations. The Battle of Adobe Walls in Texas during June of 1874 was the “last protest” for the proud warrior tribes of Kiowa, Comanche and Cheyenne peoples. Reservation life gradually took hold.

The true meaning of the word “Kiowa” has been lost to history, yet the Kiowa call themselves Cauigu or Gaigwu, meaning Chief People or Principal People. Six warrior societies dominated the Kiowa: The Po-Lanh-Yope (Little Rabbits), who were not allowed in combat nor to commit violence, the Adle-Tdow-Yope (Young Sheep), Tsain-Tanmo (Horse Headdesses), the Tdien-Pei-Gah (Gourd Society), and the adult warrior society called Ton-Kon-Gah (Black Legs or Leggings). The four adult warrior societies elected the 10 most elite warriors of all Kiowa, The Koitsenko (Principal Dogs or Real Dogs). If ever there was a Real Dog, a Koitsenko, among the Kiowa, the warrior’s name was Pascal Cleatus Poolaw. Poolaw was and still is a hero, a legend to the proud Kiowa, as he should be to all Americans. And this is his story.