A Man of Peace Warrior, statesman, advocate—Kicking Bird was all of these.

Kicking Bird was one of the greatest leaders of the Kiowa nation in the 1860s and 1870s. He was an outstanding warrior and a master tactician. But mostly, Kicking Bird was a peacemaker, trying to settle differences between the Kiowa and the whites. He understood that the tribes could not win a military conflict.

That position wasn’t popular with all of the Indians and it probably led to his death. On May 3, 1875, Kicking Bird died after drinking a cup of coffee. Some suspected poison. Others said a rival put a hex on him.