Jose Maria - Anadarko, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 04.359 W 098° 13.692
14S E 570366 N 3881372
The town of Anadarko was named for the peace and friendship promoted by the great chief Jose Maria.
Waymark Code: WMCJP8
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 09/13/2011
Views: 2
The bust of José Maria is located along the pathway at the National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians. It sits atop a red granite pillar. He is shown dressed in a loose shirt, with a scarf tied at the neck. He is wearing a large circular medallion and has two feathers hanging downward in his hair. His plaque reads:
JOSÉ MARIA
Anadarko Chief 1805 to 1862
José Maria was Principal Chief of all Caddo
Tribes and Led Them From the Brazos River,
Texas in 1859, to the Site Now Called
Anadarko, Oklahoma
Sculptor: Leonard McMurry
Donors: The Caddo Tribe and Citizens of Anadarko, Oklahoma
José Maria was born in 1805 in East Texas. Visiting Catholic missionaries christened him “José Maria.” He was chief of the Nadarko and principal chief of the associated bands of the Caddo, Nadarko and Ionies. In 1835, he and other chiefs signed a treaty providing all the Caddo tribes to move from Louisiana. He led them to the Trinity and Brazos Rivers in Texas.
After attacks on the tribe, the government moved them to the Washita River in Indian Territory (Oklahoma) on the site that is now Anadarko. José Maria was well loved by his tribe and was a faithful friend of many whites. He died in 1862 during the Civil War.
[Biographical information from the Museum’s Self-Guiding Tour pamphlet]