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Technology Integration is a term used by educators to describe effective uses of technology by teachers and students in K-12 and university classrooms. Teachers use technology to support instruction in language arts, social studies, science, math, or other content areas. When teachers integrate technology into their classroom practice, learners are empowered to be actively engaged in their learning. See a PowerPoint Presentation  for more detail.
When technology is integrated into the classroom, educators are taking the constructivist approach to learning. Students are becoming the experts while the classroom environment is shifting from teacher-centered to student-centered. An educator who is not supporting student learning by integrating technology in the classroom is causing a disservice to students and the work force that awaits them.
The amount of available information is doubling every three years according to statistics. By the time kids graduate from high school, today's students will have been exposed to more information than their grandparents were in a lifetime. It has been claimed that ninety percent of the technology we will use in the next decade has not been invented or currently there is no access to at the moment.
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)  has established standards for students , teachers , and administrators  about the use of technology in K-12 classrooms. This professional organization is a leader in helping teachers become more effective users of technology in their teaching. ISTE espouses the following principal: The effective use of technology can help change the current educational paradigm in the following ways:
|OLD PARADIGM||NEW PARADIGM|
|Teacher-centered instruction||Student-centered learning|
|Single sense stimulation||Multi-sensory stimulation|
|Single path progression||Multi-path progression|
|Isolated work||Collaborative work|
|Information delivery||Information exchange|
|Passive, receptive learning||Active, inquiry-based learning|
|Factual, knowledge-based||Critical thinking, informed decision making|
|Reactive response||Proactive, planned|
|Isolated, artificial context||Authentic, real-world context|
Constructivism, is a crucial component of Technology Integration. It is a term that describes the process of students constructing their own knowledge through collaboration and inquiry based learning. Students learn more deeply and retain information longer when they have a say in what and how they will learn. Technology Integration is more than just putting computers in classrooms. It is imperative that teachers and administrators be trained to make good use of the computers and other equipment and software. Also, teachers must not be afraid to learn along with their students. Many teachers use a constructivist approach in their classrooms  assuming one or more of the following roles: facilitator, collaborator, curriculum developer, team member, community builder, educational leader, or information producer. See a Powerpoint presentation for more detail .
Edutopia,  an online magazine from the George Lucas Educational Foundation  states: "When effectively integrated into curriculum, technology tools can extend learning in powerful ways. The Internet and multimedia can provide students and teachers with access to up-to-date, primary source material; ways to collaborate with students, teachers, and experts around the world; opportunities for expressing understanding via images, sound, and text".
Digital Cameras Edit
The use of Digital Cameras and Digital Media in K-12 classrooms is an excellent example of how "technology tools can extend learning in powerful ways." An ASU professor, Dr. Alice Christie, has worked extensively with multimedia in K-12 classrooms. Her Digital Media Resources  is a collection of examples of K-12 students using digital media, tips and tutorials, lesson planning and assessment, articles, opportunities for professional development, and free online materials to assist teachers. Her article entitled Language Arts Comes Alive as Middle School Learners Become Information Producers  is published in the Winter 2004 issue of Meridian Middle School Computer Technologies Journal . An update of this article  includes three videos created by middle school students and their mentors.
Digital cameras, both video and still, can be used for a variety of presentations. For example, if used for giving a speech on a process, a student can show the process using video and still images. Incorporated into a PowerPoint presentation, the speech would have a multi-media visual aid. This would make it more convenient to present topics on subjects that could not be illustrated in the classroom--things like shoeing a horse or rock climbing. Students are also able to use still digital camera shots to show students' work on the daily announcements that are viewed on the television throughout the day. They could also use digital cameras, video or still, in creating a student commercial type broadcast for upcoming events or past highlights. These could also be shown on the announcements.
Digital cameras are used in a variety of ways in the classroom. They are tools that are easy to use even in the lower grades. Third graders can use digital cameras to capture events that are happening at their school. The images can then be transferred into a school newspaper that is run by the students. Images can also be used for persuasive, narrative, and informational writing assignments. Specail Education and ELL students and can benefit a great deal from the use of digital photos and video. Having both written words and photos or video to go along with it can help these students to understand concepts by prensenting them in several ways. These students can also communicate their ideas effectively by having images to go with their writing. Creating vocabulary "books" for ELL learners and Special Education students is one type of digital media activity that can be completed in the classroom.
Digital media can be use in any phase of lesson, in introducing phase  of any topic, in task phase  , in research phase , in evaluation phase, and even we can use in giving specific examples to the class , explaining how different effects we can produce in a single software. Researches have found that as many as senses (eyes, ears) we are using in our classes, as much as productive response we are going to have in our classes. Take my example I use Digital media for produceing a special effect for Fashion Designing Website . Many such examples can be found in Dr. Alice Christie students webpage
The use of digital video in the classroom can be very beneficial. Not only do students have a chance to take charge of their learning, but its use allows them to express themselves in a non-traditional method. Some ways that digital video may be used in the classroom include:
- digital storytelling
- video yearbooks
- broadcast journalism
- student portfolios
- video important happenings (current events)
- virtual tours
Schools have began to use digital cameras more and more as they are educated in how they can be used effectively. The following website gives links to claymations, student activities, how to use digital cameras tutorials, and more;
The use of digital cameras and digital video in a classroom can enhance the learning environment in a number of ways. By giving the students the opportunity to capture real-life allows them to directly relate to their learning. No longer are the left to imagine what something may look like or see something through someone else's eyes. Students can have an ownership over what they learn which in turn will give them a sense of attachment that can't come from a picture they see in a book. Also, using digital cameras and videos in the classroom challanges the student's creativity. Now that pictures are taken or video is filmed, what is the student going to do with it? The doors are open for a range of ideas and uses for the student's work. They can make movies, they can make photo galleries, they can implement their work into a PowerPoint; the list goes on and on. For some interesting ideas for how digital cameras and video can be used in the classroom, check out the following website
Digital cameras can be used in other unconventional ways in traditional and non-traditional classrooms. Digital photography is an entirely new medium for students creativity. Through the use of photo-editing software, digital photographs become a new artform. Within seconds of taking a picture the artist/student is manipulating the picture as new means of expression.
One of the best things about digital cameras are the instant replays. If you don't get what you want the first time, just shoot it again! You are instantly able to see the picture you have just taken. Schools can also use digital photography to put photos of students in a database of names and pictures. This would be especially useful to a substitute. There would be no way that Bobby could say he was Timmy if the sub had pictures and names at hand. Photo seating charts would come in handy as well. In addition, if you use a digital camera to take pictures throughout the year, it is very easy to label, modify and catalog them. They can then be burned to a CD and sent to a yearbook company for publication. Sending one CD is a lot cheaper than mailing a ton of printed photos or rolls of film. Plus, the school has more control on exactly what photos are used and how they are enhanced.
Teachers need to stop thinking of technology as the goal and move beyond it to seeing information literacy as the goal and purpose. The value of technology lies in its ability to enhance student thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving. However, this only happens when the teacher uses technology and blends it into their everyday teaching. By emphasizing information, literacy we are showiing students how to think for themselves and help them understand how to interpret the information that is flowing into their lives.
Blogs (short for Web log) is a relatively new communication tool that integrates technology. This tool has widespread use due to the ease of publishing to the Internet through what is usually free software, such as Blogger . This availability provides many possible uses in an educational system. One such use is a communication tool between teachers. Given the isolation from other adults most teachers face during the work day, and the time constraints on schedules after school hours; teachers can be hard-pressed to find time to collaborate and share ideas with peers. Having a common place to share ideas has the potential to support an educational system through an online professional learning community. Teachers who post entries on a web log are not limited to a single topic, but can reflect, argue, share opinions and their own experience, as well as read others’ postings to improve the quality of their teaching. This tool take time to use when considering the reading and writing that is involved, which may not be as effective as a face-to-face discussion. However, it does provide the opportunity to share or to learn from others in a virtual environment that does not have limitations to meeting times and place. Online learning communities can include members far beyond the confines of a school’s staff, district or even state or country. Blogging can be benefical to communicate among colleagues, especially since time is a factor. However, it may be difficult to speak freely since the information posted is public. It is not hard to write a better blog  . Simple guidelines helps a lot in developing good blog, no matter what your audience size is. Not only can blogging be beneficial for professionals to collaborate and communicate, it can also be a valuable tool for teachers to use with their students. Students, just as teachers, can post their ideas in a blog, as well as view and comment on other students ideas, creating both a constructivist environment and promoting peer-collaboration. (For instance, a language arts teacher can have students 'journaling' writing themes/ideas in a blog as a brainstorming activity, then at other times, students can view other writing ideas as well as collaborate with each other to further develop their ideas.)
Web Quests Edit
Web Quests are student-centered, Web-based curricular units that are interactive and use quite a variety of Internet resources. The purpose of a WebQuest is to use information on the web to support instruction in the classroom. WebQuests can be used to build context, provide background, assess learning or to provide the "meat" of a unit. WebQuests can integrate cross-curricular activities as well as appeal to mulitple intelligences. Also, these activities appeal to students because they can be constructed as project, problem or inquiry-based learning. There are thousands of WebQuests online  that can serve as models for constructing your own. There are many people who create or put together activities that they say are WebQuests, but in reality, do not fit the definition at all. Some have merely taken a paper and pencil assignment they have always done and put it into a form that utilizes pictures, video and graphics to spice it up and then call it a WebQuest. While it is commendable that they are trying, it does a disservice to true WebQuests.
A true WebQuest consists of an Introduction, a Task (or final project that students complete at the end of the WebQuest), Processes (or instructional activities), Web-based Resources, Evaluation of learning, Reflection about learning, and a Conclusion. WebQuests also provide Teacher Notes that show linkage to content and technology standards, additional resources for teachers, and hints on classroom management of the WebQuest. In Search of a Hero  shows how each of the components of a WebQuest fit and work together to provide students with authentic learning and assessment in technology-integrated classrooms. To view useful information about WebQuests, visit the following page  with extensive information about WebQuests. To view useful information about how to create a WebQuest visit the following link .
Wikipedia is a massive online encyclopedia. It is so popular that it is now one of the top 100  web sites in the world. People find Wikis as easy as e-mail  and blogs . By clicking an "edit" button on an article, you are able to contribute the article's text. You can add or change content in the article you are reading. Wikipedia is the largest and most popular wiki on the planet. Teachers can use Wikipedia as a culminating project with their students. As a class project, students can research a specific topic, collaborate to bring their ideas together, then contribute their new knowledge within an article in Wikipedia.
A Technology Rich Classroom integrates technology with best teaching practices for optimal student-centered learning. Research indicates that certain technologies may be more valuable than others in the classroom. The most important hardware in the classroom includes: computer (one per two students), printers, and digital cameras, followed by: document camera, projector, cd player/burner, and vcr. In addition, interactive hardware such as a Smartboard and Smartnotepad also prove to valuable classroom assets. To view useful lessons for using a SmartBoard visit the following links SMART Board Resources and Using Electronic Whiteboards in Your Classroom. Vital software includes: a cluster-skills program (Microsoft Office) including word processing, web browser, presentation software, followed by: photo manipulation, Inspirations, and graphic application with paint capabilities. The advantages of a technology rich classroom are: student's technology skills improve, they worked more effectively on their own, and have more meaningful cooperative interaction. In addition, the teachers are able to construct more dynamic presentations and enhance student learning. To view useful ideas on how to integrate technology visit the following link .
Despite the push for more technology in the classroom, many teachers are still working with only one or two computers in their classrooms. This makes integrating technology and teaching needed technology skills a real challenge. A trip to the computer lab may or may not be feasible or even available within the schedule of the day. Creativity is the key to integrating technology and giving students the experiences necessary to be successful and responsible technology users. Some teachers are using their one or two computers for learning stations or as parts of larger group projects. To see some other ideas on how teachers are functioning in one computer classrooms read the article "One Computer Classroom."
Virtual Field Trip Edit
A Virtual Field Trip is a website that enhances the curriculum by allowing the students to experience places, idea, or objects beyond the constraints of the classroom. Unlike traditional field trips, students have the opportunity to visit and explore worlds outside their own communities. Because the trip is virtual, there are no limits to the destinations and no restrictions on time. Other advantages include: no cost, no liabilities, and no permission slips or sack lunches. Teachers can bring new worlds to their students either by visiting existing virtual tours or creating their own. Vacations take on new meaning for teachers and students because they can "bring" the rest of the class with them through a virtual field trip. Students can be given "passports" to visit other countries such as Burma (an Asian country).  See the following links for other examples. Grand Canyon Explorer Explore a pyramid.
Not only can you take a virtual field trip online, but you can actually visit a location, take pictures or video footage and create a virtual field trip using other applications such as PowerPoint. Even if you are not a digital camera user, you can still use a film camera and scan your pictures into digital format. Virtual field trips are more flexible and can incorporate the personality of the creator rather than a rehearsed tour guide. They are easy enough to create that your students could share their holiday trip with the class. This is a great way to balance out the push for test scores with the desire to produce well-rounded students.
The ePortfolio is a promising framework for enduring learning, self-assessment and construction of value across a student's educational path. Learners learn by doing, and by constructing knowledge, meaning, ownership and value from the act of learning. An ePortfolio is a selection of work put together to show what a student has learned over a period of time. The student decides which pieces of work to include and how to present their work. Besides choosing pieces of work the student will write a reflection on what he or she learned through completing the work and creating the eportfolio. EPorfolios may be put together using programs such as PowerPoint and FrontPage. The program used to put an ePortfolio together must have the ability to link between programs and document. Teachers could also benefit from the use of ePortfolios. It could be used professionally as a self-assessment of what was accomplished within a school year. Components would include lesson plans, student samples, and a personal reflections of various tasks, projects, and/or assignments. Visit  and  for more information.
Understanding by Design Edit
Understanding by Design is a model that a teacher can use to develop a unit. The development begins with the assessment component. Here are some benefits of the UbD model:
- promotes student engagement
- start with the end in mind
- provides design tools and template
- encourages teachers to establish spirals of learning
- can be challenging for many teachers
- uses multiple methods of instruction
- allows students to revisit and rethink ideas
- uses a variety of resources
- use of many strategies
- active construction of meaning
- samples or models are available for students
- big ideas and essential questions are shared with students
- authentic tasks rather than memorization
- curriculum is structured rather than trying to cover material
- focuses on understanding
- establishes curricular priorities
- incorporates six facets of understanding
- Explain what they are doing and why
- Describe the method in which their work will be evaluated
- Engaged in activities
- Describe the goals for the unit
- Involved in self- or peer-assessment
- Set goals
- Lack of teacher training
- Lack of administrator support/funding
- Need for appropriate assessment
- Lack of teacher confidence
- can be challenging for many teachers
- Lack of time and opportunity
- Limited resources
- Limited technological support
- Non-reflective of daily teaching practices
- Lack of personal interaction between students and teacher
The Need for Web Site Evaluations Edit
The amount of information being placed on the web is doubling every twelve months. Due to the rapid increase of information, it is essential that students know how to discern valuable sources. To ensure that students make valid educational choices, it is necessary to provide guidelines. These seven steps are an excellent resource.
- Identify the right questions
- Organize the search
- Select appropriate search tools
- Analyze online resouces
- Synthesize, sort, and sift
- Publishing new information
- Get feedback
New Teaching Methodologies Are Needed Edit
In today's world of video games, cable and satellite tv, and high action digital video, teachers need to integrate technology in order to keep the attention of their students. The old methods of text book, pencil and paper are just not "flashy" enough for the "digital" generation. Students want to see their lessons on a big screen with action and sound. They want to be making PowerPoint and iMovie presentations. Now a child with a fear of speaking in front of their peers can make a presentation with a voice over and not worry about messing up the words or losing their notes. Technology is here to stay and teachers of all levels of experience need to realize this.
While the need for technology and equipment is obvious, simply throwing money at the issue will not solve it. The proper research and evaluation needs to be completed in order to address the needs of the staff and students. The first priority of a district is to evaluate how technology will effect the success of the students. They must also determine the experience and willingness of their teachers when it comes to implementing a technology plan. Teacher buy-in, planning time and training is vital to making any technology plan successful. It is easy to get trapped into a cycle of upgrading expensive software and hardware without assessing the needs. Also it is crucial to provide teachers with support and training to integrate the technology into their current curriculum instead of starting over. Jamie MacKenzie has written an article that further addresses this issuelink title.
Information Literacy Edit
Information literacy is a very important but also a very difficult concept for students to grasp. Anyone can post anything on the web. They can appear to be an expert, even if they know nothing at all. Students think that if it is on the web it must be true. Teaching them to evaluate the information they find is an important part of education today. A good starting point is asking familiar questions, such as: Who is the source? What am I getting? When was it created? Where am I (on the web)? Why am I there? How can I distinguish quality information from junk?
Our society is becoming an information age. This is changing the role of education from teaching information to teaching information management. In today's society, we have to be able to know how and where to find the information we need. The major problem today is not that we cannot find information, but that we find too much information. The amount of available information doubles every twelve months. We can become paralyzed by the amount of information we find. This can cause information overload and anxiety making the information lose all meaning for us. Educators need to teach students the skills to narrow the information from a tidal wave to a trickle that is easily used. For more information on the subject go to "We Have the Information You Want, But Geting It Will Cost You: Being Held Hostage by Information Overload".
Although, the One Computer Classroom is not an ideal situation it can still work. There are different strategies that a teacher can use with only one computer available. One idea is to divide students into groups and allow each group a limited amount of time to accomplish a small task. Limiting the time will give them, at least, some experience with using the computer, especially if school is the only opportunity the students have to use a computer. Similarly, the instructor may use the computer as a station for independent skill development and assessment. Another idea is to use the computer as a presentation Station. This can be done by connecting the computer to the TV for display. The presentation station is a great way to grab and keep student's attention, as the instructor brings information to life. These are only two ideas of many that are available to those who are limited on the amount of technology they have access to. Don't be discouraged, the more you use it the more the students will love it!
Online Information Edit
 Anybody can post information on the Internet, making it possible to find "proof" of any ideas or beliefs you can imagine. Yet to many students, "If it's on the Internet, it must be true." How to find good information With millions of pages already published, and thousands more being posted every day, finding information can be daunting. Some online searches produce hundreds of results?and many legitimate-sounding Web sites may not be what they appear to be. A good start is to use dependable sources, such as bookmarks collections from library and educational sites. Evaluating online information The resources listed in the right sidebar include strategies to help students think critically about online information. Using the template The Five Ws of Cyberspace as a guide, young people can examine the authorship, purpose, perspective and presentation of Web sites, in order to determine their credibility. Deconstructing Web Pages provides a step-by-step application of the five Ws to an actual Web site?with some interesting results. And finally, Quick Tips for Authenticating Online Information offers some simple and effective strategies for assessing sites. The two background documents (Evaluating Internet-Based Information: A Goals-Based Approach, and Evaluating Internet Research Sources, by educators David Warlick and Robert Harris), provide strategies and templates for disseminating online information, and for integrating Internet research into classroom assignments.
Plagiarism is hardly a new issue in the classroom. However, the Internet makes it easy to locate ready-made information to cut and paste into research papers. That may make cheating a tempting proposition for some students. The Internet is forcing teachers to rethink how they assign and evaluate student research. For more information visit Plagiarism.org  Teachers can easily check for plagiarism for free by putting a phrase or sentence from a student's assignment in the Google search box, enclosed in quotes. They can also search at http://www.PlagiarismChecker.com/ Advanced paid services such as http://www.TurnItIn.com check for plagiarism by comparing students' papers with each other.
Copyright is a complex issue, especially as it concerns the Internet. However, there are some excellent online resources available. The Council of Ministers of Education, the Canadian School Boards Association and the Canadian Teachers' Federation have created a handy reference for teachers called "Copyright Matters!" And the Telus "2 learn" Web site has an extensive section on digital copyright called "What Every Teacher Should Know about Copyright." Links to these sites, and to the University of Berkley's "Style Sheets for Citing Internet and Electronic Resources," are provided in the right sidebar.
Purchasing Technology for Schools Edit
A school can't simply buy and install technology and think that it is going to make huge changes. As the article, Beyond Technology*) mentions, there are a number of things that have to occur in addition to the buying and installing of technology. Of all the reasons the author listed, teacher training and motivation is one of the biggest problems. There are still a large amount of teachers who prefer to teach in a traditional method and are unwilling and uncomfortable moving to more of a constructivist methodology. The authors strategy's for implementing and using technology were great explanations as to how the transition can be smooth. One interesting strategy was: Strategy 3: Invest in staff growth. The most powerful strategies to promote staff enthusiasm and competence are informal. Instead of falling into what I call the "software trap," we should offer a rich menu of learning opportunities that match the diverse styles, interests, and skill levels of our teachers. If there is an adaptation to accommodate the differences among teachers and their teaching styles, then it would be so much easier to implement and use technology efficiently.
Interacting themes Edit
 Integrate technology does not exist in a void. Its power lies in the ability to identify supporting concepts. Here are six ideas supporting information literacy:
- Collaboration should be part of the learning process. Teaching interdependence is natural in the process of information literacy. Students as well as teachers must learn how to use technology as a tool for communication, creation, and collaboration. Learning as a team and how to work in partnerships are key.
- The teacher's role as guide is essential. Teachers must take on the roles of motivator, mentor, and co-learner if they want to produce information-literate students. Acting as a mentor is critical. (See telementoring at the National School Network Exchange site.)
- Ethics play a role in the development of information literacy. Students must understand the ethical issues raised by the use and misuse of the Internet. In addition to plagiarism, slander, and pornography, ethical issues include unlicensed copying of software (theft); flaming via e-mail (poor netiquette); hacking into school records (unlawful entry); and creating viruses that corrupt files (destruction of property).
- Technology must become part of the curriculum. Students must develop an understanding of how technology influences our lives. Much of the material included in courses on communication, transportation, or production (tech ed) can be useful to students in a college prep curriculum that has little or no reference to technology. Unfortunately, many schools see tech ed and tech prep as a separate curriculum to be kept strictly apart from the college prep curriculum.
- Students must learn communication skills, including presentation and motivation skills. They should be able to communicate with technological media -- text, graphics, video, and sound. They must learn how to arrange information and motivate learners with more than the written and spoken word. Understanding the motivation of providing and receiving information will be one of the great challenges of information literacy.
- Visual literacy is essential. This includes knowing how to create, organize, and display print, video, audio, and graphics. Learning how to use color, style, placement, and font size are important. Once they understand specific content, students must learn to articulate their knowledge both visually and verbally. -- G.B. and D.L.
Beyond Technology Edit
Districts need to allocate all the funds necessary to successfully integrate technology. They need to take the initiative of training staff, focusing on how to bring information literacy skills and experiences into daily routines. Overall devoting more developmental time and attention to curriculum opportunities and teaching strategies. Here are ten effective strategies mentioned in the article Beyond Technology: Making a Difference in Student Performance
- Put learning first
- Build support
- Invest in staff growth
- Slow Down
- Focus and Provide adequate resources
- use assessment to steer programs
- Shed the ineffectual
- Remember the lessons of the past
- Heed research
- Ask good questions
Nortel LearniT Edit
Nortel LearniT  is a Not For Profit organization that provides free online training and resources for teachers to help move their teaching to a constructivist methodology that embeds the use of technology into core curricular learning. The use of technology allows the students to engage more deeply in their learning and create new content using higher orders of reasoning. This site provides streaming video tutorials on technology topics from using the Internet safely to Digital Video Production. In conjunction, it provides team-oriented hands-on lesson plans across the grades and core curriculum that link the technology into the classroom.
The following websites provide information and examples of the use of digital video in the classroom:
- Nortel LearniT Free video training and lesson resources for teachers and students.
- digital storytelling
- eschool news
- technology integration
- video guide
- Mousing Around - MGuhlin.net Blog about Technology Integration by Miguel Guhlin
- Mark Treadwell--teachers@work--internet tools for teachers Reviews of websites about educational matters, including information and communication technology
- The Emergent 21st Century Teacher A resource of articles about teacher skills for the use of technology in education
- Educational CyberPlayGround Site of articles about teaching, including the use of technology
- Teaching Keyboarding--When? Why? How? Article about the teaching of keyboard skills in schools
- Digital Video in Education Practical advice about the use of digital video equipment in education
- Incredible@rtDepartment A resource for art teachers, which includes information about the use of technology in art
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Asheville had a population of 1,100 in 1860 and was the
largest city in western North Carolina. During the Civil War (1861-1865) it hosted an armory, which manufactured Enfield type
rifles until 1863, as well as some training camps and fortifications. For most of the conflict, while the Tar Heel State's
coastal towns and ports had endured frequent Union bombardments and attacks, Asheville, besides being the object
of a few raids, was absent any major Union assault.
The pristine mountain community, nevertheless, suffered
the privations familiar to many other Southern cities. In the first week of April 1865 the dynamics of the conflict had changed,
however, because Gen. Robert E. Lee, after a nearly ten month siege at Richmond-Petersburg, had moved the battered Army
of Northern Virginia toward Appomattox, causing the Confederate capital of Richmond to capitulate on April 3, and less than
one week later, on April 9, Gen. Lee would surrender to Lt. Gen. Grant. Emboldened by Richmond's demise, Union commanders
were no longer appeased with their harassing raids against the mountain enclave, because Maj. Gen. D. S. Stanley,
commanding IV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, having command over neighboring East Tennessee, issued orders for a direct assault
on Asheville with the objective of capturing the city, if it "could be effected without serious loss of life."
On April 6, Colonel Clayton mustered a force of 300 Confederates and -- with
two small brass Napoleon cannons -- marched them to rough earthworks on a hill that overlooked the French Broad route
being used by Colonel Kirby’s 1,100-man brigade. When Kirby encountered the Confederates, he quickly maneuvered his
soldiers to a safe distance and behind trees, and when the opposing armies engaged at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, they began
firing. Although neither side sought to improve its position during battle, both armies continued to exchange
small arms fire -- while Confederate cannons occasionally fired toward the Union position -- during the five hour fight, forcing the Union brigade to retreat.
High Resolution Map showing Battle of Asheville
High Resolution Map Showing Location of Battle of Asheville
Asheville -- a secluded mountain community nestled in western North Carolina -- hosted the most traveled
route to and from East Tennessee, as well as a principal training camp and armory during the Civil War (1861-1865), it remained a contest of wills during
the conflict. Asheville native George Wesley Clayton was a West Point graduate and descendant of Revolutionary War stock, and
his adversary was famed Ohioan Isaac Minor Kirby, 101st Ohio Infantry, commanding First Brigade, a battle-hardened veteran
of Stones River, Franklin, Nashville, and the Atlanta Campaign. Commanding the Western District of North Carolina from his headquarters at Asheville,
General James Martin, who fell ill while leading a brigade under Lee, directed the Confederate forces in the area during 1865,
while Kirby's brigade, operating in East Tennessee, March 15-April 22, 1865, was attached to 1st Division, IV Corps, Army
of the Cumberland.
(Right) Col. Isaac Kirby, date unknown. At age 26 Kirby was elected captain on April
27, 1861, of Company I, 15th Ohio Volunteers. He later served as Colonel of the 101st OVI, and then as commander
of First Brigade, First Division, IV Corps, Department of the Cumberland. On January 12, 1865, he was given a brevet
promotion of brigadier-general for meritorious services rendered throughout the war.
On April 3, 1865, at 2 p.m., Colonel Kirby was near Greeneville, Tennessee, when he received orders to begin
his brigade on an "expedition with ten days' rations along the French Broad with instructions to
capture Asheville," and he was complemented by a number of deserters familiar with the
terrain. Kirby was instructed "not to attack the enemy unless he could do so with every
prospect of success and without serious loss of life." Conflicting Union reports indicated that the rebel strength
at Asheville ranged from 400 to as many as 2,600 men, commanding 20 artillery pieces, but Kirby, on April 6,
having been persuaded of the enemy strength during a conversation with a rebel deserter, a lieutenant, believed
that the force awaiting him at Asheville numbered nearly 2,000 men plus twenty guns.
Battle of Asheville & Vicinity Map
Spanning seventy-five miles in length, the Buncombe Turnpike,
which followed along the French Broad River from western North Carolina and into Tennessee, was the most traveled road in
the region, with livestock and wagons traversing it annually. During the Civil War the Confederates cut down trees, hauled
large rocks and other structures, and covered the turnpike with the intent of hindering any large Union force from rapidly
advancing on the greater Asheville area. When Kirby marched on the road in 1865, he complained of its many obstructions impeding
his progress. Although Kirby ordered his cannons and wagons to remain at Warm Springs, fearing if his horses
were shot the Rebels would capture the spoils, the obstructions on the road enforced his decision to travel lightly.
But though Kirby, believing he was outmanned and outgunned
by the Confederate force at Asheville, advanced cautiously along the French BroadRiver with his brigade of 900 infantrymen and 200 partisans, including deserters who had pledged an oath of allegiance to the United States, two cannon,
and a train of wagons. Kirby's brigade, consisting of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois regiments, bivouacked the night
of April 4, at Warms Springs—present-day Hot Springs, NC, and located on the Tennessee-North Carolina line--and
on the morning of the April 5, Kirby, having marched his force some four miles in the direction of Asheville, was met by three
rebel deserters, including a lieutenant.
Hearing the words of the senior ranking deserter, Kirby now ascertained
that the enemy he confronted was nearly 2,000 strong, had twenty guns, including twelve napoleons, held the high ground,
and was supported by 600 men to the west, so he ordered his two field pieces and wagons back to the safety of Warm Springs,
preventing the enemy from capturing them, and pushed his brigade toward the objective at midnight. And crossing the French
Broad and burning two bridges on the morning of April 6, the Union force pressed toward the prized city.
While the Union brigade approached Asheville and was
prepared to capture it, Colonel Clayton, commanding 62nd North Carolina, anticipating the Federal troops, was determined to hold the
ground with a force of merely 300. Clayton, well-versed in the topography of Asheville, had graduated from West Point and battled Typhoid Fever in 1863, and the men forming the nucleus of his 300 strong force were
175 veteran soldiers from his regiment, the 62nd North Carolina, and they had a long-standing reputation for fighting bushwhackers while
evading superior Union numbers.
The 62nd, having rebuffed repeated orders to surrender in 1863, was
one of the Tar Heel State's last units to surrender during the war. The prevailing fragment of the regiment composed
part of Palmer's Brigade at Asheville on March 10, 1865, and at the direction of General James Martin (nom de guerre of "Old One Wing" because of a wound sustained during the Mexican War), it remained
under Clayton's command and engaged in the pitched battle against Kirby's brigade near Asheville, the most prominent city of the state's mountain region, on April 6.
was also assisted by a company of the Silver Greys and some Confederate soldiers at
home on sick leave and furlough. The Silver Greys consisted of senior and junior reserves, which served as home
guard, and totaled 44 men, including a 14 year old boy and a 60 year old Baptist
minister. To the west of Asheville, 600
men of Thomas' Legion of Cherokee Indians and Highlanders, a diverse unit of the rugged region, having bivouacked between Waynesville and Warm Springs, were poised
for action should any Northern troops exercise the thought of an intrusion. Although the service of Thomas' Legion was
not requested nor needed against Kirby, the legion was as close as 20 miles from Warm Springs and 25 miles from Asheville.
Union Order of Battle during Battle of Asheville
While the Union brigade was advancing on Asheville, the 300 commanded positions on the ridge, the high
ground (the location is currently known as Broadway Street).
Kirby, having been convinced of the rebel
strength by three Confederate deserters on April 5 (included one lieutenant who had remained in rebel service only to forward
information to Union forces), "was of the opinion that there were 1,000 or 1,500 men in Asheville, and 400 cavalry on his
left flank and 700 on his right."
Whereas the brigade closed ranks, it pressed
the battle by charging the pickets on the Confederate left. While there was initial maneuvering, the armies
fell back, held their position, and for five hours exchanged sporadic volleys until that night. Although the Union army had
greatly outnumbered the Confederates during the slugfest, the Yankees were compelled to retreat, and Union and Confederate
casualties were reported as few.
En route to support Kirby was McConnell's brigade, which had been ordered by Gen.
Wood at 8 a.m., April 6, to move from East Tennessee to Warm Springs. At about 3 p.m. on April 6, Kirby found the enemy in a position less than two miles northwest of Asheville "occupying
the high hills." Determined to march on the streets of Asheville, he forwarded his brigade and drove back the Confederate
left, only to view the enemy's right flanking the Union rear. During the demonstration, five rebels,
a wagon and team of mules were captured. Kirby, in another report, was under the impression that the force he confronted
belonged to Gen. Martin, consisting of "not less than 1,000 men and six guns, and could be re-enforced before morning with 400
or 500 more men," while another man stated that 300 rebels had already camped behind the Federal position, thus cutting
off the principal route of retreat.
willing to "sacrifice the life of one man for the town of Asheville," reported Kirby, he consulted with one Colonel Yeoman
and other Union officers, who were of the opinion that the "the enemy meant to fight." Although reporting in one account that
he awaited McConnell to move from Warm Springs to Asheville, McConnell, on the other hand, reported that he had been waiting
for Kirby to fall back to his position. Having two men seriously wounded in the battle, Kirby, retreating to Warm Springs
and finding McConnell's rested brigade, continued the Union contingent in an orderly retreat back to Greeneville.
Earthworks at the Battle of Asheville
North Carolina Office of Archives & History
Battle of Asheville
View of the Asheville battlefield
(Left) The site of the breastworks, or earthworks, is now part of the campus of the University of North Carolina
at Asheville. (Right) View of the Asheville battlefield. Confederate artillery was placed on the hills across the
road. The battle's historical marker is also in the background.
Kirby's actions showed that he lacked conviction to press the assault
on Asheville, not to mention capturing it, because he left his field pieces and wagons, having been stocked with ten
days' rations and supplies, some 50 miles to the north at the safety of Warm Springs, which allowed the brigade
a quick exit should those contrived 1,100 cavalry thrash his position. Absent was also any maneuvering of his brigade,
for he had ample time, five hours, to ascertain the position and strength of the enemy, which he later conceded was merely
a small force of rebels with two cannons that entertained him from two field works on a hill. Whereas Kirby refused
any flanking movement, he did perform a demonstration before the Confederates, who had used the topography to its advantage.
Perhaps he was hoping that the Confederates would exhaust their ammunition and withdrawal, or melt away like fluke flurries
in the springtime, and then he would move toward the city in piecemeal fashion.
Both his plans excluded his artillery and wagons, which contained rations, supplies and provisions necessary
for a prolonged fight, and corroborated a common thought by Kirby -- although instructed to capture Asheville --
he had no intention on risking any loss, for he conceded by saying that "he would not sacrifice the life of one
man for the town of Asheville."
Kirby, however, was informed not sustain severe casualties, but if the Tar Heels would have withdrawn at
anytime during the five hour ordeal, then perhaps he would have pressed and settled into a defensive position until
McConnell's brigade or Kirk's two regiments, which he knew were operating in the area, reinforced or relieved him.
After General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to General U.S. Grant on April 9, 1865, the
Confederates serving with Col. Clayton in Asheville withdrew and returned to their homes. The Rebels never swore
the oath of allegiance as required by Federal authorities, and Lt. Col. Byron Gibbs McDowell, serving with the 62nd, wrote
that "No braver or nobler hearted men ever lived than those composing the Sixty-second North Carolina." McDowell, having survived
the shots of bushwhackers during his many engagements, was a citizen of Waynesville, near Asheville, and was
the savior of the six hundred, including many of the 62nd North Carolina, because he had led the troops during the heroic
charge through Union lines in the Cumberland Gap to evade capture, then reform, and later fight at the Battle of
Asheville had averted capitulation, it was soon captured, April 26, during Stoneman's Cavalry Raid. The city's fall, however, occurred almost two weeks after Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox, but
coincided with Gen. Joe Johnston's surrender to Gen. William T. Sherman at Bentonville, North Carolina.
Col. Kirby would leave his 2 field pieces and wagons at Warm Springs guarded by
"two regiments," so if overrun by the 1,100 cavalry that he opined to be on his flanks, he could quickly withdrawal without
loss of the guns and wagons. While the Buckeye would receive one dispatch informing him that a brigade was en route
to reinforce his position, he remained convinced of a superior Confederate force awaiting him at Asheville. Kirby,
however, believed that he had an opportunity to assist Gen. George Stoneman, who was also operating in the area,
by forcing, thus detaining, the larger Rebel force to engage his brigade at Asheville. By making a demonstration
before the mountain city, it would keep the Confederates from pursuing Stoneman, and then Kirby could casually retire
to the safety of Tennessee. But just as Kirby was readying his brigade in East Tennessee for its move down the Old Buncombe
Turnpike and into North Carolina, jubilant news arrived. General Lee had abandoned Richmond and the Confederate capital had
been captured! It was at that time that Kirby, having already embraced a trepid
approach toward Asheville, was determined not to press the battle and risk any losses -- because the war was all but
over. After the engagement, and with conviction, Kirby wrote that he "would not sacrifice one man for the town
of Asheville." Having good reason not to force the battle, Kirby had averted unnecessary loss of life for both Union
and Confederate forces that day. Three days later Lee surrendered to Grant.
In the Atlanta Campaign of 1864, Kirby was given command of the First Brigade,
First Division, 4th Army Corps and led that brigade through the remainder of the war, including battles at Franklin and Nashville.
He was wounded five times June 27, 1864, at the battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia. Kirby (February 10, 1835 - May 30, 1917) was
given a brevet promotion of brigadier-general to date January 12, 1865, for meritorious services rendered throughout the war.
He was mustered out with the 101st Ohio on June 12, 1865.
Whereas Lee would surrender to
Grant the 28,000 men of his greatly diminished Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, the war was far from over,
because Bentonville, located in the state's Piedmont region, would witness the parole of 90,000 Confederates
in the single, largest surrender of the entire war on April 26. The final Confederate troops to surrender
east of the Mississippi would occur 18 days later at Franklin, N.C., on May 14. (See Official Order of Surrendering Confederate Forces.)
Reading: Confederate Military History Of North Carolina: North Carolina In The Civil War, 1861-1865. Description: The author, Prof.
D. H. Hill, Jr., was the son of Lieutenant General Daniel Harvey Hill (North Carolina
produced only two lieutenant generals and it was the second highest rank in the army)
and his mother was General “Stonewall” Jackson’s
wife's sister. In Confederate Military History Of North Carolina, Hill discusses
North Carolina’s massive task of preparing and mobilizing for the conflict; the many regiments and battalions recruited
from the Old North State; as well as the state's numerous contributions during the war. Continued below.
During Hill's TarHeelState
study, the reader begins with interesting and thought-provoking statistical data regarding the 125,000 "OldNorthState"
soldiers that fought during the course of the war and the 40,000 that perished. Hill advances with the Tar Heels to the first
battle at Bethel, through numerous bloody campaigns and battles--including North
Carolina’s contributions at the "High Watermark" at Gettysburg--and concludes
with Lee's surrender at Appomattox.
Recommended Reading: The Civil War in North Carolina.Description: Numerous battles and skirmishes were fought in North Carolina during the Civil War, and the campaigns and battles themselves were crucial
in the grand strategy of the conflict and involved some of the most famous generals
of the war. John Barrett presents the complete story of military engagements across the state, including the classical pitched
battle of Bentonville--involving Generals Joe Johnston and William Sherman--the siege of FortFisher, the amphibious campaigns on the
coast, and cavalry sweeps such as General George Stoneman's Raid. Also available
in hardcover: The Civil War in North Carolina.
Recommended Reading: Touring
the Carolina's Civil War Sites (Touring the Backroads Series).
Description: Touring the Carolina's Civil War
Sites helps travelers find the Carolinas' famous Civil War battlefields, forts, and memorials,
as well as the lesser skirmish sites, homes, and towns that also played a significant role in the war. The book's 19 tours,
which cover the 'entire Carolinas' (Coastal Plain to Mountain; from Lowcountry to Upstate) combine riveting history with clear,
concise directions and maps, creating a book that is as fascinating to the armchair reader as it is to the person interested
in heritage travel. Below are some examples from this outstanding book:
1. Fort Fisher - the largest
sea fort in the war that protected the vital town of Wilmington N.C., and the blockade runners so important for supplying
Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. 2.Charleston
- where the whole shootin' match started. 3. Bentonville - the last large
scale battle of the war. 4. Outer Banks - early Union victories here were vital to capturing
many parts of Eastern North Carolina from which the Union could launch several offensives. 5.Sherman's
March - the destruction of certain towns in both Carolinas (particularly South Carolina)
further weakened the South's will to continue the struggle. I also enjoyed reading about the locations of various gravesites
of Confederate generals and their Civil War service. Indeed, if not for this book, this native North Carolinian and long-time
Civil War buff may never have learned of, and visited, the locations of some of the lesser-known sites other than those mentioned
above. Johnson's writing style is smooth--without being overly simplistic--and contains several anecdotes (some humorous
ones too) of the interesting events which took place during the Civil War years. Highly recommended!
Recommended Viewing: The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns.
Review: The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns is the most successful public-television miniseries in American history.
The 11-hour Civil War didn't just captivate a nation, reteaching to us our history in narrative terms; it actually
also invented a new film language taken from its creator. When people describe documentaries using the "Ken Burns approach,"
its style is understood: voice-over narrators reading letters and documents dramatically and stating the writer's name at
their conclusion, fresh live footage of places juxtaposed with still images (photographs, paintings, maps, prints), anecdotal
interviews, and romantic musical scores taken from the era he depicts. Continued below.
The Civil War uses all of these devices to evoke atmosphere and resurrect an event that many knew
only from stale history books. While Burns is a historian, a researcher, and a documentarian, he's above all a gifted storyteller,
and it's his narrative powers that give this chronicle its beauty, overwhelming emotion, and devastating horror. Using the
words of old letters, eloquently read by a variety of celebrities, the stories of historians like Shelby Foote and rare, stained
photos, Burns allows us not only to relearn and finally understand our history, but also to feel and experience it. "Hailed
as a film masterpiece and landmark in historical storytelling, it should be a requirement for every
Walter. Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-65,
Volume III; Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (ORs), especially Kirby’s
report of April 13, 1865, Series 1, Volume. XLIX, Part 1; Forster A. Sondley,
A History of Buncombe County (North Carolina), The Union Army (1908),
Vol. IV; Story of the One Hundred and First Ohio Infantry. A Memorial Volume by L.W. Day. L.W. Day. 464 pgs. 2 vols. (1930);
O.R., Series 1, Vol. XLIX, Pt. 1, pp. 19-32; Ohio In The War-Volume II. Whitelaw Reid. Moore, Wilstach & Baldwin. Cincinnati. 1868; The
W.M. Bayne Printing Co. Cleveland. Ohio. 1894; Unit Bibliography. U.S. Army Military History Institute. Carlisle Barracks.
PA. 1995; William R. Trotter, Bushwhackers: The Civil War in North Carolina, The Mountains (1988); National
Archives (NARA); Library of Congress (LOC); National Park Service: American Civil War (NPS); North Carolina Office
of Archives and History; North Carolina Museum of History; Weymouth
T. Jordan and Louis H. Manarin, North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865; Joseph H. Crute, Jr., Units of the Confederate States
Army; D. H. Hill, Confederate Military History Of North Carolina: North Carolina In The Civil War, 1861-1865; John C. Inscoe and Gordon B. McKinney, The Heart of Confederate Appalachia: Western North Carolina
in the Civil War (2000); Asheville Citizen-Times, April 30, 2005; John G. Barrett, The Civil War in North Carolina (1963);


A haiku in English is a very short poem in the English language, following to a greater or lesser extent the form and style of the Japanese haiku. A typical haiku is a three-line quirky observation about a fleeting moment involving nature.
The first haiku written in English date from the early 20th century, influenced by English translations of traditional Japanese haiku, and the form has grown in popularity ever since. Many well-known English-language poets have written some haiku, though - perhaps because of their brevity - they are not often considered an important part of their work. Haiku has also proven popular among amateur writers, and additionally in schools, as a way to encourage the appreciation and writing of poetry.
Haiku are the subject of various journals, books and competitions.
- 1 Typical features
- 2 Variant forms
- 3 Haiku movement in North America
- 4 Publications in other English-speaking countries
- 5 Notable poets
- 6 See also
- 7 Notes
- 8 Further reading
Typically - but by no means always - English haiku:
- are three lines long
- either are 17 syllables long, especially with lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables (the traditional form);[a] or are about 10–14 syllables long, with the second line usually the longest. Some poets want their haiku to be expressed in one breath
- are about, or mention, an aspect of nature
- make a quirky or surprising observation about some fleeting experience - usually an otherwise ordinary or trivial-seeming one. Often it expresses a sudden insight
- often juxtapose two things - e.g. something large and something small, something natural and something man-made, or two unexpectedly similar things
- are often divided into two sections, usually at the end of the first or second line, and indicated by a punctuation mark, broken layout (e.g. extra space between words or lines), grammatical break, or caesura (similar to the Japanese kire)
- are in the present tense
- are impressionistic, leaving much to the imagination
- are contemplative or wistful
- do not rhyme
- use elliptical 'telegram style' syntax, avoiding words such as 'and', 'but', 'like'
- use little or no punctuation, sometimes with unusual layout in place of punctuation (e.g. indented lines, extra space between words or lines)
- do not start lines with capital letters
- use adjectives sparingly
- do not use abstract nouns
- do not have a title.
However, the term 'haiku' is sometimes used loosely to denote almost any very short impressionistic poem.
Although the vast majority of haiku published in English are three lines long, variants also occur.
One line (monoku)
The most common variation from the three-line standard is one line, sometimes called a monoku. It emerged from being more than an occasional exception during the late 1970s. The one-liner was lent legitimacy by three people:
- Marlene Mountain was one of the first English-language haiku poets to regularly write haiku in a single horizontal line;
- Hiroaki Sato translated Japanese haiku into one line in English;
- Matsuo Allard wrote essays in its favor and published several magazines and chapbooks devoted to the form.
The single-line haiku usually contains much fewer than seventeen syllables. A caesura (pause) may be appropriate, dictated by sense or speech rhythm, and usually little or no punctuation. It has been practiced by Marlene Mountain, John Wills, and Matsuo Allard, and has been used more recently by poets such as M. Kettner, Janice Bostok, Jim Kacian, Chris Gordon, Scott Metz, Dennis M. Garrison, Charles Trumbull, Stuart Quine, and many others.
- pig and i spring rain
- Marlene Mountain (Frogpond 2.3-4, 1979)
- an icicle the moon drifting through it
- Matsuo Allard (Bird Day Afternoon, High/Coo Press, 1978)
Mountain (formerly Wills) also writes collaborative one-line linked haiku and sequences.
At its most minimal, a single word may occasionally be claimed to be a haiku:
- Cor van den Heuvel (the window-washer's pail, 1963)
- John Stevenson (Live Again, 2009)
Four or more lines
Haiku of four lines (sometimes known as haiqua) or longer have been written, some of them "vertical haiku" with only a word or two per line. These poems mimic the vertical printed form of Japanese haiku.
- she watches
satisfied after love
looking up at nothing
- she watches
- pw (Blithe Spirit 10:4, 2000)
- Marlene Wills (the old tin roof, 1976)
The highly prolific poet John Martone (b. 1952) specializes in vertical haiku along the lines of the examples above.
Haiku have also appeared in circular form (sometimes known as cirku) whereby the poem has no fixed start or end point.
- buoyed up on the rising tide
- a fleet of head boards bang the wall
- John Carley (Magma No 19, 2001)
Haiku movement in North America
Arguably the first English haiku was In a station of the metro by Ezra Pound, published in 1913, even though it is only two lines long. During the Imagist period, a big number of mainstream poets, including Pound, wrote what they called hokku, usually in a five-six-four syllable pattern. Amy Lowell published several hokku in her book "What's O'Clock" (1925; winner of the Pulitzer Prize). Individualistic haiku-like verses by the innovative Buddhist poet and artist Paul Reps (1895–1990) appeared in print as early as 1939 (More Power to You—Poems everyone Can Make, Preview Publications, Montrose CA.). Inspired by R. H. Blyth's translations, other westerners including those of the Beat period, such as Jack Kerouac and Richard Wright, attempted original haiku in English.
- Snow in my shoe
- Sparrow's nest
- Jack Kerouac (collected in Book of Haikus, Penguin Books, 2003)
The African-American novelist Richard Wright, in his final years, composed some 4,000 haiku, 817 of which are collected in the volume Haiku: This Other World. Wright hewed to a 5-7-5 syllabic structure for most of these verses.
- Whitecaps on the bay:
- A broken signboard banging
- In the April wind.
- Richard Wright (collected in Haiku: This Other World, Arcade Publishing, 1998)
An early anthology of American haiku, Borrowed Water (Tuttle: 1966) of work by the Los Altos, California Roundtable was compiled by Helen Stiles Chenoweth. The experimental work of Beat and minority haiku poets expanded the popularity of haiku in English. Despite claims that haiku has not had much impact on the literary scene, a number of mainstream poets, such as W. H. Auden, Richard Wilbur, James Merrill, Etheridge Knight, William Stafford, W. S. Merwin, John Ashbery, Donald Hall, Ruth Stone, Sonia Sanchez, Billy Collins, (as well as Seamus Heaney, Wendy Cope, and Paul Muldoon in Ireland and Britain) and others have tried their hand at haiku.
In 1963 the journal American Haiku was founded in Platteville, Wisconsin, edited by the European-Americans James Bull and Donald Eulert. Among contributors to the first issue were poets James W. Hackett, O Mabson Southard (1911–2000), and Nick Virgilio. In the second issue of American Haiku Virgilio published his "lily" and "bass" haiku, which became models of brevity, breaking down the traditional 5-7-5 syllabic form, and pointing toward the leaner conception of haiku that would take hold in subsequent decades.
- out of the water
- out of itself
- picking bugs
- off the moon
- Nick Virgilio (Selected Haiku, Burnt Lake Press/Black Moss Press, 1988)
American Haiku ended publication in 1968 and was succeeded by Modern Haiku in 1969, which remains an important English-language haiku journal. Other early journals included Haiku Highlights (founded 1965 by European-American writer Jean Calkins and later taken over by the European-American writer Lorraine Ellis Harr who changed the name to Dragonfly), Eric Amann's Haiku (founded 1967), and Haiku West (founded 1967).
The first English-language haiku society in America, founded in 1956, was the Writers' Roundtable of Los Altos, California, under the direction of Helen Stiles Chenoweth. The Haiku Society of America was founded in 1968 and began publishing its journal Frogpond in 1978. Important resources for poets and scholars attempting to understand English-language haiku aesthetics and history include William J. Higginson's Haiku Handbook (McGraw-Hill, 1985) and Lee Gurga's Haiku: A Poet's Guide (Modern Haiku Press, 2003).
Significant contributors to American haiku include Hackett, Virgilio, Charles B. Dickson (1915–1991), Elizabeth Searle Lamb (1917–2005), Raymond Roseliep (1917–1983), Robert Spiess (1921–2002), John Wills (1921–1993), Anita Virgil (b. 1931), and Peggy Willis Lyles (1939–2010).
- my "I-Thou"
- Raymond Roseliep (Rabbit in the Moon, Alembic Press, 1983)
- an aging willow--
- its image unsteady
- in the flowing stream
- Robert Spiess (Red Moon Anthology, Red Moon Press, 1996)
Other major figures still active in the American haiku community include Lee Gurga, Christopher Herold, Gary Hotham, Jim Kacian, Michael McClintock, Marlene Mountain, Marian Olson, Alan Pizzarelli, Alexis Rotella, John Stevenson, George Swede, vincent tripi, Michael Dylan Welch, and Ruth Yarrow. Examples:
- Just friends:
- he watches my gauze dress
- blowing on the line.
- Alexis Rotella (After an Affair, Merging Media, 1984)
- Little spider,
- will you outlive
- Cor van den Heuvel (Haiku Anthology, 34d ed. 1999)
- meteor shower...
- a gentle wave
- wets our sandals
- Michael Dylan Welch (HSA Newsletter XV:4, Autumn 2000)
Pioneering haiku poet Cor van den Heuvel has edited the standard Haiku Anthology (1st ed., 1974; 2nd ed., 1986; 3rd ed. 1999). Since its most recent edition, another generation of American haiku poets has come to prominence. Among the most widely published and honored of these poets are John Barlow, Cherie Hunter Day, Carolyn Hall, paul m., John Martone, Chad Lee Robinson, Billie Wilson, and Peter Yovu. Newer poets exemplify divergent tendencies, from self-effacing nature-oriented haiku (Allan Burns) to Zen themes perpetuating the concepts of Blyth and Hackett (Stanford M. Forrester), poignant haiku-senryū hybrids in the manner of Rotella and Swede (Roberta Beary), the use of subjective, surreal, and mythic elements (Fay Aoyagi), emergent social and political consciousness (John J. Dunphy), and genre-bending structural and linguistic experimentation as well as "found haiku" (Scott Metz).
The American Haiku Archives, the largest public archive of haiku-related material outside Japan, was founded in 1996. It is housed at the California State Library in Sacramento, California, and includes the official archives of the Haiku Society of America, along with significant donations from the libraries of Lorraine Ellis Harr, Jerry Kilbride, Elizabeth Searle Lamb, Francine Porad, Jane Reichhold, and many others.
Publications in North America
The leading English-language haiku magazines published in the USA include Modern Haiku, Frogpond (published by the Haiku Society of America), Mayfly (founded by Randy and Shirley Brooks in 1986), Acorn (founded by A. C. Missias in 1998), bottle rockets (founded by Stanford M. Forrester), The Heron's Nest (founded by Christopher Herold in 1999, published online with a print annual); Brussels Sprout (edited from 1988 to 1995 by Francine Porad), Woodnotes (edited from 1989 to 1997 by Michael Dylan Welch), Hal Roth's Wind Chimes, Wisteria, moonset (edited from 2005 to 2009 by an'ya (Andja Petrović)), and tinywords (founded by Dylan F. Tweney in 2001).
Publications in other English-speaking countries
John Barlow's Snapshot Press is a notable UK-based publisher. In the UK, the British Haiku Society publishes Blithe Spirit, and the World Haiku Club publishes The World Haiku Review. Another leading haiku magazine in the UK is Presence (formerly Haiku Presence), which was edited for many years by Martin Lucas (1962-2014). In Ireland, twenty issues of Haiku Spirit edited by Jim Norton were published between 1995 and 2000. Shamrock, the online journal of the Irish Haiku Society edited by Anatoly Kudryavitsky, currently publishes thematic issues on the haiku movements in various countries, as well as international haiku. In Australia, twenty issues of Yellow Moon, a literary magazine for writers of haiku and other verse, were published between 1997 and 2006 (issues 1-8 were edited by Patricia Kelsall; issues 9-20 by Beverley George). Nowadays Paper Wasp is published in Australia, while Kokako is published in New Zealand.
- Lewis Grandison Alexander
- John Brandi
- Ross Clark
- Cid Corman
- Lee Gurga
- James William Hackett
- William J. Higginson
- Jim Kacian
- Jack Kerouac
- James Kirkup
- Anatoly Kudryavitsky
- Lenard D. Moore
- Alan Pizzarelli
- Paul Reps
- Kenneth Rexroth
- Raymond Roseliep
- Gabriel Rosenstock
- Sonia Sanchez
- Gary Snyder
- George Swede
- Cor van den Heuvel
- Nick Virgilio
- Gerald Vizenor
- Paul O. Williams
- Richard Wright
- Haiku—history and development of haiku in Japan
- Haikai—genre of haiku-related forms
- Hokku—opening verse of the renku, from which haiku derived
- Renku—form of linked poetry from which haiku is derived
- Senryū—satirical verse similar in form to haiku
- Scifaiku—science fiction pseudo-haiku
- Zappai—humorous verse similar in form to haiku
- Matsuyama Declaration
- Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Awards
- Comprising 5 syllables on the first line, 7 on the second and 5 on the third
- Definition of haiku by the Haiku Society of America
- "How to Write a Haiku Poem: Haiku Examples and Tips". Creative Writing Now. William Victor, S.L. Retrieved 2013-05-14. "Traditionally, haiku is written in three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line."
- "Send your name & message to Mars!". Going to Mars with MAVEN. University of Colorado: Boulder. Retrieved 2013-05-14. "For the MAVEN contest, we are defining a haiku as a poem made of three lines; the first and last lines must have exactly five syllables each and the middle line must have exactly seven syllables."
- Shirane, Haruo. Love in the Four Seasons, in Acta Universitatis Carolinae, Orientalia Pragensia XV, 2005, p135
- Ross, Bruce; How to Haiku; Tuttle Publishing 2002 p.19 ISBN 0-8048-3232-3
- Gurga, Lee; Haiku - A Poet's Guide; Modern Haiku Press 2003 p.16 ISBN 0-9741894-0-5
- Spiess, Robert; Modern Haiku vol. XXXII No. 1 p. 57 "A haiku does not exceed a breath's length." ISSN 0026-7821
- Reichhold, Jane; Writing and Enjoying Haiku - A Hands-On Guide; Kodansha 2002 p.30 and p.75 ISBN 4-7700-2886-5
- Gurga, 2003, p.2 and p.15
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition. Houghton Mifflin Company. 2009. "A Japanese lyric verse form having three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables, traditionally invoking an aspect of nature or the seasons."
- Haruo Shirane and Lawrence E. Marceau, "Early Modern Literature," in Early Modern Japan, Fall 2002, p27
- Garrison, Denis M. Hidden River: Haiku. Modern English Tanka Press. p. iii. ISBN 978-0-615-13825-1.
- Reichhold, 2002 p.21
- Gurga, 2003 p.105
- Van den Heuvel, Cor. The Haiku Anthology 2nd edition. Simon & Schuster 1986. ISBN 0671628372 p10
- William J. Higginson. From One-line Poems to One-line Haiku
- Gill, Stephen Henry et al., editors. Seasons of the Gods Hailstone Haiku Circle, Kansai, 2007. ISBN 978-4-9900822-3-9 p.2
- Zip School on Carley's website
- Zips in Magma No 19 - Winter 2001
- The Lune: The English Language Haiku by Holly Bliss at GoArticles.com
- Lipson, Greta B. Poetry Writing Handbook: Definitions, Examples, Lessons. Lorenz Educational Press, 1998. ISBN 9781573101080 p53
- Haiku in English: the first hundred years, ed. Jim Kacian et al., W.W. Norton & Co, New York, 2013
- Richard Wright's haiku on Terebess Asia Online
- Biography of Lorraine Ellis Harr on the Aha Poetry website
- Henderson, H. G. An Introduction to Haiku. Hokuseido Press, 1948.
- Higginson, William J. and Harter, Penny. The Haiku Handbook, How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku. Kodansha, 1989. ISBN 4-7700-1430-9.
- Higginson, William J. Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac. Kodansha, 1996. ISBN 4-7700-2090-2.
- Sato, Hiroaki. One Hundred Frogs, from renga to haiku to English. Weatherhill, 1983. ISBN 0-8348-0176-0.
- Suiter, John. Poets on the Peaks: Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen & Jack Kerouac in the Cascades. Counterpoint, 2002. ISBN 1-58243-148-5; ISBN 1-58243-294-5 (pbk).
- Yasuda, Ken. Japanese Haiku: Its Essential Nature, History, and Possibilities in English. Tuttle, 1957. ISBN 0-8048-1096-6.
- Hirshfield, Jane. The Heart of Haiku (Kindle Single, 2011)
- A Guide to Haiku Publications, 2008 from HSA
Techniques and papers
- Jane Reichhold on haiku techniques
- English Haiku : A Composite View on the British Haiku Society website
- Haiku Chronicles – a free educational podcast designed to provide a better understanding and appreciation of the art of haiku and its related forms.
- "In The Moonlight a Worm..." - an educational site on haiku writing techniques.


|Regions with significant populations|
|United States (Oklahoma)|
|Related ethnic groups|
|other Tanoan peoples|
The Kiowa are a nation of Native Americans who lived mostly in north Texas, Oklahoma, and eastern New Mexico at the time of the arrival of Europeans, having migrated from their earlier homeland in Montana. The name "Kiowa" was designated at the time of European contact; contemporary Kiowa call themselves Kaui-gu, meaning the "principal people" or "main people." Today, the Kiowa Tribe is federally recognized, with about 12,000 members living in southwestern Oklahoma.
The Kiowa were once a dominant force in the Southern Plains, known as fierce warriors and effectively using their horses for hunting and fighting. However, they were crushed by both military and cultural pressures from the United States in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Despite the loss of land and control over their lives, the Kiowa survived and have emerged as a leader among Native American peoples. They achieved a balance between preserving many aspects of their traditional culture through art, song, and dance, while also progressing in education and economic development for the future. Essentials of their old ways, such as the Sun Dance and their pictographic art on animal skins, may have passed, but their legacy lives on in the spirit of many contemporary Kiowas and continues to be offered to the world by their talented writers and artists.
According to historic accounts the Kiowa originally resided in Montana, in the northern basin of the Missouri River. The Crow Nation first met them in the Pryor Mountains. With permission of the Crow, the Kiowa then migrated east to the Black Hills, around 1650. There they acquired the sacred Tai-me or "Sundance Medicine" from their Crow allies. At this time, they used dogs and travois for travel, as was the custom of the Northern peoples.
Then, pushed southward by the invading Cheyenne and Sioux, who were being moved out of their lands in the Great Lakes regions by the Ojibwa tribes, the Kiowa moved down the Platte River basin to the Arkansas River area. There, they fought with the Comanche, who already occupied the land. In this area they acquired horses, dramatically changing the Kiowa lifestyle into that of the Plains Indians.
In the early spring of 1790, at the place that would become Las Vegas, New Mexico, a Kiowa party led by war leader Guikate made an offer of peace to a Comanche party while both were visiting the home of a friend of both tribes. This led to a later meeting between Guikate and the head chief of the Nokoni Comanches. The two groups made an alliance to share the same hunting grounds, and entered into a mutual defense pact. From that time on, the Comanche and Kiowa hunted, traveled, and made war together. An additional group, the Plains Apache (also called Kiowa-Apache), affiliated with the Kiowa at this time.
From their hunting grounds south of the Arkansas River the Kiowa were notorious for long-distance raids as far west as the Grand Canyon region, south into Mexico and Central America, and north into Canada. They were fierce warriors and killed numerous white settlers and soldiers as well as members of other native tribes.
The Indian Wars
After 1840, the Kiowa, with their former enemies the Cheyenne, as well as their allies the Comanche and the Apache, fought and raided the Eastern natives then moving into the Indian Territory. The United States military intervened, and in the Treaty of Medicine Lodge of 1867, the Kiowa agreed to settle on a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma. In return, the Kiowa and their allies were to be protected from the white hunters that were invading the buffalo range, issued certain annuities, provided with schools, churches, farming implements, and generally taught how to live in the style of European settlers. This treaty changed the status of the Kiowa and their allies from that of independent tribes with free and unrestricted range over the plains to dependency on the government, confined to the narrow limits of a reservation and subject to constant military and civilian supervision.
Some bands of Kiowa and others rejected the end of their traditional lifestyle, remaining at large for several years. In 1871, Kiowa leaders Satanta (White Bear), Satank (Sitting Bear), and Big Tree were accused, arrested, transported, and confined at Fort Richardson, Texas, after being convicted by a "cowboy jury" in Jacksboro, Texas, for participating in the Warren Wagon Train Raid. During the transport to Fort Richardson, Texas, Satank, preferring to die fighting rather than be imprisoned, and was shot by accompanying cavalry troops in an escape attempt near Fort Sill, Indian Territory.
In 1874, war parties made up of young Cheyennes, Arapahos, Comanches, and Kiowas who refused to live on the reservations, frustrated and angered by the greatly diminished buffalo herd, attacked white hunters and settlers. Defeated by the cavalry in 1875, seventy-three of those considered most dangerous were rounded up and taken from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to Fort Marion in Florida. There, several of these warriors developed what has become known as "Plains Indian ledger art."
After their migrations, the Kiowa lived a typical Plains Indian lifestyle. Mostly nomadic, they survived on buffalo meat and gathered vegetables, lived in tipis, and depended on their horses for hunting and military uses. The buffalo were essential to the Kiowa, providing food and raw materials for living necessities such as shelter and clothing.
Like other Plains tribes, the Kiowa organized warrior societies—exclusive groups of those who have proven their courage and skills in fighting. These societies were called "Dog Soldiers" because of visions and dreams of dogs.
The Koitsenko, or "Principal Dogs," was a group of the ten greatest warriors of the Kiowa tribe as a whole, were elected from the five adult warrior societies. The leader wore a long sash and when the Kiowa were engaged in battle he dismounted from his horse and fastened the sash to the earth with his spear. He then fought on the ground there, shouting encouragement to the other warriors. He could not leave that place, even when wounded and in the greatest danger, until another Principal Dog removed the spear (Waldman, 2006). Probably the most famous of the Koitsenko was the great war leader Satank, who died fighting for his freedom.
Kiowa ledger art derives from a historical tradition that used traditional pictographs to keep historical records and serve as mnemonic reminders for storytelling. A traditional male art form, Plains Indian warriors drew pictographic representations of heroic deeds and sacred visions, which served to designate their positions in the tribe. Traditionally the artist's medium for their pictographic images were rocks and animal skins, but for the Kiowa in captivity the lined pages of the white man's record keeping books (ledgers) became a popular substitute, hence the name, "ledger art."
The earliest of these Kiowa artists were held in captivity by the U.S. Army at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida, at the conclusion of the Southern Plains Indian war. Captain Richard Henry Pratt was sympathetic and very liberal for his time, wanting to educate his captives and make them self-sufficient. At Fort Marion, he initiated an educational experiment as an alternative to standard imprisonment, culminating in his founding of the Carlisle Indian School in 1879. Throughout their incarceration, the Plains Indian leaders followed Pratt's rules and met his educational demands even as they remained true to their own identities, practicing traditional dances and ceremonies (Lookingbill 2006). In addition to regular studies Pratt encouraged them to pursue their native arts and to sell the products, keeping the profits for themselves. As a result, many of the Kiowa achieved self-sufficiency, as well as developing their art form into the now famous ledger art. For these former warriors their art was not just a way of making money but a form of resistance. The warrior-artists of Fort Marion preserved their history in their traditional pictographic representations, drawn on the the very records, the ledgers, that recorded the expansion of the Euro-American lifestyle. The warrior-artist drawing pictographic representations of his tribal history in a ledger book can be seen as a significant transition from their old traditional identity and finding a place in the new culture, "an attempt to negotiate between one’s individual/tribal identity and a new dominant culture” (Wong 1992).
After the return of the Fort Marion warriors to the reservation there was a withering of this artistic flowering. However, the tradition survived and eventually blossomed again. The most significant ledger book artist was a Kiowa named Haungooah (Silver Horn), whose brother, Ohettoit, was one of the captives in Fort Marion. Silver Horn worked with his brother decorating traditional tipis and then to produce ledger book art work. Silver Horn reputedly influenced both James Auchiah and Stephen Mopope in their work before they became a part of the Kiowa Five, a group of artists who studied at the University of Oklahoma in the 1920s. The "Five" referred to are the male members of the group—Spenser Asah, James Auchiah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope, and Monroe Tsatoke—although there was a sixth member, a woman named Lois Smokey. Their artistic style is generally recognized as the beginning of the modern Native American Art Movement.
Pictorial art was used by the Kiowa as well as other Plains Indians to maintain formal calendar records as well as to illustrate stories. Kiowa calendar keepers kept the history of the tribe in written form by inscribing pictographic records of significant events on animal hides. The Kiowa had a complex calendar system with events recorded for both summer and winter of each year. The Sun Dance ceremony provided the reference point for the summer on these calenders.
A particularly complex calendar produced by Silver Horn (or Haungooah), in 1904, was richly illustrated. Silver Horn's calendar begins with the year 1828 and ends in 1904, with summer and winter pictures for most years. Summers are indicated by a green, forked pole, representing the center pole of the Sun Dance, and winters by a bare tree. Silver Horn was one of the artists employed by James Mooney, an anthropologist with the Smithsonian's Bureau of American Ethnology, who worked on the Kiowa Reservation for many years. The calendar contains many interpretive notes made by Mooney, as he employed the artists to produce illustrations for field notes, not works of art for display. Nevertheless, many such art works have been retained and are considered fine works of art in their own right.
Kiowa music, one of the most heavily recorded Native American musics, is part of the larger Southern Plains Indian music that is heavily influenced by the Omaha, often via the Ponca. Kiowa traditional music is strongly focused on dancing, such as the Sun Dance (k'aw-tow). Courtship is a traditional part of k'aw-tow celebrations, and this facet is often reflected in the music.
Much of Kiowa music is related to their warrior society. The Kiowas' significant contributions to world music include the maintenance of traditions such as the Black Leggins Society, the Oh-Ho-Mah Lodge, the Kiowa Gourd Clan, Peyote songs, and sacred Kiowa hymns (Carney and Foley 2003).
Kiowa music is often noted for its hymns that were traditionally played on the flute. Cornel Pewewardy (flautist and full blood Comanche/Kiowa) is a leading performer of contemporary Kiowa/Southern Plains music, including Kiowa Christian hymns which include prominent glissandos (Broughton and Ellingham 2000).
The Gourd Dance originated with the Kiowa tribe. It has spread to many other tribes and societies, most of which do not have the blessing of the Kiowa Elders. The dance in the Kiowa Language is called "ti-ah pi-ah" which means "ready to go, ready to die."
The Kiowa consider this dance as their dance since it was given to them by "Red Wolf." A Kiowa story recounts the tale of a young man who had been separated from the rest of the tribe. Hungry and dehydrated after many days of travel, the young man approached a hill and heard an unusual kind of singing coming from the other side. There he saw a red wolf singing and dancing on its hind legs. The man listened to the songs all afternoon and through the night and when morning came, the wolf spoke to him and told him to take the dance and songs back to the Kiowa people. The "howl" at the end of each gourd dance song is a tribute to the red wolf.
Like pow-wow dancing, Gourd Dancing is performed in a circular arena, around which the dancers take their place. The drum can be placed on the side or in the center of the arena. It is a man's dance. Women participate by dancing in place behind their male counterparts and outside the perimeter formed by the men. During most of the song, the dancers dance in place, lifting their feet in time to the drumbeats, and shaking their rattles from side to side. The rattles, traditionally made from gourds can have peyote-stitch beadwork on the handle.
The Gourd Dance was once part of the Kiowa Sun Dance ceremony.
The Sun Dance was the most important religious ceremony for the Kiowa, as it was for many other plains Indian People. It was not a ceremony worshiping the sun, but rather derived its name from the practice of gazing upward into the sun. It has also been called the Medicine Dance, because of the ceremonial significance of the event. The Sun Dance was usually held once a year during the summer, usually around the time of the summer solstice, and provided a time not only for ceremonial and religious celebration, but also for gathering of the tribe and sharing of news, as well as individual healing and self-renewal.
The Tai-me Keeper or priest played a central role in the Sun Dance, from deciding—based on inspiration received in a dream—whether the ceremony would be held leading to the preparations. The Tai-me was a small decorated stone figure covered with ermine and feathers. The Kiowa received their first Tai-me figure from an Arapaho man who married into the Kiowa tribe. The Arapaho had originally obtained a Tai-me figure from the Crow Indians during their Sun Dance.
Originally, the Kiowa Sun Dance celebration lasted for about ten days, with six days of preparation, followed by four dancing days. The celebration followed a strict pattern of rituals on each of the ten days. On the dancing days, the dance began at sunrise and the dancer's family selected an artist to paint designs on the dancer's body. Following prayers and ceremonial smokes, the dance continued throughout the day. During the four dancing days, spectators and singers were allowed to leave at midnight, but the dancers were required to remain in the sweat lodge without food or water. The only relief the dancers could receive from the heat of the day were waterlillies to cool their heads and traditional ceremonial food. The Tai-me keeper would also fan the dancers. At certain times dancers would fall unconscious and experience visions. Unlike Sun Dances of other tribes, such as the Sioux, the Kiowa never pierced their skin or shed blood in any way during the ceremony. For them, this was considered taboo and would bring misfortune upon the Kiowa People.
On the final day, offerings were made to the Tai-me for good fortune. The last dance performed by the participants was the buffalo dance, so that those leaving would be protected by the buffalo guardian spirit for the coming year. This prayer was last offered in 1887, when the Kiowa people held their last fully completed Sun dance:
- O Dom-oye-alm-k' hee, Creater of the earth,
- Bless my prayer and heal our land,
- Increase our food, the buffalo power,
- Multiply my people, prolong their lives on earth,
- Protect us from troubles and sickness,
- That happiness and joy may be ours in life,
- That life we live is so uncertain,
- Consider my supplications with kindness,
- For I talk to you as yet living for my people.
While the Sun Dance ceremonies were eventually banned by the United States government at the end of the nineteenth century, and the dance itself is no longer performed today, it still impacts Kiowa life. For example, the ten Kiowa Tah-lee Medicine bundles, which played a central role in the Sun Dance purification rituals are still cared for by tribal members charged with their safe protection. Purification through the use of the sweat lodge continues to this day. Other cultural activities such as the Warrior Society dances and the varied songs and music of the Kiowa have also been maintained.
The "peyote religion" or Native American Church, founded by Comanche Quanah Parker, includes aspects of the traditional Kiowa religion, such as daybreak to daylight rituals and dancing.
On August 6, 1901, Kiowa land in Oklahoma was opened for white settlement, effectively dissolving the contiguous reservation established in the 1867 treaty. Today, most of the Kiowa lands, now protected as a federal trust area, are located in Caddo County in Oklahoma. Many Kiowa have adopted contemporary professional lifestyles; others practice farming or lease oil rights to their lands.
Despite the efforts of the U.S. government in the nineteenth century to eradicate Kiowa traditional culture and religion, they have managed to maintain their stories, songs, and dances. The traditional Gourd Dance is performed frequently at pow-wows today. Kiowa artists are recognized for the flowering of Native American art. Following the internationally acclaimed work of the Kiowa Five in the 1920s, others continued in this Southern Plains style of painting.
The influence of Kiowa art and the revival of ledger art is illustrated in the early work of Cherokee-Creek female artist Virginia Stroud and Spokane artist George Flett. While Stroud is of Cherokee-Creek descent, she was raised by a Kiowa family and the traditions of that culture, and the influence of the Kiowa tradition is evident in her early pictographic images. Well known Kiowa artists of the later twentieth century include Bobby Hill (White Buffalo), Robert Redbird, Roland N. Whitehorse, and T. C. Cannon. The pictographic art of contemporary and traditional artist Sherman Chaddlesone has again revived the ledger art form that was absent in most of the art of the Second Generation Modernists that had developed since Silverhorn and the Kiowa Five.
In addition to their art and music, several contemporary Kiowas have emerged as successful writers. Kiowa author N. Scott Momaday won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for his novel House Made of Dawn. Other Kiowa authors include playwright Hanay Geiogamah, poet and filmmaker Gus Palmer, Jr., Alyce Sadongei, and Tocakut.
- Berlo, Jane Catherine. 1996. Plains Indian Drawings 1865-1935. Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 978-0810937420.
- Boyd, Maurice. 1981. Kiowa Voices: Ceremonial Dance, Ritual, and Song, Vol. 1. Texas Christian University Press. ISBN 978-0912646671.
- —. 1983. Kiowa Voices: Myths, Legends and Folktales. Texas Christian University Press. ISBN 978-0912646763.
- Broughton, Simon and Mark Ellingham. 2000. Rough Guide to World Music Volume Two: Latin and North America, the Caribbean, Asia & the Pacific. ISBN 1858286360.
- Carney, George and Hugh Foley Jr. 2003. Oklahoma Music Guide: Biographies, Big Hits, and Annual Events. ISBN 1581071043.
- Corwin, Hugh. 1958. The Kiowa Indians, Their History and Life Stories.
- Greene, Candace S. 2002. Silver Horn: Master Illustrator of the Kiowas. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0806133072.
- Hoig, Stan. 2000. The Kiowas and the Legend of Kicking Bird. Boulder, CO: The University Press of Colorado. ISBN 0870815644.
- Lookingbill, Brad D. 2006. War Dance at Fort Marion: Plains Indian War Prisoners. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0806137391.
- Mayhall, Mildred P. Kiowa Indians. The Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
- Mishkin, Bernard. 1988. Rank and Warfare Among The Plains Indians. AMS Press. ISBN 0404629032.
- Momaday, N. Scott. 1977. The Way to Rainy Mountain. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0826304362.
- Mooney, James. 2007. Calender History of the Kiowa Indians. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-0548136461.
- Nye, Colonel W.S. 1983. Carbine and Lance: The Story of Old Fort Sill. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0806118563.
- Richardson, Jane. 1988. Law & Status Among the Kiowa Indians American Ethnological Society Monographs; No 1. AMS Press. ISBN 0404629016.
- Waldman, Carl. 2006. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. New York, NY: Checkmark Books. ISBN 978-0816062744.
- Wong, Hertha Dawn. 1992. Sending My Heart Back Across the Years: Tradition and Innovation in Native American Autobiography. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195069129.
All links retrieved June 20, 2014.
- Kiowa Collection: Selections from the Papers of Hugh Lenox Scott.
- Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Indian Lands.
- Kiowa ledger drawing in the Smithsonian.
- Photographs of Kiowa Indians hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
- Hager, N. W. The Kiowa Five The Fine Arts Trader.
- Silver Horn Pictorial Calendar National Anthropological Archives and Human Studies Film Archives.
- Virginia Stroud Artist Profile.
- Kiowa Nation.
- SKAW-TOW The Last Kiowa Sun Dance.
- The Power of Kiowa Song: A Collaborative Ethnography.
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