The original stewards of the land upon which the Ney stands were the Tonkawa, Comanche, and Lipan Apache peoples. In the Tonkawa language, the name of their people is Tickanwa-tic, meaning Real People. The Waco people’s name for the Tonkawa is Tonkaweya, meaning “They all stay together.” These names reflect the Tonkawa history on this land– for hundreds of years, the Tonkawa made their lives here.

The Comanche and Lipan Apache peoples moved across this land as a part of their long history and deep tradition of migration and mobility. These peoples traveled in bands formed by family relationships and other connections, and provided mutual aid and protection to other bands in the tribe. In their indigenous language, the Comanche are the Numunuu, meaning “The People”. In Apache culture, the North is represented by black and the east by white. As the easternmost of the Apache tribes, who originally migrated from the North, the Lipan Apache are known as “The Light Gray People.”