The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe from Oklahoma and Texas. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the federally recognized Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, headquartered in Tonkawa, Oklahoma. They have more than 700 tribal citizens.

The Tonkawa's autonym is Tickanwa•tic (meaning "real people"). The name Tonkawa is derived from the Waco word, Tonkaweya, meaning "they all stay together".

In 1601, the Tonkawa people lived in what is now northwestern Oklahoma. They were made up of related bands. Historically, they were nomadic people, who practiced some horticulture.

The Tonkawa, long thought to have been prehistoric residents of Texas, are now thought to have migrated into the state in the late 17th century. Their arrival in Central Texas is believed to have been just before or during the early European contact period.

By 1700, Apache and Wichita people had pushed the Tonkawa south to the Red River, which forms the border between current-day Oklahoma and Texas. In the 16th century, the Tonkawa tribe probably had around 1,900 members. Their numbers diminished to around 1,600 by the late 17th century due to fatalities from European diseases and conflict with other tribes, most notably the Apache.

In the 1740s, some Tonkawa were involved with the Yojuanes and others as settlers in the San Gabriel Missions of Texas along the San Gabriel River.

In 1758, the Tonkawa, along with allied Bidais, Caddos, Wichitas, Comanches, and Yojuanes, went to attack the Lipan Apache in the vicinity of Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá, which they destroyed.

The tribe continued their southern migration into Texas and northern Mexico, where they allied with the Lipan Apache.