Quanah Parker: Comanche Warrior Priest
Jeffrey R Gudzune, M.A.
Rather than watch the remnants of the Comanche Nation fade into obscurity and suffer the degradations of life on a reservation, Quanah Parker chose to fight to preserve the heritage of his people. He made no secret of his distaste for the white man, as he had witnessed first hand what the rapidly encroaching white settlements had done to his own family. Seeing the settlers of the Plains Region as invaders, Parker eventually rose to prominence as the founder and military leader of the most aggressive Comache band, the Quahadi (often spelled with a K). As War Chief of the Quahadi, Parker would participate is some of the most brutal warfare of any of America's "Indian Wars." However, this fierce proponent of Comanche sovereignty would not ends his days with a weapon in his hand and hatred in his heart. His life is a microcosm of the struggles of the Comanche, and he would eventually adopt peace as his sword and gain recognition as a diplomat, jurist, and the spiritual founder of the Native American Church. Born at a time when the Comanche Nation was fractured and on the verge of disappearing, Parker clung to the hope that a show of force would halt the approach of the white man. His conversion to an advocate for peace came only after his realization that an ongoing war would utterly destroy his people. This drastic change of personal philosophy was not easy.
The Comanche Nation came into the Great Plains region at the beginning of the 1700s ( an exact time is not known, though most historians have settled on 1719) and eventually settled in what would become Texas; though some of their territorial hunting grounds were also located in Oklahoma. Quickly establishing themselves as the dominant group in the region, this lose affiliation of independent bands thrived on the land and the rich buffalo herds in the region. By 1836, however, they were at odds with the white settlers along the Texas border. To protect their lands, the Comanche raided white settlements in an effort to push them out. It was during one of these raids that young Cynthia Ann Parker was abducted in 1836, at an American fort located east of the Brazos River. She was taken back into Comanche territory and eventually adopted into the tribe. She married Peta Nocono, a Comanche Chief, and in 1845 gave birth to a son whom she named Quanah.
Quanah's early life was filled with learning the way of the warrior, distinguishing himself as a horseman and soldier. He fought alongside his father in territorial struggles with the neighboring Apache and even lead raids against the white settlements that had moved into Comanche territory. In 1860, Texas Rangers (a group created to fight the Comanche) abducted Cynthia and her daughter, Prairie Flower, and reunited her with her white family in Texas. Cynthia never readjusted to life among the whites and made repeated demands that they return her to her true family in Comanche territory. Prairie Flower died as a result of an epidemic in 1864. Cynthia starved herself to death four months later. The loss of his wife and daughter utterly destroyed Peta Nocono. Wounded as a result of territorial battles with the Apache, he grew depressed and died in 1860. This split the tribe. Quanah sided with Chief Wild Horse and eventually founded his own branch of the Comanche, the Quahadi, in 1867.
Under Quanah's leadership, the Quahadi fiercely resisted white settlement even while other branches of the nation signed treaties with the American government and settled on reservations. Failing to subdue the Quahadi, the United States government declared Quanah and his warriors fugitives. Throughout 1871-74, the Quahadi fought yet another threat to their survival--buffalo hunters from Texas and Oklahoma. This scourge rapidly swept into Comanche territory and began to decimate their territorial herds. Forming a multi-national force, consisting of the Cheyene, Arapaho, Comanche, Kiowa, Quanah sought to curtail this new enemy's expansion.
In June of 1874, Quanah and 700 of his warriors attacked the Adobe Walls settlement, located in the Texas panhandle. This was a stronghold of some of the more destructive of the buffalo hunters. Though outnumbered, the whites possessed superior weapons and a secure encampment that the Quahadi led force could not breech. Eventually forced to withdraw, Quanah realized that to continue war with the whites would result in the destruction of the Comanche people. Hunted and fearing the dissolution of his people, Quanah marched into Ft. Sill in Oklahoma in June 1875 and agreed to settle his people on a reservation.
On the reservation, Parker began to work with the whites to improve the condition of his people. He learned English and Spanish and advocated the combination of traditional Christian beliefs and the beliefs of the Comanche as a new form of religious practice. Within five years, the Native American Church would be established. Earning his money as a rancher, Quanah (who would adopt his mother's last name) became a judge on the Court of Indian Offenses and was recognized as Principal Chief of the Comanche Nation in 1890. He spent the remaining years of his life as an advocate of peace and co-existence. However, his life was not without controversy. He advocated the use of peyote in religious practices and was a proponent of polygamy (having five wives). This last cause resulted in his dismissal from the Court of Indian Offenses in 1897. Despite the loss of this important position, Quanah Parker continued to serve his people until his death in 1911.
Bibliography
Alan Axelrod, Chronicle of the Indian Wars: From Colonial Times to Wounded Knee. (New York: Prentice Hall General Reference, 1993.
Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West. (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1970). Paul H Carlson, The Plains Indians. (College Station: Texas A & M University, 1998).
