Quanah Parker was a
ComancheThe Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
chiefA tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
, a leader in the
Native American ChurchNative American Church, a religious denomination which practices Peyotism or the Peyote religion, originated in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and is the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans in the United States...
, and the last leader of the powerful Quahadi band before they surrendered their battle of the Great Plains and went to a
reservationAn American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
in
Indian TerritoryThe Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
. He was the son of
ComancheThe Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
chief
Peta NoconaPeta Nocona was a chief of the Comanche band Noconi. He led his tribe during the extensive Indian Wars in Texas from the 1830s to 1860. He was the son of the Comanche chief Iron Jacket and father of chief Quanah Parker. His band Noconis, or Wanderers, or travellers were named after him...
and
Cynthia Ann ParkerCynthia Ann Parker, or Naduah , was an American woman of old colonial stock of Scots-Irish descent who was captured and kidnapped at the age of nine by a American Indian band which massacred her family and...
, a
European AmericanA European American is a citizen or resident of the United States who has origins in any of the original peoples of Europe...
, who had been kidnapped at the age of nine and assimilated into the tribe. Quanah Parker also led his people on the reservation, where he became a wealthy rancher and influential in Comanche and European American society. With five wives and 25 children, Quanah had numerous descendants. Many people in Texas and Oklahoma claim him as an ancestor.
Early life and education
Quanah Parker's mother,
Cynthia Ann ParkerCynthia Ann Parker, or Naduah , was an American woman of old colonial stock of Scots-Irish descent who was captured and kidnapped at the age of nine by a American Indian band which massacred her family and...
(born ca. 1827), was a member of the large Parker frontier family that settled in east
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in the 1830s. She was captured in 1836 (at age nine) by
ComancheThe Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
s during the raid of
Fort ParkerThe Fort Parker massacre was an event in May 1836 in which members of the pioneer Parker family were killed in a raid by Native Americans. In this raid, a 9-year old girl, Cynthia Ann Parker, was captured and spent most of the rest of her life with the Comanche, marrying a Chief, Peta Nocona, and...
near present-day
Groesbeck, TexasGroesbeck is a city in and the county seat of Limestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,291 at the 2000 census. The community is named after a railroad employee.- History :...
. Given the Indian name
Nadua (Someone Found), she was adopted into the Nocona band of Comanches.
Assimilated into the Comanche, Cynthia Ann Parker later married the warrior
Peta NoconaPeta Nocona was a chief of the Comanche band Noconi. He led his tribe during the extensive Indian Wars in Texas from the 1830s to 1860. He was the son of the Comanche chief Iron Jacket and father of chief Quanah Parker. His band Noconis, or Wanderers, or travellers were named after him...
, (also known as Noconie, Tah-con-ne-ah-pe-ah, or Nocona). His father was the renowned chief
Iron JacketIron Jacket was a Native American War Chief and Chief of the Comanche Indians.Iron Jacket was a Comanche chieftain and medicine man whom the Comanche believed had the power to blow bullets aside with his breath...
, famous among the Comanche for wearing a
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
coat of mail. He was said to have the power to blow bullets away with his breath.
Nadua and Nocona's first child was
Quanah (Fragrance) born in the
Wichita MountainsThe Wichita Mountains are located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The mountains are a northwest-southeast trending series of rocky promontories, many capped by 540 million-year old granite. These were exposed and rounded by weathering during the Permian Period...
. The exact birthplace is debated, but Quanah visited what he understood to be his birthplace at Laguna Sabinas (Cedar Lake) in
Gaines County, Texas in his later years. They also had another son,
Peanuts, and a daughter,
Topsana (Prairie Flower). In December 1860, Nadua (Cynthia Ann) and Topsana were captured in the
battle of Pease RiverThe Battle of Pease River occurred on December 18, 1860, near the town of Margaret, Texas in Foard County, Texas, United States. The town is located between Crowell and Vernon within sight of the Medicine Mounds just outside present-day Quanah, Texas...
by
Texas RangersThe Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
under
Lawrence Sullivan RossLawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross was the 19th Governor of Texas , a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, and a president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, now called Texas A&M University.Ross was raised in the Republic of Texas, which was later annexed to...
. Quanah and his brother Peanuts escaped on a horse together, but their father, Peta Nocona was killed by Sul Ross who would later become the governor of Texas.
Meanwhile, Nadua (Cynthia Ann) and her mixed-race daughter were reunited with her white family, but after having made her life 24 years with the Comanche, she wanted to return to them and her sons. She was never permitted to do so because her daughter Topsana died of an illness in 1863. Cynthia Ann lost her will to live and starved herself to death in 1870.
Career
Quanah joined the
Destanyuka band, where Chief Wild Horse took him under his wing. Though he grew to considerable standing as a warrior, he never felt comfortable with the Destanyuka. He left and formed the
Quahadi (Antelope Eaters) band with warriors from another tribe. The Quahadi grew in number, becoming the largest of the Comanche bands, and also the most notorious. Quanah Parker became a leader of the Quahadi, and led them successfully for a number of years. In October 1867, Quanah was among the Comanche chiefs as an observer at treaty negotiations at
Medicine LodgeMedicine Lodge is the most populous city in and the county seat of Barber County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,009.-19th century:...
. He made a statement about his refusal to sign the
Medicine Lodge TreatyThe Medicine Lodge Treaty is the overall name for three treaties signed between the United States government and southern Plains Indian tribes in October 1867, intended to bring peace to the area by relocating the Native Americans to reservations in Indian Territory and away from European-American...
. His band remained free while other Comanches signed.
In the early 1870s, the Plains Indians were losing the battle for their land with the United States government. Following the capture of the Kiowa chiefs Satank, Adoeet (Big Tree), and
SatantaThis article refers to the Kiowa chief Satanta. For the Irish hero Sétanta, please see Cú Chulainn.Satanta was a Kiowa war chief. He was a member of the Kiowa tribe, he was born around 1820, during the height of the power of the Plains Tribes, probably along the Canadian River in the traditional...
, the Kiowa, Comanche, and Southern Cheyenne tribes joined forces in several battles. Colonel Ranald Mackenzie led US Army forces to round up or kill the remaining Indians who had not settled on reservations.
In June 1874, a Comanche
prophetIn religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
named
Isa-taiIsa-tai was a Comanche warrior and medicine man of the Quahadi band. Originally named Quenatosavit , after the debacle at Adobe Walls he was known as Isa-tai which translates as "wolf's vulva" or "coyote vagina". Isa-tai gained enormous prominence for a brief period in 1873-74 as a prophet and...
summoned the tribes in the Texas Panhandle to the
Second Battle of Adobe WallsThe Second Battle of Adobe Walls was fought on June 27, 1874 between Comanche forces and a group of twenty-eight U.S. bison hunters defending the settlement of Adobe Walls, Texas in what is now Hutchinson County, Texas.-Adobe Walls Settlement:...
, where several American buffalo hunters were active. With Kiowa Chief Big Bow, Quanah was in charge of one group of warriors. The Indians were repelled by long-range
Sharps rifleSharps rifles were those of a series begun with a design by Christian Sharps. Sharps rifles were renowned for long range and high accuracy in their day.-History:Sharps's initial rifle was patented September 17, 1848 and manufactured by A. S...
s and, as they retreated, Quanah's horse was shot out from under him at five hundred yards. He was then hit by a ricocheting bullet that lodged in his shoulder.
The attack on Adobe Walls caused a reversal of policy in Washington and led to the
Red River WarThe Red River War was a military campaign launched by the United States Army in 1874, as part of the Comanche War, to remove the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Native American tribes from the Southern Plains and forcibly relocate them to reservations in Indian Territory...
which culminated in a decisive Army victory in the
Battle of Palo Duro CanyonThe Battle of Palo Duro Canyon was a significant United States victory that brought about the end of the Red River War.-Background:Ever since the summer of 1874 the Comanches, Cheyenne and Kiowas had sought refuge in Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas panhandle. There they had been stockpiling food and...
. On September 28, 1874, Mackenzie and his
TonkawaThe Tickanwa•tic Tribe , better known as the Tonkawa , are a Native American people indigenous to present-day Oklahoma and Texas. They once spoke the now-extinct Tonkawa language believed to have been a language isolate not related to any other indigenous tongues...
scouts razed the Comanche village at
Palo Duro CanyonPalo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the city of Amarillo, Texas, United States. As the second largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly long and has an average width of , but reaches a width of at places. Its depth is around...
and killed nearly 1,500 Comanche horses, a source of the Comanche wealth and power.
On the reservation
With their food source depleted, and under constant pressure from the army, the Quahadi Comanche finally surrendered in 1875. With Colonel Mackenzie and Indian Agent James M. Hayworth, Parker helped settle the Comanche on the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation in southwestern
Indian TerritoryThe Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
.
Parker's home in
Cache, OklahomaCache is a city in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,796 at the 2010 census. It is an exurb included in the Lawton, Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area...
was called the Star House. Parker's was the last tribe of the Staked Plains or
Llano EstacadoLlano Estacado , commonly known as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas, including the South Plains and parts of the Texas Panhandle...
to come to the reservation. Quanah was named chief over all the Comanches on the reservation, and proved to be a forceful, resourceful and able leader. Through wise investments, he became perhaps the wealthiest
American IndianNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
of his day in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. At this time, Quanah embraced much of white culture and adopted the surname Parker. He was well respected by the whites. He went on hunting trips with President
Theodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, who often visited him. Nevertheless, he rejected both
monogamyMonogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
and traditional Protestant
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
in favor of the
Native American ChurchNative American Church, a religious denomination which practices Peyotism or the Peyote religion, originated in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and is the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans in the United States...
Movement, of which he was a founder.
The man known today as Quanah Parker came from a culture where surnames were unknown.
Quanah Parker and Samuel Burk Burnett
The story of the unique friendship that grew between Quanah and the Burnett family is addressed in the exhibition (where?) of cultural artifacts that were given to the Burnett family from the Parker family. The presentation of a cultural relic as significant as Quanah’s war lance was not done lightly. It is a clear indication of the high esteem to which the Burnett family was regarded by the Parkers. The correspondence between Quanah and Samuel Burk Burnett and his son, Tom Burnett, expressed mutual admiration and respect.
The historical record mentions little of Quanah until his presence in the attack on the buffalo hunters at Adobe Walls on June 27, 1874. Fragmented information exists indicating Quanah had interactions with the Apache at about this time.
This association may have related to his taking up the Native American Church, or peyote religion. Quanah was said to have taken an Apache wife, but their union was short-lived. The Apache dress, bag and staff in the exhibit may be a remnant of this time in Quanah’s early adult life.
With the buffalo nearly exterminated and having suffered heavy loss of horses and lodges at the hands of the US military, Quanah was one of the leaders to bring the Quahada (Antelope) band of Comanches into
Fort SillFort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...
during late May and early June 1875. This brought an end to their nomadic life on the southern plains and the beginning of an adjustment to more sedentary life.
Burk Burnett began moving cattle from South Texas in 1874 to near present-day
Wichita Falls, TexasWichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
. There he established his ranch headquarters in 1881. Changing weather patterns and severe drought caused grasslands to wither and die in Texas. Burnett and other ranchers met with Comanche and Kiowa tribes to lease land on their reservation—nearly 1 million acres (4,046.9 km²) just north of the Red River in Oklahoma.
Originally, Quanah, like many of his contemporaries, was opposed to the opening of tribal lands for grazing by Anglo ranching interests. But, Quanah changed his position and forged close relationships with a number of Texas cattlemen, such as Charles Goodnight and the Burnett family. As early as 1880, Quanah was working with these new associates in building his own herds. In 1884, due largely to Quanah’s efforts, the tribes received their first “grass” payments for grazing rights on Comanche, Kiowa and Apache lands. It is during this period that the bonds between Quanah and the Burnett family grew strong.
Burnett ran 10,000 cattle until the end of the lease. The cattle baron had a strong feeling for Indian rights, and his respect for them was genuine. Where other cattle kings fought Indians and the harsh land to build empires, Burnett learned Comanche ways, passing both the love of the land and his friendship with the Indians to his family. As a sign of their regard for Burnett, the Comanches gave him a name in their own language:
Mas-sa-suta, meaning “Big Boss.”
Parker earned the respect of US governmental leaders as he adapted to the white man’s life and became a prosperous rancher in Oklahoma. His spacious, two-story Star House had a bedroom for each of his seven wives and their children. He had his own private quarters, which were rather plain. Beside his bed were photographs of his mother Nadua (Cynthia Ann) and younger sister Prairie Flower. Parker extended hospitality to many influential people, both Native American and European American. Among the latter were the Texas surveyor
W. D. TwichellWillis Day Twichell was a Texas surveyor and civil engineer, based primarily in Amarillo and later Austin, who surveyed 165 of the state's 254 counties.-Background:...
and the cattleman
Charles GoodnightCharles Goodnight, also known as Charlie Goodnight , was a cattle rancher in the American West, perhaps the best known rancher in Texas. He is sometimes known as the "father of the Texas Panhandle." Essayist and historian J...
.
Of all his white acquaintances, Parker counted Burk Burnett the best. He reportedly said: “I got one good friend, Burk Burnett, he big-hearted, rich cowman. Help my people good deal. You see big man hold tight to money, afraid to die. Burnett helped anybody.”
During the next 27 years Parker and the Burnetts shared many experiences. Burnett helped with the construction of Star House, Quanah’s large frame home, which bore the inverted white stars signifying his rank. Burnett asked for (and received) Quanah's participation in a parade with a large group of warriors at the Fort Worth Fat Stock Show and other public events. The “Parade” lance depicted in the exhibit was usually carried by Quanah at such public gatherings. Burnett assisted Quanah in buying the granite headstones used to mark the graves of his mother and sister. After years of searching, Parker had their remains moved from Texas and reinterred in 1910 in Oklahoma on the Comanche reservation at Fort Sill.
According to his daughter
Wanada Page Parker, her father helped celebrate President
Theodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
's inauguration by appearing in the parade. In April 1905, Roosevelt visited Parker at the Star House. President Roosevelt and Parker went
wolf huntingWolf hunting is the practice of hunting grey wolves or other lupine animals. Wolves are mainly hunted for sport, for their skins, to protect livestock, and, in some rare cases, to protect humans. Wolves have been actively hunted since 12,000 to 13,000 years ago, when they first began to pose...
together with Burnett near
Frederick, OklahomaFrederick is a city in Tillman County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,940 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Tillman County. This is an agriculture based community primarily with wheat, cotton, and cattle....
.
Marriage and family
Quanah's first wife was Wec-Keah or
Weakeah, daughter of Comanche chief Yellow Bear. Although first espoused to another warrior, she and Quanah eloped, and took several other warriors with them. It was from this small group that the large Quahadi band would form. Yellow Bear pursued the band and eventually Quanah made peace with him. The two bands united, forming the largest force of Comanche Indians.
Over the years, Quanah married six more wives: Chony, Mah-Chetta-Wookey, Ah-Uh-Wuth-Takum, Coby, Toe-Pay, and Tonarcy. A c. 1890 photograph by William B. Ellis of Quanah and two of his wives identified them as
Topay and
Chonie. Quanah had twenty-five children with his wives.
After moving to the reservation, Quanah got in touch with his white relatives from his mother's family. He stayed for a few weeks with them, where he studied
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Western culture, and learned white farming techniques.
Founder of the Native American Church Movement
Quanah Parker is credited as one of the first important leaders of the
Native American ChurchNative American Church, a religious denomination which practices Peyotism or the Peyote religion, originated in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and is the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans in the United States...
movement. Parker adopted the peyote religion after having been gored in southern Texas by a bull. Parker was visiting his mother's brother, John Parker, in Texas where he was attacked, giving him severe wounds. To fight an onset of blood burning fever, a Mexican curandera was summoned and she prepared a strong peyote tea from fresh peyote to heal him. Thereafter, Quanah Parker became involved with peyote, which contains
hordenineHordenine is a phenethylamine alkaloid with antibacterial and antibiotic properties. It stimulates the release of norepinephrine in mammals, working as a stimulant...
,
mescalineMescaline or 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloid of the phenethylamine class used mainly as an entheogen....
or phenylethylamine alkaloids, and
tyramineTyramine is a naturally occurring monoamine compound and trace amine derived from the amino acid tyrosine. Tyramine acts as a catecholamine releasing agent...
which act as natural antibiotics when taken in a combined form. Clinical studies indicate that peyocactin, a water-soluble crystalline substance separated from an ethanol extract of the plant, proved an effective antibiotic against 18 strains of penicillin-resistant
staphylococcus aureusStaphylococcus aureus is a facultative anaerobic Gram-positive coccal bacterium. It is frequently found as part of the normal skin flora on the skin and nasal passages. It is estimated that 20% of the human population are long-term carriers of S. aureus. S. aureus is the most common species of...
, several other bacteria, and a fungus.
Parker taught that the sacred peyote medicine was the sacrament given to the Indian peoples and was to be used with water when taking communion in a traditional Native American Church medicine ceremony. Parker was a proponent of the "half-moon" style of the peyote ceremony. The "cross" ceremony later evolved in Oklahoma because of
CaddoThe Caddo Nation is a confederacy of several Southeastern Native American tribes, who traditionally inhabited much of what is now East Texas, northern Louisiana and portions of southern Arkansas and Oklahoma. Today the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma is a cohesive tribe with its capital at Binger, Oklahoma...
influences introduced by
John WilsonJohn Wilson was a Caddo-Delaware-French medicine man and religious leader.John Wilson's Caddo name was Nishkû'ntu, meaning "Moon Head." Though he was of half-Delaware descent, John Wilson spoke only the Caddo language and identified only as a Caddo. In 1890, he became an influential leader in the...
, a
CaddoThe Caddo Nation is a confederacy of several Southeastern Native American tribes, who traditionally inhabited much of what is now East Texas, northern Louisiana and portions of southern Arkansas and Oklahoma. Today the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma is a cohesive tribe with its capital at Binger, Oklahoma...
-
DelawareThe Delaware Nation, sometimes called the Absentee or Western Delaware, is one of two federally recognized tribe of Delaware Indians, along with the Delaware Indians based in Bartlesville, Oklahoma...
religious leader who traveled extensively around the same time as Parker during the early days of the Native American Church movement.
Parker's most famous teaching regarding the spirituality of the Native American Church:
- "The White Man goes into his church and talks about Jesus. The Indian goes into his tipi
A tipi is a Lakota name for a conical tent traditionally made of animal skins and wooden poles used by the nomadic tribes and sedentary tribal dwellers of the Great Plains...
and talks with JesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
."
The modern reservation era in Native American history began with the adoption of the Native American Church and Christianity by nearly every Native American tribe and culture within North American and
CanadaFirst Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
as a result of Parker and Wilson's efforts. The peyote religion and the Native American Church were never the traditional religious practice of North American Indian cultures. This religion developed in the nineteenth century, inspired by events of the time being east and west of the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, Parker's leadership, and influences from Native Americans of
MexicoMexico, in the second article of its Constitution, is defined as a "pluricultural" nation in recognition of the diverse ethnic groups that constitute it, and in which the indigenous peoples are the original foundation...
and other
southern tribesThe Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. Their colorful equestrian culture and resistance to White domination have made the Plains Indians an archetype in literature and art for American Indians everywhere.Plains...
. They had used peyote in spiritual practices since ancient times. Parker became wealthy as peyote became an important item of trade, combined with his ranching revenues.
Death
At the age of fifty-nine, Quanah died on February 23, 1911, at
Star HouseThe Quanah Parker Star House, with stars painted on its the roof, is located in the city of Cache, county of Comanche, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Comanche County, Oklahoma in 1970....
. In 1911, Quanah was interred at Post Oak Mission Cemetery near
Cache, OklahomaCache is a city in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,796 at the 2010 census. It is an exurb included in the Lawton, Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. In 1957, he was moved to Fort Sill Post Cemetery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, along with his mother
Cynthia Ann ParkerCynthia Ann Parker, or Naduah , was an American woman of old colonial stock of Scots-Irish descent who was captured and kidnapped at the age of nine by a American Indian band which massacred her family and...
and sister Topsannah ("Prairie Flower"). The inscription on his tombstone reads:
- Resting Here Until Day Breaks
- And Shadows Fall and Darkness
- Disappears is
- Quanah Parker Last Chief of the Comanches
- Born 1852
- Died Feb. 23, 1911
- Post Oak Mission Cemetery Comanche County, Oklahoma 34.62310°N 98.75970°W
- Fort Sill Post Cemetery 34.669529°N 98.395336°W
Biographer Bill Neeley wrote:
"Not only did Quanah pass within the span of a single lifetime from a
Stone AgeThe Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
warrior to a
statesmanA statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
in the age of the
Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, but he never lost a battle to the white man and he also accepted the challenge and responsibility of leading the whole Comanche tribe on the difficult road toward their new existence."
Criticism
Although praised by many in his tribe as a preserver of their culture, Quanah also had Comanche critics. Some claimed that he "sold out to the white man" by adapting and becoming a rancher. He dressed and lived in what some viewed as a more European-American than Comanche style. Quanah did adopt some European-American ways, but he always wore his hair long and in braids. He also refused to follow US marriage laws and had up to five wives at one time.
Quanah was never elected principal chief of the tribe by the people. Traditionally, the Comanche had no single chief. The various bands of the Comanche had their own chiefs. The US appointed Quanah principal chief of the entire nation once the people had gathered on the reservation and later introduced general elections.
Family reunion and powwow
The Quanah Parker Society, based in Cache, Oklahoma, holds an annual family reunion and powwow. Events usually include a pilgrimage to sacred sites in Quanah, Texas; tour of his "Star Home" in Cache; dinner; memorial service at Fort Sill Post Cemetery;
gourd danceThe Gourd Dance is a type of Native American celebration dance and ceremony. It is believed that the dance originated with the Kiowa tribe. Gourd dances are often held to coincide with a pow-wow, although the Gourd Dance has its own unique dance and history...
,
pow-wowA pow-wow is a gathering of North America's Native people. The word derives from the Narragansett word powwaw, meaning "spiritual leader". A modern pow-wow is a specific type of event where both Native American and non-Native American people meet to dance, sing, socialize, and honor American...
, and worship services. This event is open to the public.
Memorials and honors
- 1970, Star House
The Quanah Parker Star House, with stars painted on its the roof, is located in the city of Cache, county of Comanche, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Comanche County, Oklahoma in 1970....
was listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
- Built 1890 34.66889°N 98.648815°W
- Relocation 1956 34.634461°N 98.64175°W
- An exhibit describes Parker and the Second Battle of Adobe Walls
The Second Battle of Adobe Walls was fought on June 27, 1874 between Comanche forces and a group of twenty-eight U.S. bison hunters defending the settlement of Adobe Walls, Texas in what is now Hutchinson County, Texas.-Adobe Walls Settlement:...
at the Hutchinson County Historical MuseumThe Hutchinson County Historical Museum, also known as Boom Town Revisited, is a museum in Borger, Texas, with more than sixty exhibits spanning the period from the 16th-century expedition of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado to the Texas Panhandle petroleum boom of the 1920s...
in Borger, TexasBorger is the largest city in Hutchinson County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,302 at the 2000 census. Borger is named for businessman Asa Philip "Ace" Borger, who also established the Hutchinson County seat of Stinnett and several other small towns in Texas and Oklahoma.- History...
.
Several places and buildings were named after him:
- Quanah, Texas
Quanah is a city in and the county seat of Hardeman County, Texas, United States, northwest of Fort Worth, and a few miles from the Oklahoma-Texas state line...
, county seat of Hardeman CountyAs of the census of 2000, there were 4,724 people, 1,943 households, and 1,319 families residing in the county. The population density was 7 people per square mile . There were 2,358 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile...
. The Quanah Parker Inn is located on U.S. Highway 287. At the founding of Quanah, Parker made this blessing:
"May the
Great SpiritThe Great Spirit, also called Wakan Tanka among the Sioux, the Creator or the Great Maker in English, and Gitchi Manitou in Algonquian, is a conception of a supreme being prevalent among some Native American and First Nations cultures...
smile on your little town, May the rain fall in season, and in the warmth of the sunshine after the rain, May the earth yield bountifully, May peace and contentment be with you and your children forever."
- Nocona, Texas
Nocona is a city along U.S. Highway 82 and State Highway 175 in Montague County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,198 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, was named after Quanah Parker's father, Comanche chief Peta Nocona.
- 1962, Parker Hall, a residence hall at Oklahoma State University.
- Parker Hall, a residence hall at Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Southwestern Oklahoma State University is a public university in Weatherford and Sayre, Oklahoma. It is one of seven state regional universities in the state of Oklahoma.The current president of SWOSU is Randy Beutler.-History:...
.
- The Quanah Parker Trailway (State Highway 62) in Southern Oklahoma.
- Quanah Parker Trail, a small residential street on the northeast side of Norman, Oklahoma
Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
.
- Parker County, in Texas, is named after Quanah Parker.
- In Fort Worth, along the banks of the Trinity River, is Quanah Parker Park.
- The Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway
Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway was a freight railroad that operated between the Red River and Floydada, Texas, from 1902 until it was merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1981.- History :...
, which originated in Texas in 1902 and was later merged with the Burlington Northern RailroadThe Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996....
in 1981.
- A Bank Robbery (1908), western short movie
- America's Great Indian Leaders (1994), documentary video
Recommended reading
- Jo Ann Powell Exley, Frontier Blood: the Saga of the Parker Family, Texas A & M University, 2001
- S. C. Gwynne, Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History, New York: Scribner, 2010
- William T. Hagan, United States-Comanche Relations: The Reservation Years, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1976
- William T. Hagan, Quanah Parker, Comanche Chief, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993
- Clyde L. and Grace Jackson, Quanah Parker, last chief of the Comanches; a study in Southwestern Frontier history, New York, Exposition Press [1963]
- Bill Neeley, The Last Comanche Chief: The Life and Times of Quanah Parker, New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1995
External links