Comanche

Comanche (kəmăn`chē), Native North Americans belonging to the Shoshonean group of the Uto-Aztecan branch of the Aztec-Tanoan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They originated from a Basin-type culture and eventually adopted a Plains culture. They separated from the Shoshone and migrated southward in the late 1600s, appearing in New Mexico around 1705. In the late 18th cent. and early 19th cent. their range included SE Colorado, SW Kansas, W Oklahoma, and N Texas. The Comanche were excellent horsemen and inveterate raiders, often pushing far S into Mexico. They were extremely warlike and effectively prevented white settlers from passing safely through their territory for more than a century. They are said to have killed more whites in proportion to their own numbers than any other Native American group. They were associated with the Kiowa, the Cheyenne, and the Arapaho in a loose confederacy. The Comanche, however, considered themselves superior to their associates, and their language served as the trade language for the area. The sun dance, a common feature in the Plains culture area, was not an important part of Comanche culture; they probably introduced the peyote ritual to the Plains tribes. Never a large group despite their wide range, their numbers were greatly reduced by warfare and disease. In 1990 there were about 11,500 Comanche in the United States.

Bibliography

See E. Wallace and E. A. Hoebel, Comanches, The Lords of the South Plains (1952); J. E. Harston, Comanche Land (1963); A. C. Greene, The Last Captive (1972); T. R. Fehrenbach, Comanches: the Destruction of a People (1974).

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Comanche

 also Padouca

Nomadic North American Indian group of southwest Oklahoma, Texas, California, and New Mexico, U.S. The name Comanche is derived from a Ute word meaning “anyone who wants to fight me all the time.” Their language is of Uto-Aztecan stock. An offshoot of the Shoshone, they were organized into about 12 autonomous bands, local groups that lacked the lineages, clans, military societies, and tribal government of most other Plains Indians. They roamed the southern Great Plains in the 18th and 19th centuries. Their staple food was buffalo meat. Their highly skilled horsemen set the pattern of equestrian nomadism on the Plains. In 1864 Col. Kit Carson led U.S. forces in an unsuccessful campaign against them. Treaties were signed in 1865 and 1867, but the U.S. government failed to keep settlers off the land promised to the Comanche, which led to violent conflicts. In the 20th century, Comanche individuals served as Code-Talkers; these soldiers used their home languages to ensure the secrecy of wartime communications and played a notable role during both World Wars. Comanche descendants numbered some 20,000 in the early 21st century.

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Comanche

horse; sole survivor of Little Big Horn massacre (1876). [Am. Hist.: Wallechinsky, 126]

See : Survival