Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
1991
Abstract
The Comanches were the only tribe from the Pacific side of the Continental Divide to carve out a permanent niche for themselves on the Plains after the arrival of Europeans and horses in the region. Although they based their life almost totally on the horse, the Comanches remained unique in many ways among plains tribes. They neglected the annual Sun Dance rituals and communal buffalo hunts common to other tribes and failed to develop a system of soldier societies to regulate various tribal activities. Despite the many scholarly studies of them, much needs to be explained about their societies, such as the reasons a poorly organized and unpopulous folk could achieve such success against both other Indians and Europeans.
Comments
Published in GREAT PLAINS QUARTERLY 11:3 (Summer 1991). Copyright © 1991 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln.