The enormous arrows that mark the trail sites were made by regional sculptor Charles Smith (1942-2018), who lived near Lubbock. In 2011, residents living in the former Comanchería established the Quanah Parker Trail to interpret the Indigenous history of the region in the days before and during colonial settlement. Parker made deals with white ranchers who leased Comanche lands for their cattle to graze, and he negotiated other business dealings with white investors. On the reservation, Parker continued his leadership, unifying the different Comanche groups and encouraging their cultural traditions while also incorporating Anglo forms of schooling and agriculture. But after unrelenting pressure from the US Army, they were removed to the Kiowa-Comanche reservation in Oklahoma in the mid-1870s. Yet he was also adept at building relationships with them.įor years under Quanah Parker’s leadership, in the 1860s and 1870s, the Quahada Comanche held their territory against increasing force. He was haunted by loss and by resentment toward Anglo Texans. As an adult, Cynthia Ann was recaptured by the Texas Rangers and forcibly returned to white society. She grew up with the tribe, married chief Peta Nocona, and had three children, of whom Quanah was the first, born around 1845. His mother was Cynthia Ann Parker, who was famously captured at age 9 by a group of Comanche during an 1836 raid at her family’s homestead near present-day Mexia. Parker was the son of a Quahada Comanche man and a white woman, a heritage that made a lasting impact on his life. They commemorate Quanah Parker, last chief of the Comanche (Nʉmʉnʉʉ), and the territory called Comanchería where his people lived. Dozens of arrows, 22 feet tall, pierce the landscape of the Panhandle Plains.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |