Comanche Indians
United States 
American Indians Oklahoma Indians of Oklahoma Comanche Indians
Guide to Comanche Indians ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and other agency records.
Ancestral Homeland: Mexico to Wyoming
Various Spellings: Comanche, Camanche
Contents
Comanche Bands:
Kewatsana, Kotsai, Kotsoteka (Buffalo Eaters), Kwahadi, Motsai, Nokoni (Wanderers), Patgusa, Penateka (Honey Eaters), Pohoi, Quahadis (Antelopes), Tanima, Wasaih, and Yamparika (Yap Eaters)
Leaders: Quanna Parker
Tribal Headquarters
Comanche Nation of Oklahoma
584 N. W. Bingo Rd.
P. O. Box 908
Lawton, Oklahoma 73505
Toll Free Phone Number: 1.877.492.4988
Fax: 1.580.492.3796
- Comanche Nation Official Website
Population: 1984 Total enrollment 8,131. [1]
History
Brief Timeline
- 1600's: Left Wyoming, neighboring tribe, Shoshone and removed to south to Rocky Mountains.
- 1790: The Comanche allied with Kiowa
- 1791: Living in present day Kansas
- 1795 allies with Kiowa, and Apache
- 1700-1800: raided and roamed Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and northern Mexico
- 1816-1839: Smallpox epidemics
- 1835: Texas Revolution
- 1838: Council House Affair
- 1840: United with southern Cheyenne and Arapaho
- 1845: Annexation of Texas, Texas Rangers protect settlers from hostile Indians, particular the Comanche
- 1849-50: Cholera epidemic
- 1853: Fort Atkinson Treaty - protect the Santa Fe Trail
- 1854: Comanche and Kiowa placed on reservation on the Brazos River.
- 1859: Barzos River Reservations abandoned - moved to new reservation on the Washita River near present-day Fort Cobb, Oklahoma
- 1864: Fought against Kit Carson's men; Battle of Adobe Walls on the Staked Plain for the Texas Panhandle
- 1866/7: Treaty of Medicine Lodge 4,000 Indians in attendance; Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa and Kiowa Apache tribes. William Tecumseh Sherman, Commissioner of Indian Affairs
- 1868: December 25: General Philip Henry Sheridan fought Comanche and Kiowa- Battle of Soldier Springs
- 1871-1874: Comanche and Kiowa wars
- 1874-75: Red River War or Buffalo War
- Peyote Road- Native American Church- sacramental use of peyote - by 1930 half of the Indian population in the United States belonged to the church.
- 1899: Oklahoma Territory ban the use of peyote.
Additional References
Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, gave a more complete history of the Comanche tribe, with estimations of the population of the tribe at various time periods. Additional details are given in John Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North America.
Records
The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters.They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:
- Allotment records
- Annuity rolls
- Census records
- Correspondence
- Health records
- Reports
- School census and records
- Vital records
Agencies
Upper Platte Agency 1846-55
Upper Arkansas Agency 1855-64
Kiowa Agency 1864-80
Texas Agency 1847-59
Wichita Agency 1859-78
Superintendencies
Correspondence and Census
| Tribe | Agency | Location of Original Records | Pre-180 Correspondence M234 Roll Number | FHL Film Number | Post-1885 Census M595 Roll Number | FHL Film Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comanche | Anadarko Area Office, 1881-1962 | Fort Worth | - | - | Rolls 211-23 | - |
| Comanche | Upper Platte Agency,1846-55 | Washington D.C. | Rolls 889-96 | - | Rolls 211-23 | - |
| Comanche | Upper Arkansas Agency, 1855-64 | Washington D.C. | Rolls 878-82 | - | Rolls 211-23 | - |
| Comanche | Kiowa Agency,1864-80 | Fort Worth | Rolls 375-86 | - | Rolls 211-23 | Films:576899-576912 |
Land Records
Tribally owned land 7,045.80 acres. Allotted land: 201,350.17 acres. [2]
Treaties
The year link (year of the treaty) will connect to an online copy of the treaty.
- 1835 August 24, at Camp Holmes
- 1846 May 15, at Council Springs
- 1853 July 27, at Fort Atkinson
- 1865 October 17, referred to in an Apache treaty
- 1865 October 18, at Little Arkansas River
Vital Records
- Kiowa Agency, M595, births and deaths 1924-1932, FHL Film: 576909 and births and deaths 1930-1936, FHL Film: 576911
Important Websites
- Constitution and By-laws of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma, approved: February 23, 2002
- Comanche Nation Official Website
- Comanche Nation Wikipedia
For Further Reading
- Carlson, Paul H. The Plains Indians. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, c1998. FHL Book 970.1 C197p
- Richardson, Rupert Norval, The Comanche Barrier to South Plains Settlement: A Century and a Half of Savage Resistance to the Advancing White Frontier. Glendale: The Arthur H. Clark Co., c. 1933
- Wallace, Ernest and Edward Adamson Hoebel. The Comanches, Lords of the South Plains. FHL book 970.3 C73w
General
For background information to help find American Indian ancestors see For Further Reading.
References
- ↑ Indian Reservations A State and Federal Handbook. Compiled by The Confederation of American Indians, New York, N.Y. McFarland and Co. Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, c. 1986. FHL book 970.1 In2 page 221
- ↑ Indian Reservations A State and Federal Handbook. Compiled by The Confederation of American Indians, New York, N.Y. McFarland and Co. Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, c. 1986. FHL book 970.1 In2 page 220-221
