In the late 20th century about 10,000 Comanche lived in the United States. Many people were killed in violent battles between the Comanche and U.S. The northern branch of the tribe fought to protect its hunting grounds against white settlers. In the mid-1800s the southern branch of the Comanche were settled on a reservation in the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). By the early 1800s the Comanche had become a powerful tribe. Their main source of food was bison meat, and they used the animals’ hides for clothing and as coverings for their tepees.ĭuring their travels the Comanche introduced other tribes to the use of horses. The Comanche used their horses to hunt bison (buffalo).

The Comanche got horses from the Spanish in the 1600s. In the beginning, they were primarily a hunter-gatherer nomadic society, but with horses, they became more daring and aggressive and were soon considered the best buffalo hunters on the plains.

The Comanche moved southward in stages, attacking and displacing other Plains tribes. The horse was a key element in Comanche culture, who are thought to have been the first of the Plains Indians to have horses. The Comanche were originally a branch of the Shoshone people of Wyoming. They were one of the first tribes to use horses extensively. ©2022 Comanche Nation.The Comanche people are a Native American tribe that once roamed the southern Great Plains of North America. The Comanche tribe currently has approximately 17,000 enrolled tribal members with around 7,000 residing in the tribal jurisdictional area around the Lawton, Ft Sill, and surrounding counties. The Comanche Nation’s main headquarters is located 9 miles north of Lawton, Oklahoma. All the while working to improve economic status, protect and manage the Nation's natural resources and cultural heritage. The mission of the Comanche Nation is to define, establish and safeguard the rights, powers and privileges of the tribe and its members, to improve the economic, moral, educational and health status of its members and to cooperate with and seek the assistance of the United States in carrying out mutual programs to accomplish these purposes by all possible means and to promote in other ways the common well-being of the tribe and its membership. The Comanche Business Committees' main objective is to carry out the mission of the Constitution of the Comanche Nation. The Chief Of Staff (formerly known as the Tribal Administrator) is also elected by the Tribal Council and responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Tribal Government. Seven elected officials that are voted into office by the Tribal Council fill the positions of Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary/Treasurer, and the four seats of Committeeman which collectively are called the Comanche Business Committee (CBC). The Tribal Council which consists of all enrolled members over the age of 18 is the main governing body. The Comanche Nation is governed by the Constitution of the Comanche Nation. It provided food, clothing, tepee covering, and a wide variety of other goods for economical purposes. The buffalo was also an important resource for the people. Bands of the Comanche were formed on the basis of kinship and other social relationships. Comanche horsemen set the pattern of nomadic equestrian life that became characteristic of the Plains tribes in the 18th and 19th centuries. They were highly skilled at breeding and trading the horse, which became an important resource for the people that radically changed life on the plains. They fought battles on horseback which was a skill unknown among other Indian peoples of that time. The people mastered their skills on horseback and gained a tremendous advantage in times of war. The horse was a key element in Comanche culture. We ultimately settled here in Southwest Oklahoma. We Migrated across the Plains, through Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. In the late 1600’s and early 1700’s, we moved off from our Shoshone kinsmen onto the northern Plains and then southerly in search of a new homeland. We are known as “Lords of the Plains” and were once a part of the Shoshone Tribe. We are the Comanche Nation and in our native language “Nʉmʉnʉʉ” (NUH-MUH-NUH) which means, “The People”.

Comanche National Museum & Cultural Center.

Comanche Language & Cultural Preservation Committee (CLCPC).

Lawton Early Childhood Development Center.

Comanche Nation Childcare Center (Apache, Ok).

Community Health Representative, Emergency Medical Service, Fire Program.

Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act.

Comanche indians