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The Comanche Indians were a dominant Native American tribe in American history, controlling much of the southern plains. They broke away from the Shosana tribe and rapidly expanded their territory with the introduction of horses. They fought and defeated other tribes and occasionally fought alongside Europeans. Their downfall was due to their enormous size and the decimating effects of Western-brought diseases. By 1850, their population declined rapidly, and they surrendered to US forces in 1870. Today, they reside primarily in Oklahoma, and the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma works to preserve their cultural heritage.
The Comanche Indians are a large American Indian tribe, and were one of the strongest and most dominant Native American tribes in American history. During the tribe’s heyday they controlled much of the southern plains in America and fiercely opposed the settlement of the territory by Europeans and other Native American tribes. Today they reside primarily in Oklahoma.
Originally part of the Shosana tribe, the Comanche Indians are thought to have broken away from Shosana in the late 1600s or early 1700s to form their own tribe. The tribe’s numbers and the amount of land they controlled were both small at first, but with the introduction of the horse to the Americas by Europeans, Comanche territory spread rapidly. By 1750, the Comanche nation controlled much of the Great Plains, ruling all of what is now Oklahoma and parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Texas, and Arizona. Between its land area and population, which some place at more than 45,000, the Comanche were one of the most dominant and powerful Native American tribes.
During its period of expansion, the Comanche often had a feud with, and defeated, other Native American tribes such as the Apache and Ute. The tribe would also occasionally fight alongside Europeans if the common enemies were other tribes.
Its enormous size was in fact part of the downfall of the Comanche, as the tribe, which included large armies of horses, required too many natural resources to remain sustainable. With food and shelter running low, the Comanche could no longer defend themselves against American settlers seeking to move into the land, Spanish buffalo hunters, and rival Indian nations such as the Fox tribe. Add to that the decimating effects of Western-brought diseases like smallpox and measles, and the Comanche Indians began to see rapid population decline.
By 1850, fewer than 10,000 Comanche Indians remained, and the tribe’s territory was shrinking more and more every day. The American Civil War brought a temporary lull, but after the conflict ended the Comanche were soon engaged in warfare against the entire United States Army. When the Comanche surrendered to US forces in 1870, its total population was 1,500.
Comanche Indians now reside in and around a reservation in Lawton, Oklahoma. The modern Comanche Nation of Oklahoma is responsible for determining who can legitimately claim membership in the Comanche tribe and works to preserve the cultural heritage of the Comanche people.
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