Quanah Parker

Quanah Parker was a Comanche leader, the son of Peta Nocona and Cynthia Ann Parker. He resisted United States expansion during the final years of warfare on the southern plains, then surrendered with the Quahadi Comanche in 1875. On the reservation he became a successful rancher and political intermediary and played an important role in the development of the Native American Church.

After years of resistance on the southern Plains, Quanah surrendered with his followers at Fort Sill in 1875 and adapted rapidly to reservation politics. He became a prominent Comanche spokesman, rancher and negotiator while defending tribal interests and supporting the Native American Church, making his later career as significant as his earlier military resistance.

In Lucia St. Clair Robson’s Ride the Wind, Renamed Naduah, she learns the language, skills and obligations of her new community until Comanche life becomes her own. She marries the warrior Peta Nocona and raises a family that includes Quanah Parker, while raiding, trade and seasonal movement bind the household to the southern plains. Historical accounts that place Quanah Parker in context include Hourly History’s The Comanche.