Quanah Parker

Um, shout out Andrew for keeping this channel alive.

But, uh, this is one that I read, Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History, S.C. Gwynne.

This was an amazing book.

Uh, I gave this book five stars.

So I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to learn about the Comanches or just in general some of the conflict and affairs between settlers and the Native American tribes, 'cause you learn, do learn about other tribes and peoples, um, throughout this book.

Uh, so yeah, great book.

Quanah Parker's a really, really interesting figure.

Um, he had a Native American dad, a white American mother, um, so that was kind of a factor in his life, especially his early life.

Yeah.

We have Quanah Parker: Between Two Worlds.

Yeah, and today we're gonna talk about Quanah Parker, but we're also gonna talk about how reservations came to be, and then assimilation and what that looked like, and why peyote played a role in having religious freedom for the Native American church.

Can't wait.

So what happens when an entire way of life is deliberately dismantled, and one man has to decide whether to fight the system from the outside or survive by working within it? Quanah Parker was born into the Comanche world, became a powerful world leader, and eventually surrendered to the reservation system after the Red River War, but his story didn't end there.

He became a political intermediary, accumulated wealth, challenged federal policies, and became one of the most influential advocates for peyote as a sacred medicine.

This is the story of Quanah Parker, the suppression of Comanche life, and the complicated fight to preserve indigenous identity, spirituality, and sovereignty.

Let's do it.

Sorry

... uh, actually Abby's descended, I'm not, but Abby's mom is Quanah Parker's great-granddaughter or something like that.

He was a great, uh, chief of the Plains Nations, and, uh, Bonnie Parker's, uh, also a relation, of Bonnie and Clyde fame.

Oh.

When Wild Bill and Jingles returned to Fitz Longman's ranch, Jingles was still raving about the Indians.

Indians? Well, Jingles, I ain't seen an Indian around these parts since they caught up with Quanah Parker's band.

Well, that shoots that idea, partner.

Well, then I give up, Bill.

Now, there are times where it is referred to as Jerusalem before it becomes Jerusalem, but it's simply the writer trying to identify it.

So for example, if I said to you that, um, Quanah Parker, w- uh, the great Comanche chief, was in West Texas, that's not exactly true.

[laughs] Because it wasn't the state of Texas at that time.

So i- but it's, but a way to identify it so you'll know where, where it all happened.

Because...

I live in Quanah Parker's old stomping grounds, so it's a cool...

He is a cool dude.

Nice.