Quanah (or Parker Quanah) (c. 1845–1911)

Comanche leader. In 1867 was made war chief of the Comanche, and for the next eight years he led an alliance of various tribes in raids against frontier settlements in Texas. After finally surrendering in 1875 he quickly accommodated himself to the white culture. In 1886 he became a judge of the Court of Indian Affairs; by 1890 he was principal chief of all Comanche bands, and was also a major figure in the peyote religion.

He was born at Cedar Lake, Texas, the son of a Comanche chief and Cynthia Ann Parker, a captive white woman (taken back by whites in 1860). He grew up to become a bold warrior. After 1875 he prospered as both a farmer and the managing agent for business deals between whites and Indian tribes – he was reputed in later years to be the wealthiest American Indian in North America – but he also created wealth for fellow Indians by getting them to lease surplus tribal lands to white cattlemen. He rode beside Geronimo in the inaugural parade of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1905.