Comanche Indians

The history and culture of the Comanche Indians.

The Comanche Indians numbered as many as 20,000 in their heyday. Today, there are approximately 10,000 members of the Comanche Nation. Today, the majority of Comanche Indians live in Oklahoma. Those not located in Oklahoma can be found living in Texas, California, and New Mexico. Historically, the Comanche Indians lived in New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. The name Comanche is believed to come from the Komantcia, the Spanish, which is their way of saying the Ute word Kohmahts, which means people.

The Comanche Indians were seen as a separate group around 1700, having broken away from the Shoshone people. At the same time, the Comanche Indians acquired horses, which allowed them to look for better hunting grounds. Unfortunately, the Comanche never formed a cohesive group, but remained almost a dozen different groups just as likely to fight amongst themselves as help each other.