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Quanah Parker

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The Resume

    (circa 1850-February 23, 1911)
    Born in Wichita Mountains, Texas
    Comanche birth name was 'Kwana'
    Chief of the Comanche Tribe band, Quahandi
    Wealthy rancher, lobbyist, and influential figure in both Comanche and Euro-American society
    Major leader of the multi-tribe conflict with the United States Army, the Red River War (1874-1875)
    Final leader of the Quahadis before their surrender at the Battle of the Great Plains (1875)
    Credited with bringing the Quahada band into Fort Sill, Oklahoma (June 1875)
    Founder of the Native American Church Movement & the Peyote Religion in the late 1880s
    Elected Sheriff of Lawton, Oklahoma (1902)

Why he might be annoying:

    His home is a state tourist attraction.
    His age was unknown, with his birth years variously listed as being 1843, 1845, 1850, and 1852.
    The meaning of his name is disputed. Some of the theories are that it means 'bad odor,' 'fragrant,' 'sweet smell,' or 'a bed of flowers.'
    His birthplace has also been disputed. He variously claimed to have been born at Laguna Sabinas and The Wichita Mountains, in Texas .
    He was accused by some tribesmen of selling out the Comanche Nation by signing the 1892 Jerome Agreement treaty.
    He annoyed Indian Department officials he worked with by assimilating but refusing to give up polygamy.
    He might have been the wealthiest Indian in the country, and he frequently ripped off the Victorian fashion trends of the period.
    He was one of the most prominent, feared, and influential Southern Plains Indian Chiefs of his time but is now overshadowed by Sioux Chiefs, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull.
    He was appointed leader of the entire Comanche Nation by the U.S. Government, but because the Comanche tribe traditionally did not recognize any one leader, many tribe members saw his leadership as illegitimate.
    He vehemently denied having any involvement with Sitting Bull and the Ghost Dance movement, saying that he would be 'worse than an idiot' to follow them and saying that 'few of the Comanche Indians pay any attention to the Messiah craze, and those who do are crazy.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was wolf-hunting buddies with Teddy Roosevelt.
    Small consolation to his being largely ignored in textbooks is that he is easily the best known Comanche leader in American history.
    He was born the son of a white captive to the Comanche.
    His mother died shortly after the death of his sister, leaving him destitute.
    He was a rarity among South Plains warriors in that he was a half-white Indian who maintained close ties with his white family members.
    In the entire period of tribal resistance, he was never captured by the U.S. Government.
    He suffered severe bullet wounds at least twice from soldiers in battle.
    His tribe was severely weakened by the starvation brought on by the U.S. Army's buffalo hunting, eventually leading to their surrender and relocation to an Oklahoma reservation.
    He advocated cooperation with the government but advocated that Indians keep alive their cultural traditions.
    He was a major proponent of education for Indian children and oversaw the building of reservation schools.
    He was an effectively outspoken lobbyist noted for using the government's own laws to gain rights for hi tribe, e.g. attaining full American citizenship for his people.
    He created a booming ranching/grazing industry on the reservation by teaching his tribesmen white farming techniques and carpentry.
    His tribe became so financially prosperous that the government had to step in and break the reservation up into individual holdings, opening the territory to outside white settlers.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 15 Votes: 46.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 35 Votes: 20.0% Annoying