New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas were the original home to the Comanche Indians.   This tribe numbered as many as 20,000 in their day, the majority of Comanche Indians today live in Oklahoma.   Other members of the Comanche Nation live in parts of Texas, California, and New Mexico. Historically, the name Comanche is believed to come from the word Komantcia, or the Spanish, which is their way of saying the Ute word Kohmahts, which means “people.”   However the root word is still up for debates. 

Many people are unaware that the Comanche Indians were actually part of the Shoshone people until 1700, when they broke away as a separate group.  Unfortunately, because the Comanche never formed a cohesive group of people, they were just as likely to fight amongst themselves, as they were to help each other.  In actuality, there were approximately twelve different groups of Comanche Indians after the split.

Likewise and not surprisingly, the Comanche Indians did not have a central leader but rather a council of people that made decisions regarding the group. This council consisted of two chiefs, the peace chief and war chief and several other leaders as well. The peace chief was more than likely an older male tribe member who was seen as very wise and had much experience. The war chief was usually elected during war times and was admired by others as a brave warrior. The council was in charge of all decisions, from things such as where the group should hunt to whether or not they should declare war at any given time. As with most tribes of the times, the Comanche men were in charge of hunting and fighting, while the women were busy at home cooking, gardening, tending to their children and setting up the camps for their families.

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