Awards
Named History Book of the Year by the Oklahoma Historical Society
Synopses & Reviews
The son of white captive Cynthia Ann Parker, Quanak Parker rose from able warrior to tribal leader on the Comanche reservation. Between 1875 and his death in 1911, Quanah dealth with local Indian agents and with presidents and other high officials in Washington, facing the classic dilemma of a leader caught between the dictates of an occupying power and the wrenching physical and spiritual needs of his people. He maintained a remarkable blend of progressive and traditional beliefs, and contrary to government policy, he preacticed polygamy and the peyote religion.
Review
"The best biography of Quanah Parker in print. Hagan does much to separate the man from the myth and put this Comanche leader in a proper historical perspective" R. David Edmunds, Indiana University
Review
"Carefully researched, well presented, and eminently fair, the biography shows how Quanah and, by extension, many Plains Indian leaders of the period sought to maintain their cultural identity on reservations even as they adapted to a white-dominated world." Journal of Southern History
Review
"By clearing away many myths and misunderstandings, Quanah Parker, Comanche Chief gives valuable insight into the 'survival strategies' of Native Americans. General readers and scholars will relish this interpretation." Panhandle-Plains Historical Review
About the Author
William T. Hagan is retired Professor of History at the University of Oklahoma. His numerous books on American Indian subjects include The Sac and Fox Indians; United Statesandndash;Comanche Relations; Quanah Parker, Comanche Chief; and Theodore Roosevelt and Six Friends of the Indian, all published by the University of Oklahoma Press.