Quanah Parker provides an example of the changing times in which many Native American tribes lived and how they were able to adapt. Parker was influential and learned how to move between Comanche culture and the white culture that swept in from the east. He refers to Indians as "his people," yet embraces the white way and encourages other Indians to do the same. What we find in studying Parker is a person who was able to thrive in two different worlds, maintaining loyalties to both. Parker raided Mexican and American settlements and fought encroachment on his land. Yet, he later worked hand in hand with outsiders to provide the best deal moving forward, for himself and the tribe, against the same people he had fiercely fought years before. Examining his past and Comanche culture provides clues to his success in navigating the new reality he faced.
Meet Dr. Colt Chaney
Dr. Colt Chaney is a history professor at Dallas College Mountain View Campus. He is an Oklahoma native. In his college days, he trained horses and participated in team roping events at the amateur and professional levels. He received his Masters and PhD degrees in US History from Oklahoma State University. His areas of interest are Native American, US West, and Public History. His dissertation is on Native American representation in film (Westerns primarily) from 1950-1970. Dr. Chaney taught history at Murray State College in Oklahoma and Tyler Junior College prior to his current position at Dallas College.