Special | 5m 22s | Video has closed captioning.
Today the image of Indians on horseback is iconic. But Native Americans never set eyes on a horse before the 15th century when Europeans bring them to America as a weapon of conquest. The Comanche and other native peoples adapt the horse as a powerful ally in the fight to protect their land and way of life. The Comanche consider the horse a relative and a gift from the Creator.
Aired: 08/15/18
♪ ♪ (horse whinnying) (man singing) NARRATOR: Today, the image of Indians on horseback is iconic.
But Native Americans never set eyes on a horse before the 15th century, when Europeans bring them to America as a weapon of conquest.
The Comanche and other native peoples adapt the horse as a powerful ally in the fight to protect their land and way of life.
WOMAN (speaking native language): (horse whinnying) FOWLES: This rock art tells a story.
This is commemorating an event, a very successful horse raid.
♪ ♪ MYERS: We're looking at possibly the beginning of our empire as Comanche people on horseback.
It's just amazing.
NARRATOR: The panel is just one of hundreds found in this gorge created by Jhane's ancestors.
These images in Comanche oral history are rewriting the story of Native America in the wake of European colonialism.
♪ ♪ LINDSAY MONTGOMERY: We're seeing the first encounter between the Spanish here, the Comanche, and the horse.
NARRATOR: The rock art may memorialize a pivotal moment in history, a battle in which the Comanches seize the horse.
(men singing in native language) WOMAN (speaking native language): NARRATOR: To the Comanche, the horse is a gift from the creator.
♪ ♪ (woman speaking native language) (guns firing, horses neighing) (gun fires, horse whinnies) ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: After U.S. troops slaughter the Comanche herd, Quanah Parker, the last free Comanche chief, surrenders.
♪ ♪ WOMAN: I want people to see us and just think, "Oh, my gosh, that person is Comanche.
"Those people-- they're not historical, "they're still alive today.
Look, they're thriving."
NARRATOR: And the spirit of the horse remains at the heart of the Comanche nation.
When the moon is full, the Comanche believe those mustangs massacred in the Texas panhandle still run free.
WOMAN (speaking native language):
BLOG
Explore how Indigenous people, as individuals and as a communities, carry on their cultural knowledge and traditions through food, culture, storytelling and more.
Explore the Blog
