Introduction
There is much to learn about the Comanche, or as they
call themselves, the Numunuh. Throughout this
presentation you will learn about the past and present
history of the Comanche people.
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Main Points within Presentation:
• The Comanche and their Traditional Life (traditions)
•Role of Men, Women and Children within the tribe (food)
•How Geographic characteristics influenced the Comanche (tools/shelter)
•References
The Comanche and their
Traditional Life
The Comanche
• The Comanche call themselves the “Numunuh” meaning the people
• They are plains Indians who originally lived in the Great Plains
• Today there are roughly 10,000 Comanche people in the United States
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Traditional Life of the Comanche
• The Comanche were a mobile people who lived in teepees
• They moved their camp to follow herds of buffalo that they hunted for
survival
• Buffalo were very important to the Comanche people they used them
in the following ways: they ate their meat, used their skin to make
clothing and teepees, used their stomachs to carry water, the bones to
make cups and spoons and the sinew to sew clothing
Roles within the tribe
Comanche Women
Comanche women played an important role within the tribe. They
accomplished the following tasks: built shelters, tanned buffalo hides, set
up and took down teepees, sewed clothes, took care of children, gathered
firewood and food, prepared food and made teepees
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Comanche Men
Comanche men also completed important jobs within the tribe. They
were responsible for: hunting buffalo in the summer, making weapons,
trading with other tribes, teaching children how to hunt and how to ride a
horse on a hunt
Comanche Children
Comanche girls watched and listened to their mothers to learn how to perform all the tasks
expected of women later in life. They practiced sewing dolls and learned to cook by helping
their mothers.
Comanche boys spent much time with their grandfathers learning how to make weapons
and hunting techniques such as shooting from below a horse to prepare them for manhood.
How Geographic characteristics
influenced the Comanche
Food: The Comanche lived on the plains and much of their food was
derived from the buffalo, a common plains animal before the 17th Century.
Clothing: The Comanche made their clothes using animal hide and sinew.
The buffalo hide was tanned and softened by the women of the tribe.
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Shelter: The Comanche were nomadic hunters whose movements
were determined by buffalo herds. Therefore, they made teepees
from buffalo hide which were portable, waterproof and large
enough to accommodate up to twenty people.
Customs: The Comanche’s way of life was affected by their
environment, their lifestyle was highly dependent on buffalo. They
practiced their own type of religion based on their belief of spirits
that aided them in everyday life.
References
Image: 'Buena Vista: Abandoned Comanche Drive-In Theater'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80547277@N00/6073910660
Englar, Mary. The Comanche. (2004) Capstone Press, Mankato
Minnesota.
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Image: 'Kiowa Three-Hide Dress'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/93752018@N00/2134504403
Image: 'Flag Indigenous People, Comanche Nation, United States'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24842486@N07/3443694734
http://www.native-languages.org/kids.htm
http://www.ahsd25.k12.il.us/Curriculum%20Info/NativeAmericans
/index.html
Image: 'Teepee'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53323105@N02/5947093873
Websites
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http://www.learner.org/interactives/historymap/indians6.html
http://www.worldbookonline.com/kids/home