Being Comanche: The Social History of an American Indian Community [Paperback]

Morris W. Foster (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0816513678 | ISBN-13: 978-0816513673 | Publication Date: December 1, 1992

Comanches have engaged Euro-Americans' curiosity for three centuries. Their relations with Spanish, French, and Anglo-Americans on the southern Plains have become a highly resonant part of the mythology of the American West. Yet we know relatively little about the community that Comanches have shared and continue to construct in southwestern Oklahoma. Morris Foster has written the first study of Comanches' history that identifies continuities in their intracommunity organization from the initial period of European contact to the present day. Those continuities are based on shared participation in public social occasions such as powwows, peyote gatherings, and church meetings Foster explains how these occasions are used to regulate social organization and how they have been modified by Comanches to adapt them to changing political and economic relations with Euro-Americans. Using a model of community derived from sociolinguistics, Foster argues that Comanches have remained a distinctive people by organizing their face-to-face relations with one another in ways that maintain Comanche-Comanche lines of communication and regulate a shared sense of appropriate behavior. His book offers readers a significant reinterpretation of traditional anthropological and historical views of Comanche social organization.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Foster's work in ethnohistory may be rightfully regarded as an introduction to understanding not only the persistence of cultural traits among a people who no longer have a land base, but also the vibrancy and vitality of a people who have been and will continue to be an enduring feature of the North American social landscape.... This fine study reveals in detailed fashion that the modern Comanche are more than simply the sum of their relations with Euroamericans. At each turn in the historical process, the Comanches have found ways to go on being Comanche, making new economic arrangements, and innovating means for publicly expressing that unique identity." —Choice "His observations about the contemporary scene are strikingly insightful. . . . An admirable work." —Western Historical Quarterly "One of the more important studies in ethnohistory published in recent years . . . By concentrating on Comanche-Comanche relations instead of just Anglo-Indian relations, Foster has challenged long-held assumptions and stereotypes. . . . Well worth a careful reading by ethnohistorians since it has important implications beyond southern Plains Indians." —American Historical Review "The name Comanche evokes images of the colorful Plains Indian warrior who protected his homeland and dared to die according to his nomadic hunting and war culture. . . . This ethnographic study is a successful attempt to look inside Comanche life and society in western Oklahoma." —Ethnohistory "This book deserves to be read carefully not only by students of Comanche history but by all who share a common interest in the changing, enduring people we call Indians." —New Mexico Historical Review

From the Inside Flap

Comanches have engaged Euro-Americans' curiosity for three centuries. Their relations with Spanish, French, and Anglo-Americans on the southern Plains have become a highly resonant part of the mythology of the American West. Yet we know relatively little about the community that Comanches have shared and continue to construct in southwestern Oklahoma. Morris Foster has written the first study of Comanches' history that identifies continuities in their intracommunity organization from the initial period of European contact to the present day. Those continuities are based on shared participation in public social occasions such as powwows, peyote gatherings, and church meetings Foster explains how these occasions are used to regulate social organization and how they have been modified by Comanches to adapt them to changing political and economic relations with Euro-Americans. Using a model of community derived from sociolinguistics, Foster argues that Comanches have remained a distinctive people by organizing their face-to-face relations with one another in ways that maintain Comanche-Comanche lines of communication and regulate a shared sense of appropriate behavior. His book offers readers a significant reinterpretation of traditional anthropological and historical views of Comanche social organization. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press (December 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816513678
• ISBN-13: 978-0816513673
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,769,847 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insighful!, January 24, 2001

By 

Janice (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Being Comanche: The Social History of an American Indian Community (Paperback)

I would recommend this book for those who are interested and would like know more about Indian tribes - especially Comanche. This book is divided into different time periods, for instance in 18th Century, the Comanches were nomadic people and after that, they stayed in reservations, etc. The author also explained the relationship between Comanches and the Euro-Americans and how the federal government implement various policies.

It's also interesting to see over time, what Comanches cultures persisted and what changes they are. One notable change was their economic activity which changed due to the economic and political situations. But one element that persisted over time was their kinship and friendship among themselves and how they can always rely on that even though everything else change.

This book explained the stereotypes that Euro-Americans have over the Native Americans and also what the Comanches thought of the Anglos (Euro-Americans)

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Comanche Blood, November 29, 2010

By 

Mary R. Logan "Ruthie loves to grow" (Florence Alabama) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Being Comanche: The Social History of an American Indian Community (Hardcover)

I have just begun reading this book, I ordered 5 various books on Comanches.
So far it has a lot of documented information, which is good.
My Great Grandmother was full blooded Comanche and I was very happy to have found these books on Comanches. Interesting reading and history... True history as I mentioned this book has documented information.....