Take a stand with an arrow to honor Quanah Parker

  • A QUANAH CUTOUT stands next to a Quanah Parker Trail arrow at Wayside, Texas, near to the trail where 150 years ago, on September 28, 1874, in the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon, Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie and the 4th Cavalry descended to the canyon floor and ambushed Comanche, Kiowa and Cheyenne bands seeking refuge there from the converging U.S. forces trying to force them onto reservations —but Quanah with his band of Kwahada were elsewhere. | TEXAS PLAINS TRAIL REGION
    A QUANAH CUTOUT stands next to a Quanah Parker Trail arrow at Wayside, Texas, near to the trail where 150 years ago, on September 28, 1874, in the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon, Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie and the 4th Cavalry descended to the canyon floor and ambushed Comanche, Kiowa and Cheyenne bands seeking refuge there from the converging U.S. forces trying to force them onto reservations —but Quanah with his band of Kwahada were elsewhere. | TEXAS PLAINS TRAIL REGION

    Mark Saturday, Sept. 14, on your calendar with an arrow. It’s Quanah Parker Day.

    By a 2019 resolution of the Texas Senate, the second Saturday in September is a day to remember the great Comanche leader and the people who once were Lords of the Plains.

    Across the 52-county Texas Plains Trail Region tall steel roadside arrows mark the Quanah Parker Trail — not a trail in the literal sense but rather an entire region with ties to the Comanche and other native peoples.

    Expect some arrows to get decorative ribbons on Quanah Parker Day — Comanche red, yellow and blue. It’s also a time for arrow care keepers in each county to perform routine maintenance, touching up paint as needed and paying attention to landscaping around the arrows.

    For Texas school teachers, the arrows punctuate a story that’s become an official part of Texas school curriculums — the story of a childborntoComanchewarrior Peta Nocona and whitecaptive- turned-Comanche Cynthia Ann Parker.

    The official Quanah Parker Day designation is in effect until 2029, giving Texas a decade to pay special attention to the role Quanah played in history — not only as a warrior in his early days but later as a peacetime chief and statesman who brokered deals with Texas ranchers on behalf of the Comanche, even traveling to Washington, D.C. to represent Comanche interests.

    To paraphrase words on the Quanah Parker Trail website, the many miles Quanah Parker traveled across the Texas Plains are less meaningful than the distance the leader covered between two distinct cultures in the American West, leading his people through changing times into the 20th century.

    The seven-point Quanah Parker Day Proclamation is online at www.quanahparkerday. com.

    AbouttheQuanahParker TrailintheTPTR,visit:www. quanahparkertrail.com Special events taking place for Quanah Parker Day, visit www.texasplainstrail. com

    WHAT: Quanah Parker Day in the Texas Plains Trail Region

    WHEN: Sat., Sept 14, 2024 

    WHERE: Communities with Quanah Parker Trail giant arrow markers

    The Texas Spur e-Edition