Cheif Ten Bears

CHEIF TEN BEARS

PARUA SUUMARU

1792-1872

YAPARUK A BAND

An advocate of peace and known for

his eloquent words, Chief Ten Bears worked

to negotiate harmony between the

United State government and his Comanche people.

Tribal members held him in high regard and

often chose him as their representative

at Peace conferences in the 1800's. He was one

of the original signers of the 1867 Medicine

Lodge Treaty, a series of peace agreements

between the government, the Comanche and four

other tribes. The treaty was the first

step toward "transitioning" the plains Indians

and resulted in the Comanche nation's permanent

settlement in southwest Oklahoma.

"I was born upon the prairie, where the

wind blew free and there was nothing to break

the light of the sun. I was born where there

were not enclosures and everything drew a free

breath. I want to die there and not within walls."

Chief Ten Bears

Medicine Lodge Creek Peace Council

October, 1867