SUCCESSFUL SPRING 2025 PREVIEW OF PENATUHKAH COMANCHE TRAILS

Much was accomplished by having a “Preview Opening” of the trails prior to planning for a “Grand Opening” during the Spring 2026 Wildflower Season. We are hoping to have the autumn rains necessary to carpet the state highways next spring with Indian paintbrushes, bluebonnets and other wildflower along these roads that were once Comanche trails! These state highways connect the destinations that will be hosting events including Comanche leaders and elders, artists, storytellers, dancers, traditional craftspeople and other tradition bearers. Researchers, anthropologists, and historians will also participate in educational events for the public. Many of these state highways also provide wildflower corridors to the popular Texas Hill Country destinations for wildflower viewing.
The Penatuhkah Comanche Trails Grand Opening will also feature tours of Comanche Marker Trees and Smoke Signaling Mesas. This will be an excellent opportunity to learn about Texas Comanche history, meet members of the Comanche Nation and learn about Comanche culture, and explore from both a
historic tourism and ecotourism perspective. These are children-friendly events! We hope to motivate children to become more interested in Texas Frontier and Indian History.

SPRING PREVIEW SUMMARY

The Spring 2025 Preview Opening of the Penatuhkah Comanche Trail began in
March in Buffalo Gap with:

Penatuhkah: 150 Years of the Comanche Empire in Texas

Funded by a grant from Humanities Texas, this exhibit documents the band of Comanches that dominated Texas for almost two hundred years. Buffalo Gap hosted this exhibit as our opening event in March before traveling to other cities
and towns on a monthly rotating basis. A one-hour oral presentation was attended by over fifty people from the Abilene area. This educational event was well attended and provided an opportunity to better understand Texas Comanche History. It set the stage for other events that were also very well attended Goldthwaite sponsored several events in April that educated and entertained visitors regarding Indian heritage. Their botanical gardens have a wonderful program on plant use significant to Comanches and other Texas Indians.

https://texanbynature.org/projects/texas-botanical-gardens-and-native-american-
interpretive-center/

Santa Anna’s Annual Funtier Days Celebration in May

Funtier Days featured a Bison Briquet Cookoff and bison lunch. Many vendors, including Comanche vendors, participated in Funtier Days. There was a large crowd including many Comanche guests. Some of our Comanche friends helped to judge the bison briskets. And then we all helped eat the bison briskets!

Celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Return of the Comanche Nation to Texas

The signature event for the 2025 Preview Season of the Penatuhkah Comanche Trails was also held during Funtier Days in Santa Anna when we celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the return of the Comanche Nation to Texas. Six-term Tribal Chairman, Wallace Coffey, was honored for facilitating this return and received
many gifts expressing gratitude for his three-decade long efforts. The Chamber of Commerce proclaimed “Wallace Coffey Days” in Santa Anna and presented him with the proclamation. The event was held here because Santa Anna Peaks (the twin mesas adjacent to the town) were named in the mid-1800s for the great Comanche War Chief Santa Anna/Santanna. These mesas were the military center and warrior and smoke signaling training center for Penatuhkah Comanches at the peak of their Horse Culture in Texas in the mid-1800s. Interestingly, Comanche Warrior Training Camps were led by Women Chiefs called Adivas. This event was the Thirtieth Anniversary of the signing of a “Treaty of Peace and Friendship” between the town of Santa Anna and the Comanche Nation. Former
Chairman Coffey, a signer of the treaty, was the keynote speaker. He reflected on and shared insights regarding the long Comanche return to Texas. He shared information about Comanche culture, sang a song in the Comanche language, and stayed afterward for almost two hours to talk with all who wanted to speak with him. Many Comanche visitors from Lawton, respected Comanche researchers, and leaders of the Quanah Parker Trails also attended to honor him. We hope that the
“Grand Opening” of the Penatuhkah Comanche Trails next Spring will feature the
hand-off of the Comanche Return to Texas from former Chairman Coffee to the current Comanche Tribal Chairman, Forrest Tahdooahnippah. We are also hoping
for good fall rains so that the carpet of bluebonnets, Indian paint brushes and other
wildflowers will return along our state highways that were once Comanche trails!

Honoring Six-Time Tribal Chairman Wallace Coffey

The honoring ceremony was held in the Santa Anna Museum and Visitors Center. There was a standing room only large audience for the event.

Comanche archeologist, Mary Motah, and her daughter, Katie Topaum, with Montie Guthrie, PCTP Executive Director, honor former Chairman Coffey

Eddie Gomez, descendant of the great Comanche Chief Muguara, presents former
Comanche Tribal Chairman Coffey with his creation of a traditional gift representational of Central Texas resources (bison bone, sinew, Osage orange used for bows and tools, and also the bison tail worn by warriors in their hair). Eddie’s family never left the Santa Anna/Brownwood area. He is the heir to the history of a Comanche family who has been here throughout and after the Texas Comanche
Horse Culture. He is a uniquely valuable “scout” for identifying Comanche Traditional Cultural Properties (TCPs) in Texas.

Holle Humphries, representative of the Quannah Parker Trail https://www.quanahparkertrail.com expresses gratitude for former Chairman Coffey’s three-decade long facilitation of a Comanche Return to Texas. She attended with her husband, Tai Kreider, the Executive Director of the West Texas Historical Association https://wtha.wildapricot.org/ and Special Collections director at Texas Tech University.

Bill Modawell, Santa Anna Chamber of Commerce representative and PCTP board
member, announces Wallace Coffey Week in Santa Anna

Guy Narcomey, Comanche Storyteller, Language Specialist, and Educator Presents Comanche Stories and Educates Guests in DeLeon and San Saba

Guy generously agreed to allow us to share the transcript of his presentation. It is a very valuable document with many insights for better understanding of Comanche culture and history. More than one careful reading is recommended!

Crowd Gathers to Explore the Legacy of Comanche Marker Trees with
Anthropologist Linda Pelon

Over 60 guests gathered on July 10 to hear anthropologist Linda Pelon share fascinating insights into the history and significance of Comanche marker trees. Photo courtesy of the Texas Botanical Gardens & Native American Interpretive Center, Inc. © Courtenay Smith.

More than 60 guests gathered at the Mills County Historical Museum at Goldthwaite on July 10th for a captivating presentation by anthropologist Linda Pelon on the history and cultural significance of Comanche marker trees. The event was a collaborative effort
between the Texas Botanical Gardens & Native American Interpretive Center, Inc., the Mills County Historical Museum at Goldthwaite, and the Penatuhkah Comanche Trails Partnership.
Guests from Mills, San Saba, and Lampasas counties, among others, attended the presentation to learn how Native Americans shaped trees to mark trails, campsites, water sources, and sacred sites. These marker trees, bent and trained in their youth, grew into distinctive horizontal shapes that still stand as living testaments to Indigenous land use and knowledge long before modern roads or boundaries existed. Dr. Pelon, co-author of Comanche Marker Trees of Texas, shared not only the historical importance of these trees but also practical tips on recognizing, identifying, and documenting these historical treasures across our region. The event was a powerful reminder of the importance of preserving Indigenous knowledge and honoring the deep-
rooted connections between people and the land. Special guests Montie Guthrie and Eddie Gomez of the Penatuhkah Comanche Trails
Partnership shared in the experience, further honoring the deep-rooted Native American
heritage in the Central Texas. The Texas Botanical Gardens & Native American Interpretive Center, Inc. extends heartfelt thanks to all who participated and helped make the evening a powerful step forward in cultural education and community engagement.