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Monday 8am - 5pm Tuesday 8am - 5pm Wednesday 8am - 5pm Thursday 8am - 5pm Friday 8am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 2pm

Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center

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Lawton, OK
Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center

Free Admission. The Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center (CNMCC) offers insight into the largest American Indian tribe in the Lawton-Fort Sill area.
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The Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center offers visitors a glimpse of traditional cultural items and detailed historical information about the Comanche People. CNMCC is more than just a traditional museum. It is an experience that brings to life the "Nʉmʉnʉʉ," both past and present.

06/19/2026

Tomorrow, Joyce Nevaquaya will be at the museum for a photo shoot, and the public is welcome to be present while she works throughout the day.

We are pleased to host artist Joyce Nevaquaya at the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center as part of this visit and her creative process.

Visitors are welcome to come by, observe, and spend time in the museum while the shoot takes place.

06/18/2026

We will be closed for Juneteenth tomorrow, but we will be back open on Saturday. We hope to see you and your families then.

06/17/2026

Created by their loving mothers and grandmothers, a toy cradle or doll was an item of great entertainment. Not only was a toy doll a wonderful plaything but the toy doll and cradle was a superb teaching tool. Made by those gifted women of the community, each item was crafted from natural materials along with personal care and expertise.
Closely resembling the likenesses of the children themselves, the dolls were significant by developing their imagination as well as necessary skills in life. The dolls were normally taken by the young girls just about everywhere. And by watching their mother in the home, the young girls learned good manners, good values, and responsibility. By having fun with them, girls developed fond remembrances of playing with their hide dolls and cradles.

An outstanding picture of a Southern Plains Comanche Toy Doll and Baby in a Cradleboard beautifully crafted by May Wauqua. The splendid item is made of tanned hide, metal beads, wood, cotton cloth, canvas, glass beads, yarn, ink, commercial leather, and thread. Courtesy of the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, The Wellington Indian Doll Collection, Gift of Barbara Wellington Wells. Additional information from the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington D. C. and the Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, New Hampshire.

06/16/2026

The Lords of the Plains were a powerful Comanche group. Their influence and leadership played a significant role in the history of the Southern Plains.

Visitors can learn more about their history, impact, and cultural significance through the museum’s exhibits and collections.

06/15/2026

Historic items and contemporary Comanche art can be found inside our museum, reflecting the ongoing story of the Comanche Nation. We welcome the community to visit, learn, and explore.

06/12/2026

Initially established as a Quaker boarding school in 1871, Fort Sill Indian School evolved into a nonsectarian institution of learning in 1891. In it's unique history, the student body primarily came from the tribes of western Oklahoma.
With the standard clearly set by the first boarding school named Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, the purpose of Carlisle and other boarding schools across the United States sought to take students away from their tribal language, lifeways, and culture.
At Fort Sill Indian School, students were harshly punished for speaking their tribal languages. The aim was to assimilate the children into the society of the white man.
Following the philosophy of Carlisle's founder Richard H. Pratt, the intent was to have the culture of tribal children stripped away. Tribal beliefs and identity were to be put aside. From a speech in 1892, Superintendent Pratt said the following:

"A great general has said that the only good Indian is a dead one, and that high sanction of his destruction has been an enormous factor in promoting Indian massacres." And he added "In a sense, I agree with the sentiment, but only in this: that all the Indian there is in the race should be dead. Kill the Indian in him, and save the man."

Moreover, the schools in their early history utilized stern military discipline. They vigorously put forth instruction in domestic labor and the trades. A part of the daily environment included government-issued uniforms, skimpy meals, a good number of bugle calls heard each day, seemingly a lack of attention for the individual student, and insufficient health care for them. Despite the extreme and severe experiences of boarding schools, the resilience and strength of tribal students came forth. Whether the students disliked their time or enjoyed their time at the boarding schools, they developed strong bonds of friendship that kept them together.

A very impressive historical picture of young Comanche girls at Fort Sill Indian School. The description reads "Bernice Quassyah and Libie Mehesyah, Comanches, attending the Indian School near Lawton. Photograph courtesy of Logston. Additional information from the Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, Fort Sill Indian School by Josh Clough, and Kliewer A., Mahmud, M., and Wayland B. "Kill the Indian, save the man": Remembering the stories of Indian boarding schools (2021). Ga***rd College of Journalism and Mass Communications, The University of Oklahoma.

06/10/2026

Of the historic star-bedecked and unique two-story "Star House", Quanah Parker welcomed many visitors to his residence through the years. Notable leaders such as Theodore Roosevelt, British Ambassador Lord Brice, and Rancher Charles Goodnight enjoyed the hospitality of Quanah. Army General Nelson Miles, General Frank Baldwin, and General Hugh Scott were also guests. From the mid-1880's until 1911, social gatherings were held at his homeplace. Texas cattlemen such as Burk Burnett, Dan Waggoner, and Tom Burnett visited the Star House. The Sioux Chief American Horse and Chiricahua Apache leader Geronimo were welcomed. Also, Comanche Chiefs Wild Horse, Esa-tai, Powhay, were guests at Quanah's home.
In an 1890 signed letter from the Indian Commissioner T. J. Morgan to the assigned Indian Agent named Charles E. Adams in Anadarko, the following written communication represented the position of the U. S. government about a home for Quanah Parker:

"In reply to your letter of the 8th ultimo, calling attention to a previous letter in reference to building a house for Quanah Parker, I invite your attention to the fact that while at your agency, I stated to you personally that I did not deem it wise for the government to contribute money to assist building a house for an Indian who has five wives. I do not think the proposition admits of discussion."

A historical landscape picture of the noted Comanche leader Quanah Parker's home near the ancient Wichita Mountains, circa 1892. The Texas cattleman Burk Burnett is noted for building the house with assistance from other well-known Texas cattlemen around 1890. Courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society. Photograph from the William F. Harn Collection, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City Oklahoma. Additional information from the National Park Service, the Texas State Historical Association, Austin, Texas, The Last Comanche Chief, The Life and Times of Quanah Parker by Bill Neeley, and Floyd, Larry C., "A Comanche Home Along the White Man's Road." The Chronicles of Oklahoma, Summer 2012.

06/08/2026

On the eastern edge of the Texas Hill Country, the city of Austin rests by the Colorado River. The community was established in 1839 to serve as the capital of the Republic of Texas. Tribes such as the Waco, Tonkawa, and Comanche were in the region. Even though held by Spain and then Mexico, Texas was still firmly in the grasp of the powerful Comanches. As Texas evolved from a republic to a state, Texas' fight with the Comanches lasted longer than the battle with Mexico.
The southernmost band was the Penateka Comanche. They ranged from the upper tributaries of the Colorado River, to the Hill Country, and toward Austin. The history of the Comanches and the city of Austin's early history are inseparable companions.
Of the Comanches, the lawyer David G. Burnet shared the following:

"The Comanche, with whom we have most in*******se . . . occupy the region between the Rivers Colorado of Texas and the Red River of Louisiana, ranging from the sources of the Colorado . . . down to the Llano Bayou, and from the vicinity of the Pawnees of the Red River [the Wichitas] to the American settlements in that stream. They are frequently at war with the Pawnees and sometimes make hostile incursion upon the Osages. . . . "

A most impressive portrait of Comanche Chief Yellow Wolf. The artwork was completed by Captain Arthur T. Lee. at Fort Croghan near Burnet, Texas. Courtesy of the Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, New York. Additional information from the Texas State Historical Association, Austin, Texas, the Travis County Historical Commission, Austin, Texas, and Comanche Political History, An Ethnohistorical Perspective 1706-1875 by Thomas W. Kavanagh.

06/05/2026

With the approach of June 6, we strive to always remember the courage and sacrifice of soldiers who participated in the allied landings of the Second World War in Normandy, France. Of the five beaches on June 6, 1944, Utah Beach was the westernmost site where elements of the U. S. 4th Infantry Division came ashore. With smoke from earlier shore bombardment and landing craft plagued by strong currents, the military force landed around 2,000 yards east of the designated landing area. The landing was in the lesser defended Victor sector. Despite the rough start, the assault on Utah Beach was an impressive success. Taken with few casualties, some 1,700 vehicles and 20,000 troops had landed on Utah Beach. Moreover, the 4th Division had moved inland around four miles by the close of the day. On this day, thirteen Comanche Code Talkers of the 4th Signal Company also arrived on Utah Beach.
The men first enlisted in December of 1940 and January of 1941. The group of seventeen young Comanches created their unbreakable code at Fort Benning, Georgia. In 1942, the 4th Division's (Motorized) publication had written "Chosen primarily because the Comanche language is an unrecorded one and valuable for secret communication, the Comanches proved to be among the ablest men in the Company."
As the men were assigned in pairs throughout the 4th Infantry Division, wire telephone lines were maintained by them and secure messages were sent by field telephone and radio. Of his service in Europe, the late Comanche Code Talker Charles Chibitty shared the following:

"Utah Beach that's where we were. . . . That peninsula that stuck out to the port town of Cherbourg, that's where we were trying to get to, to get to that town. The British and the Canadians they came in and held the counteroffensives off at Caan, while the rest of us turned right and went to the port town of Cherbourg, so that we took that place and they would have places where they could unload stuff, at that port town."

An outstanding picture of American soldiers landing at Utah Beach, Pouppeville, La Madaleine, Manche, Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. Photograph courtesy of the National Archives. Additional information from the Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, The Comanche Code Talkers of World War II by William C. Meadows, Hidden Path Productions 2000, and Cindy McIntyre. "Comanche Language helped win World War II." U.S. Army, 14 November 2017.

06/03/2026

As the Comanches made their way to the south, the French explorer Etienne Veniard de Bourgemond discovered Comanche villages along the upper Kansas River in 1724. Seemingly, they inhabited the land situated between the headwaters of the Platte River and the Kansas River.
In addition, their movement into present-day eastern Colorado and western Kansas began in the country north of the headwaters of the Arkansas River. Evidenced by the historical record, the Comanches had also become known in New Mexico by 1705. Eventually, the Comanche presence expanded to include present-day southern Kansas, northwestern Texas, and western Oklahoma. By the early 1800's, American explorers had observed the Comanches to occupy lands between the Arkansas and Rio Grande Rivers. Moreover, their powerful reach extended from those mountain headwaters eastwardly onto the Great Plains.

A magnificent landscape view looking south from Black Mesa in the Oklahoma panhandle. It is the highest point at 4,973 feet in the state of Oklahoma. The view south leads to high plains of Texas and New Mexico. They are all within the bounds of the historical Comancheria. Photograph courtesy of Chris Saylor. Additional information from The Comanches, Lords of the South Plains by Ernest Wallace and E. Adamson Hoebel and the Texas State Historical Association, Austin, Texas.

Address

701 NW Ferris Avenue
Lawton, OK
73507

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm
Saturday	10am - 2pm

Telephone

(580)3530404

Website

http://www.comanchenation.com/

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