Comanche museum debuts

A day of celebration:  Comanche Tribe opens national museumInside the museum were displays of Comanche warriors—from 500 years ago to the present. A giant print of Rance Hood’s painting, “Crazy Dog Day,” a grand representation of fierce warriors on horseback and known to legend as the “Lords of the Plains.” As the displays continue, a historical display honors the original 18 Comanches who served in Troop L of the 7th Cavalry at Fort Sill from 1891-97. Others honor the Comanche Code Talkers of World War II and up to a cumulative past and present display which featured photos of the highly-decorated veteran Lanny Asepermy during his service in Vietnam, along with a bow, arrows and quiver he donated to the collection.

Life-size cutout displays of prominent Comanche women are on display throughout the museum, as well as artifacts from the Comanche Baptist Deyo Mission. On the museum walls are Comanche words along with identifiers so visitors may know what they mean.

Bigbee said the mission of the museum is to preserve the Comanche culture, history and to keep the language alive. As work continues and pieces are collected, he said the museum will continue to evolve and grow.