The Comanche are a Native American tribe who historically were Plains Indians. There might once have been as many as 20,000 Comanches. Today, the Comanche Nation consists of approximately 10,000 members, about half of whom live in Oklahoma (centered at Lawton), with the remainder concentrated in Texas, California, and New Mexico.

The Comanche were a fully nomadic people who followed the vast herds of American Buffalo (Bison), their primary food source. Although they hunted other animals, like elk or antelope, buffalo was by far the most plentiful food source throughout their area.

Before horses were introduced, hunting was a complicated process. Hunters would surround the buffalo, and then would try to herd them off of cliffs or into places where they could not escape. When white settlers came to America and horses were introduced to the Indians, it made hunting much easier. With horses, the Indians could simply stampede and overtake the bison with their speed.

The Buffalo was sacred to the Comanche. Buffalo was the largest source of items such as food, decorations, and crafting tools, not only to the Comanche, but to all the Plain Indians. Buffalo provided meat, leather, sinew for bows, grease, and dried dung for fires. Even the hooves were boiled for glue. Not a single part of the buffalo went unused.