By 1871 the American government had signed treaties with many of the plains tribes including the Comanche, but stragglers yearning for the old way of life would not abide.
Quanah Parker was a young up-and-coming leader of the Quahadi band roaming throughout Texas and all the way to present day Mexico fighting anglos where he needed to.
In one fateful ambush, Texan militia and soldiers killed the Quahadi Chief Bear’s Ear, but Quanah Parker’s quick thinking saved the horse herd and the lives of many men.
Being named chief of the Quahadi band in 1871 was a huge honor, but also a major responsibility. Quanah took the responsibility gracefully.
Not only did he promise to fight American encroachment on traditional Comanche land, but to protect the old ways the Comanche lived .
One of the ways the Comanche, and Quanah’s band of Quahadis in particular, were able to survive on the staked plains was a pemmican recipe passed down through time.
The combination of dried meat, rendered fat, and other foraged goods gave the Comanche freedom and flexibility to travel hundreds of miles with lightning speed.
This pemmican recipe is specific to the Comanche and the region they called home in what is today Oklahoma and northern Texas.
What is Pemmican?
The Comanche were not unique in making pemmican. In fact, Native American tribes across the continent were making similar types of food.
The Inuit living as far north as Alaska and present day Canada were eating a type of pemmican. Even the name “pemmican” comes from the Cree word “pemi” (fat or grease).
Unlike jerky, which is a dried meat, pemmican is dried meat combined with rendered fat and sometimes with added foraged nuts and berries.
The native american pemmican recipe was designed to sustain people on long trips through fat for fuel, protein for strength, and some glucose in the berries.
Warriors would take pemmican on raids, nomadic tribes would keep pemmican for traveling and winter months, and it was a survival food amongst native people.
How to Make Pemmican the Comanche Way

1 comment
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