The Peyote Road

Quanah Parker’s influence on Indian history was not over, however. He quickly adapted to the reservation life. He taught himself the ways of the Euroamericans, such as the laws governing the leasing of lands and rights of way, and he made deals with non-Indian investors for the benefit of his people.

Quanah Parker also played a major role in spreading a new religion to Native Americans of many tribes. This religion involved the use of the peyote cactus, which grows in northern Mexico, especially along the Rio Grande valley. The Indians cut off the rounded top of the plant, dried it, and made it into a “peyote button.” When eaten raw or brewed into a tea, the buttons create a heightening of the senses, a feeling of well-being, and visions. Earlier Comanche had probably helped spread the use of peyote northward when they brought back knowledge of the plant and its properties after raids in Mexico.

Comanche drum for peyote ceremonies

Quanah Parker discovered what is known as the Peyote Road, or the use of peyote for religious purposes, sometime after 1890, following the collapse of the Ghost Dance Religion associated with events at Wounded Knee that involved the SIOUX (DAKOTA, LAKOTA, NAKOTA). His work and that of other pey-otists, such as Big Moon of the Kiowa, led to the spread of peyote use among Indians of the plains, Southwest, prairies, and Great Lakes and the eventual founding of a church. Quanah Parker died in 1911, revered by Indians of many tribes. In 1918, the Native

American Church was chartered. This organized religion incorporated certain Christian beliefs and practices with the sacramental use of peyote. Oklahoma Territory tried to ban the use of peyote in 1899 as did some states in later years, but after 1934 and the new policy of Tribal Restoration and Reorganization, no more official attempts were made at suppression. By the 1930s, about half the Indian population in the United States belonged to the church. Today, the Native American Church still plays a central role in Indian religion and the fight for Indian rights.