The tribal flag for the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma
source: Wikimedia Commons
The selection of a story from this tribe was a simple no brainer for me since it is the namesake of my hometown, Ponca City, Oklahoma. The story is simple and to the point of describing how the Ponca tribe came to be in the possession of horses. Trying to imagine the site of seeing a horse for the first time in person would be intimidating no doubt, even more so with a screaming adversary atop its back thundering toward you with the intent to kill you. The disruption of the encounters between the Comanche is interesting, the author calls the Comanche"terrible fighters, but I am curious if this means deadly or unskilled. I originally leaned to this meaning unskilled due to the description of their crude bow and arrows, however if they were so unskilled then how could they continue to fight the Ponca Nation so furiously and consistently? I think it would be interesting to provide greater detail as to how the war was fought or how long it may have happened. Even further background information could be provided to describe how the Comanche came to acquire the horses and learn to ride them with such a high level of skill.
Bibliography: Myths and Legends of the Great Plains:Tradition of the Finding of Horses, Katharine Berry Judson (1913)
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