The Comanche holy lands rise from the lonely flats of the West Texas plains like foothills surrounding an invisible mountain.
Archaeologists say these four geological formations, known as Medicine Mounds, are erosional remnants of the Permian age, a time 225 to 270 million years ago.
To the Comanche, these enormous heaps of earth and brush were shaped by the hand of God.
“The spirits are here,” said Thomas Blackstar, 72, a Comanche holy man whose people believe the mounds–near the rural Hardeman County community of Medicine Mound–have healing powers. Standing at the crest of the largest mound, he said, “I can feel their presence.”
Blackstar and fellow Comanches say they are fortunate that the site’s landowner, the Summerlee Foundation of Dallas, is preserving the area for historical research.
But other tribes across the country are fighting uphill battles over commercial development of their sacred sites.
“The Comanche people are extremely lucky to have a private landowner who understands the significance of that site and is willing to protect it,” said Brian Stockes, cultural resource manager for the National Congress of American Indians, a lobbying group in Washington, D.C. “That’s extremely rare.”
Stockes said hundreds, perhaps thousands, of sacred sites can be found across the country. But unless the site is on property owned by the tribe that wants it preserved, there is no guaranteed protection–statutory or otherwise–against development.
President Clinton tried to address the problem recently when he signed an executive order concerning sacred sites. But members of the American Indian congress say the order includes no methods of enforcement.
“The only law that addresses this issue is the National Historic Preservation Act,” said Stockes, which “requires land developers to consult with the tribe” or tribes before construction begins on the designated site. But, he said, “It’s merely consultation, not negotiation.”
A portion of a bill that would have provided stronger protection for such sites died in Congress two years ago. Since then, tribes have had little success defending their traditional holy lands from what they believe is desecration.
There is a long list, says Paul Moorehead, director of government affairs for the National Congress of American Indians, which has made religious freedom for Native Americans its No. 1 legislative priority since 1994.
He said Congress and the courts have done little to extend to American Indians religious liberties that would put them on equal ground with other established religions. He said much of the problem stems from society’s lack of knowledge about Indian beliefs and spirituality.
“They (lawmakers) are coming from a Western view, which leads to some stifled discussions” about the significance of sacred sites, said Moorehead.
Mainstream America often has difficulty grasping the concept that for countless generations, land and nature have been deeply woven into Indian culture and spirituality, say Moorehead and Stockes.
“American Indians have a tie to the land that other cultures don’t have,” said Stockes. “To them, their sacred sites are just like Jerusalem,” which is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Contrary to the national trend, Medicine Mounds is something of a success story. Although barbed wire and locked gates protect the 6,400-acre property from intruders, the Summerlee Foundation allows Comanche people passage to worship on the four mounds: Big Mound, Cedar Mound, Third Mound and Little Mound. Tribal members clear each visit with the foundation so that the property caretaker can unlock the heavy metal gate.
On a warm, sun-drenched afternoon recently, Blackstar, the Comanche holy man, took advantage of this privilege and returned to Medicine Mounds for the first time in 50 years.
He was 22 when his mother, whom he says had been stricken with an unknown illness, asked him to take her to Big Mound, the tallest of the four formations.
The spiritual leader says his mother believed an ancient tribal story of a Comanche man who was miraculously healed on top of the mound after spirits summoned him there.
Mother and son climbed the rugged layers of sandstone, mudstone, gypsum and dolomite on that day in 1946, he recalled. At the top, he said, she rolled some tobacco into a corn-husk cigarette–a common practice of many tribes who use tobacco as a way to communicate with the Creator.
Facing east, he said, she sat on the ground and offered a prayer between puffs of smoke that lifted skyward.
“She prayed, then we walked back down,” said Blackstar. “When she reached the bottom, she was healed. She wasn’t sick any more.”
The Comanche people believe their ancestral spirits live among the mounds, and that certain plants hold special healing powers. Blackstar says his people feel a strong force emanating from the mounds, in part from spiritual ceremonies that they believe were conducted there by past generations.
On his return visit, Blackstar followed the example of his mother, whom he says lived to be 80. Looking eastward, Blackstar prayed in his native language.
Before he trekked down the hillside, the third-generation Comanche healer said, “my spirit has been renewed.”
The mounds are special not only to the Comanche people but to the Kiowa and Apache as well, said John Crain, Summerlee Foundation vice president and program director of the agency’s Texas history department.
“Ancient people have used this area for thousands of years,” said Crain, whose nonprofit organization bought the mounds in 1993 for historical research and wildlife preservation. He said research suggests that hunter-gatherer peoples also used the mounds.
The giant masses of earth offered a vantage point for hunting, navigating and spotting approaching enemies. On a clear day, said Crain, who stood on Big Mound with Blackstar, you can see 60 miles in any direction.
Peering west to the red cliffs of the Caprocks Escarpment, Crain said evidence also shows that ceremonies and burials took place on the grounds where he stood.
A 1994 report published by the Texas Historical Commission says research has unearthed 13 archaeological sites at the mounds, as well as 13 “isolated finds.”
Mostly projectile points and tools were found, the report states. But there also were remnants of ancient campsites, ceremonial sites, and several burial grounds.
The study says there is no concrete proof that the burials and other findings can be traced to the Comanche. But Crain said the Comanche believe at least a few of the graves belong to their ancestors because of their shape and placement of stones marking the burial.
The foundation might never know what people were laid to rest there. “We’re not going to disturb them” out of respect for the tribes’ wishes, said Crain.
It’s this sensitivity toward American Indian beliefs and values that makes Comanche tribal chairman Wallace Coffey appreciate the friendship his tribe has forged with the Summerlee Foundation.
“We’re very pleased with the relationship we’ve built” with the foundation, said Coffey, whose office is in Lawton, Okla.
He said Texas has done much more to preserve Comanche history in recent years than his home state. He said it’s important to protect what remains of Comanche heritage in the lands they once ruled.
Coffey smiled as he stood at the foot of Big Mound with his relatives, Blackstar and Thomas Wahnee, an 85-year-old Comanche holy man. He said it was a powerful day to walk the ground he considers sacred with two respected medicine men.
Crain said he’s unsure what the future holds for Medicine Mounds, which is currently being farmed and used for cattle grazing. He said the foundation might one day sell the land to an owner who will preserve its cultural and historical integrity.
Although science has not conclusively linked the mounds’ archaeological findings with the Comanche, Crain said he believes the tribe indeed has a strong spiritual bond to the mounds.
When asked if he believes the site is holy, Crain said, “I think the evidence supports it.”
