Many views have been written about my grandfather, Quanah Parker, the last chief of the Comanches, who guided the Comanche people at a most perilous time in the history of the tribe. Like him, I was also a chief of my people, having been elected chairman of the Comanche Tribe in 1976. One of the Comanche's greatest needs, I realized, was a tribal complex composed of offices, meeting rooms, coffee shop, and gymnasium, to bring the tribe together to plan for the preservation of our culture. It was my destiny to build the Comanche Tribal Complex during my tenure as chairman.

My mother, Nau-Noc-Ca Parker Cox, was the firstborn child of Quanah and Weckeah Parker. It is to her credit that I speak the Comanche language. I must add that my father, E. E. Cox, taught me English. Having lost his eyesight, he taught me to spell and read before I started school, so I would be able to read the newspapers to him.

Bill Neeley has gathered a vast amount of research on Quanah and his people, which allowed him to view Quanah from many angles. Neeley concluded that Quanah was a great war chief who made the change to become an effective civil chief because Quanah was a man of great intellect and personal integrity. Quanah observed how the non-Indian transacted business and became a successful rancher and cattleman. Through it all, he did not lose his Indian identity.

Through Bill Neeley's book runs a theme of preserving Quanah and his people. To show appreciation for a positive written document, I gave Mr. Neeley a Comanche name of "Chatuhbohtuh"-meaning "good writer."

It is my hope that Bill Neeley's book will cause others to realize there is another side of Comanche life that is beautiful and caring.