Kiowa Apache and Comanche Military Societies

<p><b>A CHOICE Outstanding Academic Book</b></p> <p>For many Plains Indians being a warrior and veteran has long been the traditional pathway to male honor and status. Men and boys formed military societies to celebrate victories in war to perform community service and to prepare young men for their role as warriors and hunters. By preserving cultural forms contained in song dance ritual language kinship economics naming and other semireligious ceremonies these societies have played an important role in maintaining Plains Indian culture from the pre-reservation era until today.</p> <p>In this book Williams C. Meadows presents an in-depth ethnohistorical survey of Kiowa Apache and Comanche military societies drawn from extensive interviews with tribal elders and military society members unpublished archival sources and linguistic data. He examines their structure functions rituals and martial symbols showing how they fit within larger tribal organizations. And he explores how military societies like powwows have become a distinct public format for cultural and ethnic continuity.</p>