Isatai'i ( Comanche ''isa'' 'wolf or coyote' + ''tai'i'' 'vagina'), Isatai, or Eschiti (c.1840 – 1916) was a Comanche warrior and medicine man of the Kwaharʉ band. Originally named Kwihnai Tosabitʉ (White Eagle), after the debacle at Adobe Walls on June 27, 1874, for which he was blamed, he was known as Isatai'i. Isatai'i gained enormous prominence for a brief period in 1873-74 as a prophet and "messiah" of Native Americans. He succeeded, albeit temporarily, in uniting the autonomous Comanche bands as no previous Chief or leader had ever done. Indeed, his prestige was such that he was able to organize what was said to be the first Comanche

sun dance The Sun Dance is a ceremony practiced by some Native Americans in the United States and Indigenous peoples in Canada, primarily those of the Plains cultures. It usually involves the community gathering together to pray for healing. Individua ...

, a ritual that his tribe had not previously adopted.

Early life

Not much is known about Isatai'i’s youth. He was born a Kwaharʉ Comanche, a few years before

Quanah Parker Quanah Parker (Comanche ''kwana'', "smell, odor") ( – February 23, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. He was likely born into the Nokoni ("Wanderers") band of Tabby-nocca and grew up among the Kwah ...

, probably about 1840. As an adult he became a medicine man, not a traditional warrior. He first came into prominence right before the Second Battle of Adobe Walls as he preached a Messianic War against buffalo hunters and other whites he feared were ending the Comanche way of life. Isatai'i's prophecies were based on his claim that he had ascended far above the earth into the clouds and had conversed with the

Great Spirit The Great Spirit is the concept of a life force, a Supreme Being or god known more specifically as Wakan Tanka in Lakota,Ostler, Jeffry. ''The Plains Sioux and U.S. Colonialism from Lewis and Clark to Wounded Knee''. Cambridge University Pres ...

. He claimed the Great Spirit had granted him extraordinary powers. Among these powers were the ability to cure the sick, bring the dead back to life, to control the weather and other natural phenomena, and to make bullets fall to the ground, harming no one. He claimed that he could belch up bullets and cartridges, and reswallow same. He correctly predicted the disappearance of the comet in 1873, and also correctly predicted a drought that year—predictions that solidified his status as a miracle worker, prophet, and medicine man.

Preparing for the Second Battle of Adobe Walls

Isatai'i brought all the bands of the Comanches together for the sun dance in May 1874. At the sun dance, he began preaching a war of revenge and extermination, and told the warriors they would be invulnerable to their enemies. Comanche history says that Isatai'i’s hatred of the whites was motivated by the deaths of family members at their hands. It is notable that members of other tribes, mainly the

Kiowa Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and e ...

s and

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

s, found his message appealing. At first, the Comanche wished to exterminate the

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe indigenous to present-day Oklahoma. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the federally recognized Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. ...

s, long allies and scouts for the hated Texas Rangers. But disregarding that plan as secondary to the need of saving the buffalo, then approaching extermination at the hands of white hunters, the Comanches decided to attack the hunters in the

Texas Panhandle The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a square-shaped area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. It is adjacent to ...

, who were destroying the buffalo and thereby endangering the Native American Plains tribes' chief source of food. On June 27 a party of 250 - 1000 Indians, primarily all the bands of the Comanches, but including Kiowa and Cheyenne, attacked the buffalo hunters who were camping at the old trading post of Adobe Walls, on the

South Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Billy Dixon William Dixon (September 25, 1850 – March 9, 1913) was an American scout and bison hunter active in the Texas Panhandle. He helped found Adobe Walls, fired a buffalo rifle shot at the Second Battle of Adobe Walls, and for his actions at the ...

made what may be the most famous rifle shot of the west, hitting a Comanche chief one mile (1.6 km) away. About fifteen warriors were killed and a larger number wounded, including Quanah Parker.

After Adobe Walls

Isatai'i tried to absolve himself of the blame for the disastrous defeat by claiming that his magic had been weakened before the battle when one of the Cheyennes violated a sacred taboo by killing a skunk. The Cheyennes took this poorly, especially the Dog Soldiers, and responded by beating him severely. Isatai'i was discredited, publicly humiliated and was renamed from White Eagle to Wolf's Vagina.

Later life

Although many military historians do not consider the Second Battle of Adobe Walls a major historic engagement, it was a crushing spiritual defeat for the Southern Plains Indians, who had come to believe fully in the superhuman prophetic powers of the medicine man, and being driven off by civilian buffalo hunters certainly marked the end of their time as any sort of military power. Within a year, the Comanche and Kiowa were all on the reservation. Isatai'i died in 1916, and is buried in a family cemetery in Stephens County, Oklahoma.

Footnotes

References

*''Frontier Blood: the Saga of the Parker Family'', by Jo Ann Powell Exley *''Quanah Parker'', by Clyde L. and Grace Jackson {{DEFAULTSORT:Isa-tai 1840s births 1890 deaths Comanche people Comanche tribe People from Texas People from Oklahoma Religious figures of the indigenous peoples of North America Native American people of the Indian Wars Comanche campaign Battles involving the Comanche Folk healers