FORT SILL, Okla. Jan. 14, 2016 -- It's easy to miss if you're not looking for it -- in fact, I didn't know it was there until I saw it while covering the 77th Army Band's holiday concert last month at McMahon Memorial Auditorium in Lawton, Okla. There, behind the auditorium, is the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center.
From the outside it doesn't look like much. The parking lot is small as is the building that houses the museum, but walking inside, the building transforms -- becoming much larger in reality than its perceived outward appearance.
I met with Candy Morgan, the director of the museum, who patiently gave me and my co-worker, Cindy McIntyre, a tour throughout the museum answering our questions and taking staging directions to get in better light for our camera. Morgan said the museum is the "showplace for all things history regarding the Comanche nation," and explained why Comanche history was important for the area.
"Oklahoma has a large population of Native American tribes," said Morgan. "Thirty-eight of them are here in the state and seven tribes are in the Southwest- Oklahoma area. Around 16,000 Comanche tribal members make up the tribe making it the largest tribe in this part of Oklahoma."
Morgan, a Lawton native, said living in the Lawton-Fort Sill area exposes residents to Native American culture because it is so pervasive.
"Comanches are our friends, neighbors, co-workers, there are a lot of people in this area, but what do you really know about their background," asked Morgan. "This is a chance for us to really learn about the history and background of the people."
She explained how oftentimes what is written about Native Americans is written from a non-native perspective. The museum provides a way for visitors to hear the story of the Comanche people as told by Comanches. A permanent exhibit showcases the history of the Comanche people from their roots until the "reservation era" of the 1800s. In addition, exhibits rotate through the museum aided by the large collection of artwork the museum owns -- the largest collection of Comanche artwork in the world.
The concept for the exhibits came to the museum's staff through a lot of brainstorming, said Morgan. In addition they use traveling exhibits when they are able to tailor the information to focus on Comanche history or culture.
A popular exhibit was the Smithsonian exhibit about code talkers of World War II. The Smithsonian exhibit covered all the tribes. The Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center took that exhibit and formatted it to talk about the roles the Comanche tribe played as code talkers.
"The thing about our museum is we are 100-percent Comanche history and culture," said Morgan. "We took (the Smithsonian exhibit) to the next step by supplementing additional Comanche information to go with it."
A code talkers exhibit is still in the museum, and without a doubt, the part I enjoyed the most. I didn't even know there were Comanche code talkers which Morgan said is a common misconception since the release of the movie "Code Talkers" which highlighted the Navaho tribes. In reality two dozen tribes took part in the code talkers.
"Comanches were on Utah Beach on D-Day," said Morgan. "A lot of American lives were saved because the Germans couldn't understand what was being said over the radio because it was being said in Comanche. The 4th Infantry Division was able to get on the beach and take part in that battle successfully and the Comanches were right there in the middle of it."
Morgan showed me part of the code talkers exhibit that was conceptualized in-house. You can hear two Comanches speaking to one another at one exhibit and then in another you can try your hand at deciphering Comanche words. She explained how the Comanche Soldiers had to create words for military terms such as calling a bomber a "pregnant bird." They then had to all agree on the same words so when they spoke to one another on the radio, the receiver would know what the speaker was saying.
Having two young boys I'm always concerned about being able to take them with me and Morgan assured me children were more than welcome at the museum.
She showed me a digital interactive bison hunt where children can try their hand at hunting for their dinner. There is also a nook for children to decorate a drawing of a bison and also search for Comanche words in a word search puzzle. The children's activities combined with museum facts make it a perfect afternoon trip for families in the area.
Note: It's a new year for the OBL and I'm looking for things to do and discover. If there is something I need to see, hear, taste or experience in the Lawton-Fort Sill community, let me know by contacting me through Facebook at www.Facebook.com/OkieBucketList.
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