♪ ♪

(horse whinnying)

(man singing)

NARRATOR: Today, the image of
Indians on horseback is iconic.

But Native Americans never set
eyes on a horse

before the 15th century,

when Europeans bring them
to America

as a weapon of conquest.

The Comanche and other native
peoples adapt the horse

as a powerful ally in the fight
to protect their land

and way of life.

WOMAN
(speaking native language):

(horse whinnying)

FOWLES: This rock art tells
a story.

This is commemorating an event,
a very successful horse raid.

♪ ♪

MYERS: We're looking at possibly
the beginning of our empire

as Comanche people on horseback.

It's just amazing.

NARRATOR: The panel is just one
of hundreds found in this gorge

created by Jhane's ancestors.

These images
in Comanche oral history

are rewriting the story
of Native America

in the wake
of European colonialism.

♪ ♪

LINDSAY MONTGOMERY: We're seeing
the first encounter

between the Spanish here,
the Comanche, and the horse.

NARRATOR:
The rock art may memorialize

a pivotal moment in history,

a battle in which the Comanches
seize the horse.

(men singing in native language)

WOMAN
(speaking native language):

NARRATOR: To the Comanche,

the horse is a gift
from the creator.

♪ ♪

(woman speaking native language)

(guns firing, horses neighing)

(gun fires, horse whinnies)

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: After U.S. troops
slaughter the Comanche herd,

Quanah Parker, the last free
Comanche chief, surrenders.

♪ ♪

WOMAN: I want people to see us
and just think,

"Oh, my gosh,
that person is Comanche.

"Those people--
they're not historical,

"they're still alive today.

Look, they're thriving."

NARRATOR:
And the spirit of the horse

remains at the heart
of the Comanche nation.

When the moon is full,
the Comanche believe

those mustangs
massacred in the Texas panhandle

still run free.

WOMAN
(speaking native language):