While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
Pawnee. A
confederacy belonging to the Caddoan family. The name is probably
derived from parika, a horn, a term used to designate the peculiar
manner of dressing the scalp-lock, by which the hair was stiffened with
paint and fat, and made to stand erect and curved like a horn. This
marked features of the Pawnee gave currency to the name and its
application to cognate tribes. The people called themselves
Chahiksichahiks, `men of men.'
In the general northeastwardly movement of the Caddoan
tribes the Pawnee seem to have brought up the rear. Their migration was
not in a compact body, but in groups, whose slow progress covered long
periods of time. The Pawnee tribes finally established themselves in the
valley of Platte river, Nebr., which territory, their traditions say, was
acquired by conquest, but the people who were driven out are not named. It
is not improbable that in making their way north east the Pawnee may have
encountered one or more waves of the southward movements of Shoshonean and
Athapascan tribes. When the Siouan tribes entered Platte valley they found
the Pawnee there. The geographic arrangement always observed by the four
leading Pawnee tribes may give a hint of the order of their northeastward
movement, or of their grouping in their traditionary southwestern home.
The Skidi place was to the north west, and they were spoken of as
belonging to the upper villages; the Pitahauerat villages were always
downstream; those of the Chaui, in the middle, or between the Pitahauerat
and the Kitkehahki, the villages of the last-named being always upstream.
How long the Pawnee resided in the Platte valley is unknown, but their
stay was long enough to give new terms to 'west' and 'east,' that is,
words equivalent to 'up' or 'down' that eastwardly flowing stream.
The earliest historic mention of a Pawnee is that of
the so-called "Turk", who by his tales concerning the riches of Quivira
allured and finally led Coronado, in 1541, from New Mexico over the plains
as far as Kansas, where some Pawnee (see Harahey) visited him. The
permanent villages of the tribes lay to the north of Quivira, and it is
improbable that Coronado actually entered any of them during his visit to
Quivira, a name given to the Wichita territory. It is doubtful if the
Apane or the Quipana mentioned in the narrative of De Soto's expedition in
1541 were the Pawnee, as the latter dwelt to the north west of the
Spaniards' line of travel. Nor is it likely that the early French
explorers visited the Pawnee villages, although they heard of them, and
their locality was indicated by Tonti, La Harpe, and others. French
traders, however, were established among the tribes before the middle of
the 18th century.
How the term Pani, or Pawnee, as applied to Indian
slaves, came into use is not definitely known. It was a practice among the
French and English in the 17th and 18th centuries to obtain from friendly
tribes their captives taken in war and to sell them as slaves to white
settlers. By ordinance of Apr. 13, 1709, the enslavement of Negroes and
Pawnee was recognized in Canada (Shea's Charlevoix, v, 224, 1871). The
Pawnee do not seem to have suffered especially from this traffic, which,
though lucrative, had to be abandoned on account of the animosities it
engendered. The white settlers of New Mexico became familiar with the
Pawnee early in the 17th century through the latter's raids for procuring
horses, and for more than two centuries the Spanish authorities of that
territory sought to bring about peaceful relations with them, with only
partial success.
As the Pawnee villages lay in a country remote from the
region contested by the Spaniards and French in the 17th and 18th
centuries, these Indians escaped for a time the influences that proved so
fatal to their congeners, but ever-increasing contact with the white race,
in the latter part of the 18th century, introduced new diseases And
brought great reduction in population together with loss of tribal power.
When the Pawnee territory, through the Louisiana Purchase, passed under
the control of the U. S., the Indians came in close touch with the trading
center at St Louis. At that time their territory lay between the Niobrara
river on the north and Prairie Dog creek on the south, and was bounded on
the west by the country of the
Cheyenne and Arapaho, and on
the east by that of the Omaha, on the
north of the Platte, and on the south of the Platte by the lands of the
Oto and
Kansa tribes. The trail to the south west, and later that across the
continent, ran partly through Pawnee land, and the increasing travel and
the settlement of the country brought about many changes.
Through all the vicissitudes of the 19th century the
Pawnee never made war against the U. S. On the contrary they gave many
evidences of forbearance under severe provocation by waiting, under their
treaty agreement, for the Government to right their wrongs, while Pawnee
scouts faithfully and courageously served in the U. S. army during Indian
hostilities. The history of the Pawnee has been that common to reservation
life the gradual abandonment of ancient customs and the relinquishment of
homes before the pressure of white immigration.
The first treaty between the Pawnee and the U. S. was
that of the several bands made at St Louis, June 18-22, 1818, when peace
was concluded with all the tribes of the region disturbed by the War of
1812. By treaty of Ft Atkinson (Council Bluffs), Iowa, Sept. 28, 1825, the
Pawnee acknowledged the supremacy of the U. S. and agreed to submit all
grievances to the Government for adjustment. By treaty of Grand Pawnee
Village, Nebr., Oct. 9, 1833, they ceded all their lands south of Platte
river. By that of Ft Childs, Nebr., Aug. 6, 1848, they sold a 60-mile
strip on the Platte about Grand Island. By treaty of Table creek, Nebr.,
Sept. 24, 1857, all lands north of the Platte were assigned to the
Government, except a strip on Loup river 30 miles east and west and 15
miles north and south, where their reservation was established. This tract
was ceded in 1876, when the tribes removed to Oklahoma, where they now
live. In 1892 they took their lands in severalty and became citizens of
the U. S.
The tribal organization of the Pawnee was based on
village communities representing subdivisions of the tribe. Each village
had its name, its shrine containing sacred objects, and its priests who
had charge of the rituals and ceremonies connected with these objects; it
had also its hereditary chiefs and its council composed of the chiefs and
leading men. If the head chief was a man of unusual character and ability
he exercised undisputed authority, settled all difficulties, and preserved
social order; he was expected to give freely and was apt to be surrounded
by dependents. Each chief had his own herald who proclaimed orders and
other matters of tribal interest.
The tribe was held together by two forces: the
ceremonies pertaining to a common cult in which each village had its place
and share, and the tribal council composed of the chiefs of the different
villages. The confederacy was similarly united, its council being made up
from the councils of the tribes. In the meetings of these councils rules
of precedence and decorum were rigidly observed. No one could speak who
was not entitled to a seat, although a few privileged men were permitted
to be present as spectators. The council determined all questions touching
the welfare of the tribe or of the confederacy.
War parties were always initiated by some individual
and were composed of volunteers. Should the village be attacked, the men
fought under their chief or under some other recognized leader. Buffalo
hunts were tribal, and in conducting them officers were appointed to
maintain order so as to permit each family to procure its share of the
game. The meat was cut in thin sheets, jerked, and packed in parflêche
cases for future use. Maize, pumpkins, and beans were cultivated. The
maize, which was regarded as a sacred gift, was called "mother," and
religious ceremonies were connected with its planting, hoeing, and
harvesting. Basketry, pottery, and weaving were practiced.
The Pawnee house was the earth lodge, the elaborate
construction of which was accompanied with religious ceremony, and when
after an absence from home the family returned to their dwelling the posts
thereof were ceremonially anointed. Men shaved the head except for a
narrow ridge from the forehead to the scalp-lock, which stood up like a
horn. Frequently a scarf was tied around the head like a turban. Both
beard and eyebrows were plucked; tattooing was seldom practiced. The
breechcloth and moccasins were the only essential parts of a man's
clothing; leggings and robe were worn in cold weather and on gala
occasions. Face painting was common, and heraldic designs were frequently
painted on tent covers and on the robes and shields of the men. Women wore
the hair in two braids at the back, the parting as well as the face being
painted red. Moccasins, leggings, and a robe were the ancient dress, later
a skirt and tunic were worn. Descent was traced through the mother. There
were no totems belonging to the confederacy. After marriage a man went to
live with his wife's family. Polygamy was not uncommon.
The religious ceremonies were connected with the cosmic
forces and the heavenly bodies. The dominating power was Tirawa, generally
spoken of as "father." The heavenly bodies, the winds, thunder, lightning,
and rain were his messengers. Among the Skidi the morning and evening
stars represented the masculine and feminine elements, and were connected
with the advent and the perpetuation on earth of all living forms. A
series of ceremonies relative to the bringing of life and its increase
began with the first thunder in the spring and culminated at the summer
solstice in human sacrifice, but the series did not close until the maize,
called "mother corn," was harvested. At every stage of the series certain
shrines, or "bundles," became the center of a ceremony. Each shrine was in
charge of an hereditary keeper, but its rituals and ceremonies were in the
keeping of a priesthood open to all proper aspirants. Through the sacred
and symbolic articles of the shrines and their rituals and ceremonies a
medium of communication was believed to be opened between the people and
the supernatural powers, by which food, long life, and prosperity were
obtained. The mythology of the Pawnee is remarkably rich in symbolism and
poetic fancy, and their religious system is elaborate and cogent. The
secret societies, of which there were several in each tribe, were
connected with the belief in supernatural animals. The functions of these
societies were to call the game, to heal diseases, and to give occult
powers. Their rites were elaborate and their ceremonies dramatic.
Four tribes of the Pawnee confederacy still survive:
the Chaui or Grand Pawnee, the Kitkehahki or Republican Pawnee, the
Pitahauerat or Tapage Pawnee, and the Skidi or Wolf Pawnee.
In 1702 the Pawnee were estimated by Iberville at 2,000
families. In 1838 they numbered about 10,000 souls, according to an
estimate by houses by the missionaries Dunbar and Allis, and the estimate
is substantially confirmed by other authorities of the same period, one
putting the number as high as 12,500. The opening of a principal emigrant
trail directly through the country in the 40's introduced disease and
dissipation, and left the people less able to defend themselves against
the continuous attacks of their enemies, the Sioux. In 1849 they were
officially reported to have lost one-fourth their number by cholera,
leaving only 4,500. In 1856 they had increased to 4,686, but 5 years later
were reported at 3,416. They lost heavily by the removal to Indian
Territory in 1873-75, and in 1879 numbered only 1,440. They have continued
to dwindle each year until there are now (1906) but 649 survivors.
Messrs Dunbar and Allis of the Presbyterian church established a mission
among the Pawnee in 1834, which continued until 1847 when it was abolished
owing to tribal wars. In 1883 the Woman's National Indian Association
established a mission on the Pawnee reservation in Oklahoma, which in 1884
was transferred to the Methodist Episcopal Church, under whose auspices it
is still in operation.
