Chaui Indians (‘in the middle.’ – Grinnell). A tribe of the Pawnee confederacy, spoken of by the French as Grand Pawnee. In the positions maintained by the 4 tribes of the Pawnee confederacy the villages of the Chaui were always between those of the Pitahauerat on the east and Kitkehahki on the west. In the council of the confederacy the Chaui held a prominent place, their head chiefs outranking all others, and being accepted as representative of the Pawnee, although without power to dominate all the tribes. Little that is distinctive is known of this tribe. In 1833 they ceded to the United States their lands south of Platte River, Nebraska, and in 1857 all lands on the north side of that stream, when the Pawnee reservation on Loup River was established. This land was ceded in 1876 and their reservation in Oklahoma set apart. Here they now live. Having taken their lands in severalty, in 1892 they became citizens of the United States. They were included in the missions established among the Pawnee. In customs and beliefs the Chaui did not differ from their congeners. They possessed many interesting ceremonies, of which that connected with the calumet has been preserved entire and gives evidence of their well-defined cosmogony and religious system. The divisions and totems are not known.
