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This article is about the Native American tribe. For other uses, see Pawnee (disambiguation).
Pawnee
Total population

5,500

Regions with significant populations
Oklahoma, Flag of the United States United States
Languages
Caddoan, Pawnee
Religions
Christianity, other
Related ethnic groups
other Caddoan peoples

The Pawnee (also Paneassa, Pari, Pariki) are a Native American tribe that historically lived along the Platte, Loup and Republican Rivers in present-day Nebraska and in Northern Kansas. Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Caddoan languages are a family of Native American languages. The Pawnee language is a Caddoan language spoken by Pawnee Native Americans located in North central Oklahoma. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States The Platte River is an approximately 310 mi (499 km long river in the Western United States. This article is on the Loup River in Nebraska USA for information on the Loup River in southeast France see Loup River (France. Nebraska ( is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " They refer to themselves as "Chaticks-si-Chaticks", meaning "Men of men".

In the 18th century, they were allied with the French and played an important role in halting Spanish expansion onto the Great Plains by defeating the Villasur expedition decisively in battle in 1720. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system French colonization of the Americas began in the 14th century and continued in the following centuries as France established a colonial empire in the Western The Spanish colonization of the Americas was Spain 's conquest settlement and rule over much of the Western hemisphere. The Great Plains are the broad expanse of Prairie and Steppe which lie east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada The Villasur expedition of 1720 was a Spanish military expedition intended to check the growing French presence on the Great Plains of central North

In the 19th century, epidemics of smallpox and cholera wiped out most of the Pawnee, reducing the population to approximately 600 by the year 1900; as of 2005, there are approximately 2,500 Pawnee. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Smallpox is an Infectious disease unique to humans caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor. Cholera, sometimes known as Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera, is an infectious Gastroenteritis caused by the Bacterium

Contents

Social structure

Overview

Descended from Caddoan linguistic stock. The Caddoan languages are a family of Native American languages.

Pawnee area
Pawnee area

They were an agricultural people who grew maize, beans, pumpkins and squash. Maize (ˈmeɪz ( Zea mays L. ssp mays) known as corn in some countries is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica Bean is a common name for large plant Seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae used for human food or animal Pumpkin is a Gourd -like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae (which also includes gourds Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita native to the Mexico and Central America, also called marrows depending They ate it with fat bacon and pork greased with oil. Bacon is a cut of Meat taken from the sides belly or back of a Pig that has been cured, smoked, or both Pork' is the Culinary name for Meat from the domestic Pig ( Sus scrofa) often specifically the fresh meat but can be used as an all-inclusive With the coming of the horse culture to the Great Plains they did begin to take on some of the cultural attributes of their cousins, but the buffalo culture remained secondary to the maize culture. The term " Horse culture " is used to define a tribal group or Community whose day to day life revolves around the herding and breeding of Horses The Great Plains are the broad expanse of Prairie and Steppe which lie east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada The Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America.

The Pawnee Confederacy was divided into the following four bands:

The Chaui are generally recognized as being the leading band although each band was autonomous and, as was typical of many Indian tribes, each band saw to its own, although with outside pressures from the Spanish, French and Americans, as well as neighboring tribes saw the Pawnee drawing closer together. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

Lodges

Pawnee lodges near Genoa, Nebraska (1873)
Pawnee lodges near Genoa, Nebraska (1873)
geophysical image depicting the subsurface archaeological footprint of Pawnee earth lodges and associated features
geophysical image depicting the subsurface archaeological footprint of Pawnee earth lodges and associated features

The Pawnee lodges tended to be oval in shape; the frame was constructed of 10-15 posts set some ten feet apart which outlined the floor of the lodge. Genoa is a city in Nance County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 981 at the 2000 census. This article is about the modern housing style for Native American earth lodges see Earth lodge. Lodge size varied based on the number of poles placed in the center of the structure. Most lodges had 4, 8 or 12 center poles. A common feature in Pawnee Lodge's were four painted poles which represented the four semi-cardinal directions and the four major star gods (not to be confused with the Creator. ) The framework was then covered with willow branches, earth and sod which inhibited erosion. Willows, sallows and osiers form the Genus Salix, around 400 species of Deciduous Trees and Shrubs found primarily A hole was left in the center which served as a combined chimney and skylight. The lodge itself was semi subterranean and the floor was approximately three feet below ground level. A buffalo-skin door on a hinge could be closed at night and wedged shut. This is an article about an animal For other uses see Bison (disambiguation.

There could be as many as 30-50 people living in each lodge. A village could consist of as many as 300-500 people and 10-15 households. Each lodge was divided in two (north and south), and each section had a head who oversaw the daily business; each section was further subdivided into three families. The membership of the lodge was actually quite flexible. The tribe went on buffalo hunts in summer and winter. Upon their return, the inhabitants of the lodges would often move into another lodge, although they generally remained within the village.

Political structure

The Pawnee are a matrilineal people; ancestral descent was through the mother and a young couple would traditionally move into the bride's parents' lodge. Matrilineality is a system in which lineage is traced through the mother and maternal ancestors Both women and men are active in political life, with both taking decision-making responsibilities.

Within the lodge the abovementioned sections were designated for the three classes of women.

Amongst the collection of lodges, the political designations for men were essentially between:

Women tended to be responsible for decisions about resource allocation, trade, and inter-lodge social negotiations. Men were responsible for decisions which pertained to hunting, war, and spiritual/health issues.

Women tended to remain within a single lodge, while men would typically move between lodges taking multiple sexual partners in serially-monogamous relationships.

Religion

The Pawnee placed great significance on Sacred Bundles, which formed the basis of many religious ceremonies maintaining the balance of nature and the relationship with the gods and spirits. The Pawnee were not however part of the Sun Dance tradition although they did partake in the Ghost Dance movement of the 1890s. The Sun Dance is a Ceremony practiced by a number of Native Americans Noted in historical accounts as the Ghost Dance of 1890 the Ghost Dance was a religious movement incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems

Pawnee equated the stars with the gods and planted their crops according to the position of the stars. Like many tribal units they sacrificed maize and other crops.

The Morning Star ritual

The Skidi practiced human sacrifice (the "Morning Star ritual") until the 1840s. Human sacrifice is the act of Homicide (the Killing of one or several Human beings in the context of a Religious ritual ( ritual killing [1] Typically, a young girl was captured from another tribe, based on a dream by a Skidi elder. The girl was well treated for several days, and an elaborate scaffold was built for the sacrifice. Scaffolding is a temporary framework used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures The preparations took four days.

When the morning star was due to rise, the girl was placed on the scaffold, and at the moment the star appeared above the horizon, the girl's chest was cut open, after which her body was shot with arrows.

In her The Lost Universe (1965), Gene Weltfish makes note of a young Lakota captive who was tied to a tree and shot with arrows. The Lakota (laˈkˣota (also Teton, Tetonwan) are a Native American tribe She was thought to be the last human sacrifice performed by the Pawnee; Weltfish attributes this peculiarity to their Aztec kin to the south. Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political However, this posited connection to Aztec sacrifice has been disputed [2]

History

Francisco Vásquez de Coronado visited the neighboring Wichita in 1541 where he encountered a Pawnee chief from Harahey, north of Kansas or Nebraska. Francisco Vázquez de Coronado y Luján (Born in 1510 &ndash Died on September 22 1554 was a Spanish Conquistador, who visited New Mexico and other The Wichita are a Tribe of Native Americans, indigenous inhabitants of North America, who speak Wichita, a Caddoan language. Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " Nebraska ( is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and Nothing much is mentioned of the Pawnee until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when successive incursions of Spanish, French and English settlers attempted to enlarge their possessions. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The tribes however tended to make alliances as and when it suited them. An interesting point to note being that different Pawnee subtribes could make treaties with warring European powers without disrupting the underlying unity; the Pawnee were masters at unity within diversity.

Historian Marcel Trudel has documented close to 2,000 Pawnee (in French, Panis) slaves who lived in Canada until the abolition of slavery at the end of the 18th century, making up close to half of the known slaves in French Canada. Marcel Trudel, CC, GOQ (born May 29, 1917) is a Canadian historian and author Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page French Canada is a term to distinguish the French-speaking population of Canada from English Canada.

Pawnee father and son, 1912
Pawnee father and son, 1912

A tribal delegation visited President Jefferson and in 1806 Lieutenant Zebulon Pike, Major G. Thomas Jefferson (April 13 1743 – July 4 1826 was the third President of the United States (1801–1809 the principal author of the Declaration of Independence Zebulon Montgomery Pike Jr ( January 5, 1779 – April 27, 1813) was an American soldier and explorer for whom Pikes Peak C. Sibley, Major S. H. Long, amongst others began visiting the Pawnee villages. Stephen Harriman Long (December 30 1784 &ndash September 4 1864 was a U The Pawnee ceded territory to the American government in treaties in 1818, 1825, 1833, 1848, 1857, and 1892; in 1857, they settled on a reservation along the Loup River in present-day Nance County, Nebraska. Year 1818 ( MDCCCXVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Year 1825 ( MDCCCXXV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Year 1833 ( MDCCCXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Year 1848 ( MDCCCXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the An Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American Tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau Nance County is a County located in the US state of Nebraska. Continual raids from Lakota from the north and west and encroachment from American settlers to the south and east lead to the abandonment of their Nebraska reservation. The Lakota (laˈkˣota (also Teton, Tetonwan) are a Native American tribe In 1875 they moved to Indian Territory, (Oklahoma), a large territory that had served as a 'dumping ground' for tribes displaced from the east and elsewhere. Year 1875 ( MDCCCLXXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Indian Territory, also known as The Indian Country, The Indian territory or the Indian territories, was land set aside within the United States Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. Many Pawnee men joined the United States Cavalry as scouts rather than face the ignominy of reservation life and the inevitable loss of their freedom and culture. In the 20th century, Christianity supplanted the older religion. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings

In 1780 the Pawnee are thought to have numbered around 10,000, but by the 19th century, epidemics of smallpox and cholera wiped out most of the Pawnee, reducing the population to approximately 600 by the year 1900; as of 2005, there are approximately 2,500 Pawnee. Year 1780 ( MDCCLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Smallpox is an Infectious disease unique to humans caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor. Cholera, sometimes known as Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera, is an infectious Gastroenteritis caused by the Bacterium Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Recent history

The Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936 established the Pawnee Business Council, the Nasharo (Chiefs) Council, and a tribal constitution, bylaws, and charter. The Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936 also known as the Thomas-Rogers Act, is a United States federal law that extended of the Indian Reorganization Act Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. An out of court settlement in 1964 awarded the Pawnee Nation $7,316,096. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. 55 for undervalued ceded land from the previous century. Bills such as the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 have gone some way to address the mistakes of the past and help the Pawnee Nation regain some of their pride and culture. Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Today the Pawnee are still celebrating their culture and meet twice a year for the inter-tribal gathering with their kinsmen the Wichita Indians and the four day Pawnee Homecoming for Pawnee veterans in July. The Wichita are a Tribe of Native Americans, indigenous inhabitants of North America, who speak Wichita, a Caddoan language. Many Pawnee return to their traditional lands to visit relatives, craft shows and take part in powwows.

In popular culture

In Kevin Costner's movie "Dances with Wolves," the Pawnee are the main Indian antagonists to the Lakota/Sioux Indians befriended by the main character. Dances with Wolves is a 1990 Epic film which tells the story of a United States Lieutenant who travels to the American Frontier to find a military post In the words of one reviewer, the Pawnee "are identified as a blood seeking race . . . " [3]

See also

External links

Bibliography

The Lost Universe by Gene Weltfish

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