Franklin County, Nebraska

For Another Day

I have longed to know about the Pawnee Indians. This background information from the State Historical Society tells us more about them as a people.

I am on the look out for any information or stories about Indians around Franklin County since the trip with the state archaeologist to the gravesite south of Naponee. By the way, I haven’t heard any report from the State Historical Society about the skeletal remains found several months ago. I will report when I hear anything.

Tools: Among the most interesting of the many objects made by the Pawnee is their pottery. Pottery shards may be found on many of the old village sites occupied by the Pawnee as recently as the first half of the nineteenth century. The pottery was made from Clay, which was mixed with sand or grit and water and molded into shape with the hand and paddle. The pots were then baked until hard. Typically the pottery made after 1700, or perhaps earlier, was treated with a grooved paddle to produce a ridged effect on the body of the vessels. At an earlier period the paddle was wrapped with twisted cords to produce lines in the patterns. After the Pawnee secured metal containers from the whites they gave up the making of native pottery.

The arrow points, knives, scrapers and other tools were once chipped from hard local stone. Like the pottery, substitutes were furnished in metal by the white traders. Guns eventually replaced the iron arrowheads, which had first replaced the stone points. A considerable amount of work continued to be carried on by the Pawnee until their removal from Nebraska. This included mortars from grinding corn and other foods, bowls, platters; whip handles, and elaborately carved and decorated cradleboards. Some of these items have been recovered by archaeologists. The bulk of the clothing of an earlier period was fashioned from animal hides.

Village Life: The Pawnee women did much of the camp and village work. They did the cooking, fired the meat, dug the storage pits, and cultivated the gardens. The younger boys usually cared for the horses, while the older boys and men went to war, hunted game, held council and gave feast. Although the women in general led a life of hard work, the chieftainship often descended through the existing chief’s sister, with her son becoming the new chief.

Until the children were about seven years of age, most of their time was spent in play, with the girls making dolls and the boys making bows and other toys. After that age, the boys were given the task of watching the horses, learning to use the bow, and hunting the smaller game. At the age of sixteen or eighteen, the boys were usually married. The girls learned all of the tasks carried on by the mothers and were married at fourteen or shortly after. The husband went to the lodge of the Father-in-law, and lived there with his wife. A particular section of the lodge was allotted to him, and he became a member of that family. The younger sisters of the wife were often taken as wives by her husband as they became older. The eldest sister, however was the principal wife and ruled the younger sisters. The number of a man’s wives was an indication of his wealth. The most common number, however, was only one.

Dress: Boys were allowed to go with out clothing until they were about six years old; girls wore a skirt after they were three years old. The men wore a belt about their waist to which was attached a breech-cloth. Buckskin leggings covered the thighs and legs. In the winter, they wore buffalo robes, which were often elaborately decorated. Both the men and women wore moccasins. The dress of the women also included leggings and a skirt from the waist to below the knee. A loose waist or jacket was suspended from the shoulders by straps.

The beards and eyebrows of the men were carefully pulled out by a spiral coil of wire secured from the white traders. At an earlier period this may have been done with a stone or bone.

Tools: While the men often shaved their heads, except for a scalp lock, the hair of the women was allowed to grow long and usually hung in two braids at the back. The part of the hair was daubed with red paint. Men and women often wore a handkerchief or other cloth about the head like a turban.

Children were named by their parents soon after birth. After performing any special exploit, a man had a right to change his name if he preferred. Names were sometimes changed several times during life.

Warfare: Unlike most Indians of the Plains, the Pawnee war parties usually made their trips on foot. War parties were led by some chief of great ability and bravery. Much time was spent before starting on the trip in practicing and fighting imaginary battles. When the party was completely organized, a war dance was held and a special sacrifice offered for the safety and success of the expedition. The return of a successful war party was an occasion for great joy, and a scalp dance was usually held that night. A fully equipped warrior carried a bow and arrows, a tomahawk, spear, and a shield made from heavy rawhide secured from the neck of a bison bull.

Medicine: The medicine men all belonged to a special secret order with younger men being trained by the older. A distinctive mark of a medicine man was the wearing of a robe with the hair side out. He also carried a special medicine bag, which contained herbs and various materials. They were particularly skillful in the treatment of wounds and sprains. Broken bones were sometimes very well set.

Chiefs: Among the well known Pawnee warriors of Nebraska were Sharitarich (the Angry Chief) and Isatappe (Rich Man), visited by Captain Zebulon Pike in 1806 at a village on the Republican River in the area which is now Webster County; Long Hair, head chief of the Grand Pawnee in 1809; Letaleshar (Knife Chief), who is generally given credit for stopping or discouraging the human sacrificial ceremony among the Skida band; Sun Chief of the Grands; Singing Chief of the Pitahauerat; Big Axe, Black Chief, and Spotted Horse of the Skidi.

Later History: Upon removal of the Pawnee from Nebraska, which was completed in 1875, they first settled at the Wichita Agency in Indian Territory, but were eventually given a somewhat larger reservation than the one they left in Nebraska. The climate of the southland, however, caused much illness among the tribe and many died. Some of the Pawnee were to return to their homeland as scouts under Frank and Luther North in battles against their old enemies, the Dakota-Sioux and Cheyenne. In 1836, the Pawnee were reported to total 1,149. In general, their number appears to be increasing from the low 646, which was reported in 1905.

There is nothing so well known as that we should not expect something for nothing-but we all do and call it hope.

Anonymous.

Rena Donovan, For Another Day.

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