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Plains -- Pawnee

The Pawnee were in the Nebraska and Kansas area of the plains. Great Plains

Pawnees were a confederacy of four tribes, all using the Caddoan language - Grand Pawnee, Kitkehanki, Tapage, and Skiri.

The land of the Plains Native Americans stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, and from Canada to Texas.

In the 18th century the Pawnee mainly lived along the Republican, Loup and Platte rivers in Nebraska.

They refer to themselves as "Chaticks-si- Chaticks", meaning “men of men".

The Pawnees had a special way of preparing the scalplock by dressing it with buffalo fat until it stood up and curved backward like a horn. The name Pawnee comes from the word pariki (horn).

They lived in dome-shaped lodges covered by willow branches, grass, or earth. When hunting, they used teepees to follow the herds. Pawnee women, who were highly skilled at making pottery, controlled trade and the distribution of goods within the tribe, while men were tribal chiefs, hunters, and warriors.

The earliest descriptions of the Pawnee indicate that their largest earth lodge villages may have grown to over 1,000 people. The earth lodges were circular with the floor dug slightly below the surrounding ground level. The lower outside walls were made of brush and there were four or more central posts holding up roof rafters. All of this framework was covered by earth. There was a central smoke hole in the roof with the fireplace located directly below it.

Pawnee village - painting

model of a lodge

hunting camp While they were on the winter hunt, the Pawnee lived in temporary camps of typical Plains conical tipis. On the summer hunt they used the “side dwelling”, a shelter described as a half-bowl shaped framework of bent saplings, open in the front and covered with skins. The villages where they gardened were their permanent homes. (teepee or tipi, both are correct)

The Pawnee lifestyle alternated between planting crops and hunting. After tending to their crops they left in mid-June for a buffalo hunt. In September they returned to harvest their crops. After storing their foodstuffs they left in October for their winter buffalo hunt. In April they returned to start the cycle all over again.

The women were responsible for planting, cultivating, and harvesting the gardens. Each garden was about an acre in size. They used simple tools — a rake, a hoe made from the shoulder blade of a bison and a digger made from a fire-hardened stick. They saved and planted seeds for corn, beans, pumpkins, squash and melons.

Pawnee women and girls gathered many kinds of food from plants that grew on the prairie. These included milkweed pods, sunflower seeds, wild nuts, and berries. Along streams or in marshy places they found roots of yellow lotus, cattail, and wild onions. They also gathered chokecherries, wild plums, wild grapes, wild potatoes, turnips, and turkey peas.

Small animals, birds, and fish were common sources of food. Wild animals of many types provided the hunter with game. Herds of bison wandered the Plains, and their meat, next to corn, formed the main food for the Pawnee. One bison provided enough meat to feed one person for a year.

The Plains people dressed in clothes made from the hide of animals. Buffalo was most commonly used. In hot weather, men wore breechcloths. When it got colder, they added deerskin shirts, leggings, and moccasins.

Pawnee women wore deerskin skirts and poncho-like blouses. A dress or warrior's shirt was fringed and often decorated with beadwork and painted designs. Men did not usually wear shirts. In cold weather, they wore long buffalo- hide robes.

Pawnee Indian leaders sometimes wore the long war bonnets. More often, Pawnee men shaved their heads except for a scalplock (one long lock of hair in back) and wore a porcupine roach on top. Pawnee women wore their hair either loose or braided. The Pawnees also painted their faces for special occasions. They used different patterns for war paint, religious ceremonies, and festive decoration.

Pawnee porcupine roach (head-gear) war bonnet

bearclaw necklaces

From the earliest times, the tribe used tame dogs to help them drag their possessions across the plains on the hunts. Around 1700 the Pawnee began to acquire horses. As in many other tribes, horses changed the Pawnee's way of life.