The Life of the Pawnee by Hannah

                Would you ever believe that in the Great Plains there was a group of people that put buffalo tallow into their hair? Well, the Pawnee tribe did to keep their tribal mark, a Mohawk, in place. The Pawnee used the buffalo and the bison in many ways.  Aslo, they were religious people who had a great heritage and history.  The tribe had four different bands that were very strongly connected.

                The Pawnee used the parts of the buffalo and bison very much in thier everyday life. The buffalo’s skin was tanned for winter robes, headdresses, saddle padding, and ornaments. The tendons were dressed and used as very strong sinew which they used for various types of cooking, tools, weapons, other tools, and toys. The Pawnee ate every part of the bison. To the Pawnee the tongue and hump were considered delicacies. The liver and heart were often eaten raw, right after the kill. The tougher parts of the bison were made into pemmican, a blend of pulverized berries mixed with bison or buffalo meat and tallow.

                They held many religious ceremonies, had a sacred gift, and had a very interesting tribal mark. Corn was the sacred gift to the Pawnee. Many religious ceremonies centered around corn. One ceremony involved human sacrifice. However, the people disagreed with it so it was no longer practiced. The Pawnee’s tribal mark was a Mohawk. The Mohawk was held strongly in place by tallow and paints used by Native Americans. No one else had one like it. The Mohawk was sometimes compared to a horn. The name Pawnee comes from the word "parik-i," meaning "a horn."

The Pawnee were a very old tribe. In fact, the Pawnee are one of the oldest tribes of the Great Plains. The Pawnee entered the Great Plains a little after A.D. 1200 from east of the Mississippi River. They settled close to the Platte River in what is now Nebraska. The tribe was attacked by hunting tribes escaping from Europe, which weakened them, but they were also weakened by small pox and cholera.

                The Pitahauerat was one band of the Pawnee. They were normally called the Tapage Pawnee, the Noisy Pawnee, or the Smoky Hill Pawnee. The Skidi were called the Loup Pawnee. The Kitkehaki were named the Republican Pawnee. The Chaui were often called the Grand Pawnee.

                The Pawnee hunters made their own bows, arrows, and flint knives. They set snares to catch quail. The Pawnee were good at killing jack rabbit and mountain sheep. They also hunted deer, buffalo, antelope, and elk. Some of the Pawnee lived in or around Fullerton, Nebraska. The Pawnee held trust land in Oklahoma. They built old villages on high bluffs near rivers or creeks. Before the Europeans came to the Pawnee’s land, each band of Pawnee had its own villages and leaders. The leaders decided where villages were built.

The main food the Pawnee ate was buffalo. They also grew corn, squash, and pumpkin. When they ate the corn, they ate the ear and the stalk. They also ate cornmeal mush ion their normal diet. The Pawnee fishermen caught fish with flint-headed spears, or a seine made of willow, reed, or woven strips of hide. The fish they caught were trout, perch, and crappie. Sometimes they caught turtles, a very tasty alternative from their normal diet.

Mohawk Corn Balls

                As you can see, the Pawnee were a very strong tribe, with four bands but were weakened when some Europeans came to their land. They were also a very old tribe. The Pawnee were very good at living off the land. They lived a very religious life and survived as hunters and gatherers.

Cale, Jen Shunatona. “Pawnee Indians.” World Book Online Reference Center. 2008. (Place of access.)  

5 Nov. 2008. http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar418400.

Kansas Genealogy, Oct. 29 2008 http://www.kansasgenealogy.com/indians/pawnee_indian_tribe.htm.

Lacey, Theresa. The Pawnee. New York: Chelsea House, 2006

Waldman, Carl. “Pawnee”. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, Third Edition. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2006. American Indian History Online. Facts on File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/active link2.asp?ItemID=WE43&iPin=ind2411&SingleRecord=True(accessedOctober 30, 2008.

Walters, Anna. The Pawnee Nation. Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone, 2000.

Welfish, Gene. “Pawnee”. Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2008. Grolier Online. 29 Oct. 2008 http://gme.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=0222080-0.

The Pawnee by Mylissa

                Did you know people really had ceremonies for corn? Well, the Pawnee did this and many other things. They hunted, made homes, and had their religion, which included ceremonies and rituals. The Pawnee were also known for their peacefulness with newcomers.

                First, the Pawnee had several ceremonies and rituals for harvest and planting of corn. Most of the Pawnees days were spent hunting, and nights spent were with the rituals and ceremonies.  The Pawnee often spoke to their creator. While Europeans thought Pawnee had no religion, they brought Christianity to the Pawnee.

                In addition to having rituals and ceremonies, the Pawnee hunted their food like buffalo and other wild animals. It was difficult and dangerous to hunt the animals they ate. They needed skill and patience to hunt. The Pawnee spent several months hunting. While they would hunt ,their corn would grow. The Pawnee also ate squash, pumpkins, corn, and fish. When fall and winter came, they would store their food in tepees. Hunting and war took up most of their lives.

                Another important part of Pawnee life was making homes; the Pawnee lived in mud lodges which looked like hills from a distance. The mud lodges they made would protect them from bad weather.  It took a lot of people to make a mud lodge. When they built a mud lodge, they would build them in permanent land. Pawnee people today live in modern homes that have electricity and running water.

Mud Lodge

                Some other facts about the Pawnee are that they lived in tall grass land parries, river valleys, and mixed grass plains. They had autumn trails that lasted at least thirty days. Before the Pawnee settled on the Great Plains in Oklahoma and Nebraska, land was mostly animals like, eagles, elk, deer, buffalo, bison, wolf, coyote, and much more. Most of the Pawnee lived up to sixty years. The Pawnee spoke canndo. The tribes that were close to the Pawnee were Wichita, Arikara, and Caddo. Pawnee suffered from dieses, illness and injuries. By the 1700’s the Pawnee spilt into four groups.

                As you can see, the Pawnee tribe had a lot of things in life. They had ceremonies, hunted their own food, made homes, and more. 

Dockstacler, Fredrick J.  “Pawnee” Encyclopedia American. 2008. Groiler online. 29 Oct.2008 http://ea.groiler.com/cgi-bin/artical? assetid=0305340-00.

Kallen, Stuart. “The Pawnee” San Diego :Lucent Books, 2001

Waldman, Carl. “Pawnee”.  Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, third Edition. New Your: Facts On File Inc. /2006. American Indian history online. Facts on file, Inc. http:www.:forweb.com/active link?asp? Item ID=WE 43&iPin=ind 2411& Single record= True(accessed Oct. 30, 2008)

Walters, Anna. “The Pawnee Nation” Mankato, Minnesota: Lap Stone Press, 2000.

Last updated 12/16/08