The Pawnee, also known by their endonym (which translates to "Men of Men"), are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains that historically lived in Nebraska and northern Kansas but today are based in Oklahoma. They are the federally recognized Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, who are headquartered in Pawnee, Oklahoma. Their Pawnee language belongs to the Caddoan language family.
Historically, the Pawnee lived in villages of earth lodges near the Loup, Republican, and South Platte rivers. The Pawnee tribal economic activities throughout the year alternated between farming crops and hunting buffalo.
In the early 18th century, the Pawnee are estimated to have numbered more than 12,000 people. They lived along the Loup () and Platte () river areas for centuries; however, several tribes from the Great Lakes began moving onto the Great Plains and encroaching on Pawnee territory, including the Dakota, Lakota (, 'cut throat / cuts the throat'), and Cheyenne (). The Arapaho (, 'dog eater') also moved into Pawnee territory. Collectively, the Pawnee referred to these tribes as ('enemy tribe') or ('enemy'). The Pawnee were occasionally at war with the Comanche () and Kiowa () further south. They had suffered many losses due to Eurasian infectious diseases brought by the expanding Europeans and European-Americans. By 1860, the Pawnee population was reduced to just 4,000. It further decreased, because of disease, crop failure, warfare, and government rations policy, to approximately 2,400 by 1873, after which time the Pawnee were forced to move to Indian Territory, which later became Oklahoma. Many Pawnee warriors enlisted to serve as Indian scouts in the US Army to track and fight their old enemies, the Lakota, Dakota, and Cheyenne on the Great Plains.
Government In 2011, there were approximately 3,200 enrolled Pawnee and nearly all of them reside in Oklahoma. Their tribal headquarters is in Pawnee, Oklahoma, and their tribal jurisdictional area includes parts of Noble, Payne, and Pawnee counties.
The tribal constitution established the government of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. This government consists of the Resaru Council, the Pawnee Business Council, and the Supreme Court. Enrollment into the tribe requires a minimum of one-eighth Pawnee blood quantum.
The Rêsâru'karu, also known as the Nasharo or Chiefs' Council consists of eight members, each serving four-year terms. Each band has two representatives on the Nasharo Council selected by the members of the tribal bands, Cawi, Kitkahaki, Pitahawirata, and Ckiri. The Nasharo Council has the right to review all acts of the Pawnee Business Council regarding the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma citizenship and Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma claims or rights growing out of treaties between the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and the United States, according to provisions listed in the Pawnee Nation Constitution.
, the current administration is: Madame President: Misty M. Nuttle Vice President: Jordan D. Kanuho Treasurer: Carol Chapman Secretary: George Gardipe Member Seat #1: Cynthia Butler Member Seat #2: Dawna Hare Member Seat #3: Dr. Gene Evans Member Seat #4: Sammye Kemble
In 2020 Jimmy Whiteshirt was recalled as Pawnee Nation President after 5 months in office, becoming the shortest-serving president on the Pawnee Nation Business Council.
Economic development The Pawnee operate two casinos, three smoke shops, two fuel stations, and one truck stop. Their estimated economic impact for 2010 was $10.5 million. Increased revenues from the casinos have helped them provide for education and welfare of their citizens. They issue their own tribal vehicle tags and operate their housing authority. In December 2023, the Pawnee Nation and electric vehicle manufacturer Canoo announced an agreement that aims to help the community with workforce skills in the clean technology sector.
Culture The Pawnee were divided into two large groups: the Skidi / Skiri-Federation living in the north and the South Bands, which were further divided into several villages. While the Skidi / Skiri Federation were the most populous group of Pawnee, the Cawi / Chaui Band of the South Bands were generally the politically leading group, although each band was autonomous. As was typical of many Native American tribes, each band saw to its own. In response to pressures from the Spanish, French, and Americans, as well as neighboring tribes, the Pawnee began to draw closer together.
Bands
South Bands called Tuhaáwit ("East Village People") by the Skidi-Federation Cáwiiʾi (S.B. dialect), Cawií (Sk. dialect), variants: Cawi, Chaui, Chawi, or Tsawi ('People in the Middle', also called "Grand Pawnee") Kítkehahki (S.B. dialect), Kítkahaahki (Sk. dialect), variants: Kitkahaki, Kitkehahki, or Kitkehaxki ('Little Muddy Bottom Village', 'Little Earth Lodge Village', often called "Republican Pawnee") Kitkehahkisúraariksisuʾ (S.B. dialect) or Kítkahaahkisuraariksisuʾ (Sk. dialect) (Kitkahahki band proper, literally 'real Kitkahahki' – the larger of two late 19th century divisions of the Kitkahahki band) Kitkehahkiripacki (S.B. dialect) or Kítkahaahkiripacki (Sk. dialect) (literally 'Little Kitkahahki' – a small Kitkahahki group that split off from the main band) Piitahawiraata (S.B. dialect), Piítahaawìraata (Sk. dialect), variants: Pitahawirata or Pitahauirata ('People Downstream', 'Man-Going-East', derived from Pita – 'Man' and Rata – 'screaming', the French called them "Tapage Pawnee" – 'Screaming, Howling Pawnee', later English-speaking Americans "Noisy Pawnee") Piitahawiraata, Piítahaawìraata, Pitahaureat, Pitahawirata, (Pitahaureat proper, leading group) Kawarakis (derived from the Arikara language Kawarusha – 'Horse' and Pawnee language Kish – 'People', some Pawnee argued that the Kawarakis spoke like the Arikara living to the north, so perhaps they belonged to the refugees (1794–1795) from Lakota aggression, who joined their Caddo kin living south)
Skidi-Federation or Skiri the northernmost band; called themselves Ckírihki Kuuruúriki ("Look like wolves People") and were known by the South Bands as Ckiíri ("Wolf People") (both names derived from Ckirir /Tski'ki – "Wolf" or Tskirirara – "Wolf-in-Water", therefore called Loups, ("Wolves") by the French and Wolf Pawnee by English-speaking Americans), Turikaku ('Center Village') Kitkehaxpakuxtu ('Old Village' or 'Old-Earth-Lodge-Village') Tuhitspiat or Tuhricpiiʾat (S.B. dialect) ('Village-Stretching-Out-in-the-Bottomlands', 'Village Across Bottomland', 'Village In The Bottoms') Tukitskita ('Village-on-Branch-of-a-River') Tuhawukasa ('Village-across-a-Ridge' or 'Village-Stretching-across-a-Hill')
Arikararikutsu ('Big-Antlered-Elk-Standing') Arikarariki ('Small-Antlered-Elk-Standing') Tuhutsaku ('Village-in-a-Ravine') Tuwarakaku ('Village-in-Thick-Timber') Akapaxtsawa ('Buffalo-Skull-Painted-on-Tipi') Tskisarikus ('Fish-Hawk') Tstikskaatit ('Black-Ear-of-Corn,' i.e.'Corn-black') Turawiu (was only part of a village) Pahukstatu (S.B. dialect) or Páhukstaatuʾ (Sk. dialect) ('Pumpkin-Vine Village' or 'Squash-Vine Village', did not join the Skidi and remained politically independent, but in general were counted as Skidi) Tskirirara ('Wolf-in-Water', although the Skidi-Federation got its name from them, they remained politically independent, but were counted within the Pawnee as Skidi) Panismaha (also Panimaha, by the 1770s this group of the Skidi Pawnee had broken off and moved toward Texas, where they allied with the Taovaya, the Tonkawa, Yojuane and other Texas tribes)
Villages
Historically, the Pawnee led a lifestyle combining village life and seasonal hunting, which had long been established on the Plains. Archeology studies of ancient sites have demonstrated the people lived in this pattern for nearly 700 years, since about 1250 CE.
The Pawnee generally settled close to the rivers and placed their lodges on the higher banks. They built earth lodges that by historical times tended to be oval in shape; at earlier stages, they were rectangular. They constructed the frame, made of 10–15 posts set some apart, which outlined the central room of the 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 lodges were four painted poles, which represented the four cardinal directions and the four major star gods (not to be confused with the Creator). A second outer ring of poles outlined the outer circumference of the lodge. Horizontal beams linked the posts together.
The frame was covered first with smaller poles, tied with willow withes. The structure was covered with thatch, then earth. A hole left in the center of the covering served as a combined chimney / smoke vent and skylight. The door of each lodge was placed to the east and the rising sun. A long, low passageway, which helped keep out outside weather, led to an entry room that had an interior buffalo-skin door on a hinge. It could be closed at night and wedged shut. Opposite the door, on the west side of the central room, a buffalo skull with horns was displayed. This was considered great medicine.
Mats were hung on the perimeter of the main room to shield small rooms in the outer ring, which served as sleeping and private spaces. The lodge was semi-subterranean, as the Pawnee recessed the base by digging it approximately below ground level, thereby insulating the interior from extreme temperatures. Lodges were strong enough to support adults, who routinely sat on them, and the children who played on the top of the structures. (See photo above.)
As many as 30–50 people might live in each lodge, and they were usually of related families. A village could consist of as many as 300–500 people and 10–15 households. Each lodge was divided in two (the north and south), and each section had a head who oversaw the daily business. Each section was further subdivided into three duplicate areas, with tasks and responsibilities related to the ages of women and girls, as described below. The membership of the lodge was quite flexible.
The tribe went on buffalo hunts in summer and winter. Upon their return, the inhabitants of a lodge would often move into another lodge, although they generally remained within the village. Men's lives were more transient than those of women. They had obligations of support for the wife (and family they married into), but could always go back to their mother and sisters for a night or two of attention. When young couples married, they lived with the woman's family in a matrilocal pattern.
Political structure
The Pawnee are a matrilineal people. Ancestral descent is traced through the mother, and children are considered born into the mother's clan and are part of her people. In the past, a young couple moved into the bride's parents' lodge. People work together in collaborative ways, marked by both independence and cooperation, without coercion. Both women and men are active in political life, with independent decision-making responsibilities.
Within the lodge, each north–south section had areas marked by activities of the three classes of women: Mature women (usually married and mothers), who did most of the labor; Young single women, just learning their responsibilities; and Older women, who looked after the young children.
Among the collection of lodges, the political designations for men were essentially between: the Warrior Clique; and the Hunting Clique.
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. They took multiple sexual partners in serially monogamous relationships.
Agriculture