PAWNEE

North American Plains Indian people of Caddoan linguistic stock who lived on the Platte River, Nebraska, from before the 16th century to the latter part of the 19th. In the 19th century the Pawnee tribe was composed of relatively independent bands: the Kitkehahki, Chaui, Pitahauerat, and Skidi. Each of these was divided into villages, the basic social unit of the Pawnee people. They lived in large, dome-shaped, earth-covered lodges but used skin tepees on buffalo hunts. The women raised corn (maize), squash, and beans. They also had developed the art of pottery making. Horses were first introduced in the 17th and 18th centuries from Spanish settlements in the southwest. Class distinctions favoured chiefs, priests, and shamans. Each chief of a village or band had in his keeping a sacred bundle. Shamans had special powers to treat illness and to ward off enemy raids and food shortages. Priests were trained in the performance of rituals and sacred songs. Along with shamanistic and hunt societies, the Pawnee also had military societies. The religion of the Pawnee was quite elaborate. They believed some of the stars to be gods and performed rituals to entreat their presence, but they also used astronomy in practical affairs (e.g., to determine when to plant corn). Corn was regarded as a symbolic mother through whom the sun god bestowed his blessing. Other important deities were Tirawa, the supreme power, and the morning and evening stars. For a time Pawnee religion included the sacrifice of a captive adolescent girl to the morning star, but this practice was ended in the 19th century. Relations between the Pawnee and whites were peaceful, and many served as scouts in the armies of the frontier. They ceded most of their lands in Nebraska to the U.S. government by treaties in 1833, 1848, and 1857. In 1876 their last Nebraska holdings were given up, and they were moved to Oklahoma, where they remained. More than 2,300 Pawnee were reported living on or near their Oklahoma reservation in the late 20th century.