The Pawnee are a Native American Indian group that historically lived in the Great Plains of Nebraska and Kansas.
Fast Facts:
- Total population: 5,500
- Region: Platte River, Nebraska
- Languages: Caddoan, Pawnee
- Neighboring tribes: Sioux, Cheyenne
- Also known as Paneassa, Pari, or Pariki
- Call themselves "Chaticks-si-Chaticks" or "Men of men"
- Primary Crops: maize, beans, pumpkins and squash
- One of few Great Plains tribes not to battle U.S. Army
- Relocated to Oklahoma in 1870s
Key Figures
- Pitaleshero: Pawnee chief who halted ritual human sacrifice in the Morning Star ceremony in the 1800s.
- Sharitarish: Visited Washington, D.C. in 1820s as part of diplomatic delegation.
Brief History
Before European contact, the Pawnee are thought to have lived in what is today Texas, but by the time of the arrival of the Spanish in North America, they had settled near the Platte River in present-day Nebraska. Unlike other Plains Indians who were nomadic, the Pawnee had fixed settlements and lived in oval-shaped dwellings. The Pawnee did not battle the U.S. Army during their 19th century encroachments onto the Great Plains, but instead aided the forces and in some cases served in the U.S. Cavalry. In 1875, the Pawnee were removed from their ancestral hunting grounds in Nebraska to open up lands for white settlement and provided land in Oklahoma. At the beginning of the 20th century the Pawnee numbered only around 600 individuals, having been decimated by epidemics of smallpox and cholera. However, the Pawnee have rebounded and now number between 3500 and 5500 members.
