Native American Tribes: The History and Culture of the Pawnee

by Jesse Harasta, Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures of important people and places. *Explains the origins, history, and social structure of the Pawnee.*Includes a Bibliography for further reading.*Includes a Table of Contents.“All things in the world are two. In our minds we are two, good and evil. With our eyes we see two things, things that are fair and things that are ugly. We have the right hand that strikes and makes for evil, and we have the left hand full of kindness, near the heart. One foot may lead us to an evil way, the other foot may lead us to a good. So are all things two, all two.” - Letakos-Lesa (Eagle Chief), a member of the PawneeFrom the Trail of Tears to Wounded Knee and Little Bighorn, the narrative of American history is incomplete without the inclusion of the Native Americans that lived on the continent before European settlers arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the first contact between natives and settlers, tribes like the Sioux, Cherokee, and Navajo have both fascinated and perplexed outsiders with their history, language, and culture. In Charles River Editors’ Native American Tribes series, readers can get caught up to speed on the history and culture of North America’s most famous native tribes in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.One of the most famous Native American tribes on the Great Plains is the Pawnee, and they were also once one of the strongest groups in the region. At the turn of the 19th century, there were about 10,000 members spread across much of modern day Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota and even into Missouri and Iowa. The Pawnee were able to thrive despite having strong neighbors to their west, most notably the Arapaho and the Lakota Sioux, and though the different Pawnee bands were autonomous, they also recognized the need to cooperate with each other to face various threats. For several centuries, the Pawnee lived in relatively sedentary communities, relying on agriculture in what is today known as America’s “breadbasket”, and anthropologists have found Pawnee settlements that date all the way back to the 13th century. Inevitably, however, European contact began to drastically affect the Pawnee’s lifestyle, especially when horses were introduced to their societies. Like other groups on the Plains, the Pawnee eventually became more reliant on buffalo and thus more nomadic. Like other Native American groups in the region, the westward push by American settlers led to conflicts that nearly wiped out all of the Pawnee by the latter half of the 19th century. Nonetheless, the Pawnee were resilient enough to have their numbers bounce back, even as their lands were taken and they moved onto reservations. Today, the Pawnee live on reservations that are only a fraction of the size of the vast expanses they once controlled. Native American The History and Culture of the Pawnee comprehensively covers the culture and history of the famous group, profiling their origins, their history, and their lasting legacy. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about one of the most influential tribes of the Great Plains like you never have before, in no time at all.

Genres: History

70 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 31, 2014

Reviews

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice easy and quick book for the general reader. I was somewhat disappointed that the book skips nearly all of Pawnee history from the travels of Onate until explorations of LaSalle, a period of nearly 300 years that included the major Pawnee military victory over Pedro de Villasur near Columbus, Nebraska. I guess in the publication of digital compilations one cannot expect everything. Still, I wish there would have been more material included that is known to exist regarding the Pawnee Civil War between the Skidi and Southern Bands, the defeat of the Paduaca and the numerous encounters with the French fur traders.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book by Charles Rivers that has posted Jesse Harasta as co-author. I hope Charles Rivers doesn't associate with him again. Obviously, Harasta's specialty is language.  This is billed as the 'history and culture of the Pawnee.'  However, there is a very long diatribe about how the Pawnee language separated from the Iroquis thousands of years ago. A few sentences are fine but there was too much time spent on this and precious little on the history and culture. The first 23% of the book were on the origins of their language.

Generally, a Pawnee's history is divided into three parts. The first is related to pre-horse. During that time, the Pawnee had a life partly agricultural and part hunter. They had permanent homes (not tipis) and planted corn, beans, and squash. Then they migrated to chase bison. They came back to their cultivated lands and harvested. Then they followed the buffalo in their winter hunts. Then they returned to their garden plots and got ready for the next season. They used rivers for transportation and trade.

When they interacted with the Spanish, the Pawnee (and other Indian groups) got the horse and domesticated animals from the Spanish.  This revolutionized their lives. But the Europeans also brought diseases that the Native Americans had no immunity against. Over the next 100 years, the Indians would be decimated by 80 - 90% of their numbers. With horses, the previous tribal fighting became more deadly. The fighting became nearly continuous between the tribes, jockeying for land and power on the Great Plains.  

Getting bison became easier. In the third stage, the Pawnee became some of the best-known people on the Great Plains as semi-nomadic bison hunters. When the French fur trappers came, they replaced the old Mississippian trading system; they offered metal tools and beads. Later, Pawnee joined the US Army as scouts in order to fight against their age-old enemy, the Lakota Sioux, in the 1860s and beyond.

The best part of this book seemed to me to be the info about how the Pawnees are coming to return to significant population numbers. One unfortunate situation is that, in 2000, 79 people spoke the Pawnee language. By 2007, only 10 could speak Pawnee. The Pawnee government is trying to bring back the language (before it disappears) through aggressive education in high school and adult education.

Although the Navajo were world-famous for being code-talkers in World War II, the Pawnee also were code-talkers. Only in 2013 were Pawnee finally given recognition for their service with a plaque from the US Congress.  Neither group's messages were ever broken.

[Andrew Godziek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but informative

Very informative for how quick of a read it was. I wish there were more authors like this who provide a high level of insight into a topic without requiring an exhausting read.

[Dorothea L Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pawnee .

This is a good book for learning about the Pawnee people,and their migration from the Missippian culture to the Coadean language group, and into modern times.