Pawnee Nation



To get started in American Indian Research

Ancestral Homeland: Kansas and Nebraska (on Platte River and the Republican Fork of the Kansas River)

The Pawnee Nation is primarily associated with the state of Oklahoma.

Linguistic Group: Caddoan

Tribal Headquarters
Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma P.O. Box 470 Pawnee, OK 74058 Phone: 1.918.762.3621 Fax: 1.918.762.6446


 * Pawnee Nation of OklahomaOfficial Website

History
A history of the Pawnee Nation is included in a National Historical Register .pdf file, p. 29ff., available on the internet (takes time to load).

The Pawnee Nation (Confederacy) consisted of four bamds:


 * Chaui or Grand Pawnee,
 * Kitkehahki or Republican Pawnee,
 * Pitahuerat or Tapage Pawnee,
 * Skidi or Skiri Pawnee

Brief Timeline

 * 1541: Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado made contact with the tribe
 * 1601: Juan de Onate a Spanish explorer
 * 1770: Southern Pawnee migrated northward near the Northern Pawnee (Skidi) Platte River, Loup River, and the Republican Fork of the Kansas River (Nebraska)
 * June 18-22,1818: St. Louis, Missouri Territory. Peace was concluded with the tribes of the region disturbed by the War of 1812.
 * 1818 June 18, with the Grand Pawnee
 * 1818 June 19, with the Pitahuerat Noisy Pawnee
 * 1818 June 20, with the Pawnee Republic
 * 1818 June 22, with the Pawnee Marhar
 * 1824-37: Upper Missouri Agency
 * 1825 September 30, at Fort Atkinson, (Council Bluffs), Iowa, regulation of trade
 * 1833 October 9, at Grand Pawnee Village on the Platte River, land ceded "all land lying south of the Platte River: annuity: $4,600 in goods"
 * 1834-1847: Presbyterian Missionaries Messrs Dunbar and Allis established a church
 * 1837-56: Council Bluffs Agency
 * 1848 August 6, at Fort Childs, Nebraska ceded 60 mile strip on the Platte River and Grand Island
 * 1856-59: Otoe Agency
 * 1857 September 24, at Table Creek, Nebraska Territory, land ceeded, reservation. provision for half-breeds
 * 1859-80: Pawnee Agency (Nebraska)
 * 1865-1885: Frank and Luther North organized a battalion (U.S. Army) of Pawnee scouts; they worked as guard for railroad construction crews
 * 1873: Massacre Canyon; Sioux war party ambushed a Pawnee hunting party killing 150. The Sioux were tribal enemies of the Pawnee.
 * 1873-1874: Two groups removed from homeland along the Platte River in Nebraska to a reservation in Indian Territory near the Cimarron RIver (Pawnee County, Oklahoma)
 * 1875: A third goup (mainly the Skidis) removed to Indian Territory, lead by Baptiste Bayhylle
 * 1875- Present: Pawnee Agency (Oklahoma)
 * 1873-75: Wichita Agency
 * 1876: Pawnee Reservation on Loup River established
 * 1883: Woman's National Indian Association established a mission it became the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1884
 * 1892: Land in severalty and became citizens of the U.S.

Agencies with Jurisdiction over the Tribe

The Pawnee Nation was assigned to the following Agencies: Many records for the Pawnee tribe are listed on the Agency pages.

1824-37: Upper Missouri Agency 1837-56: Council Bluffs Agency 1856-59: Otoe Agnecy 1859-80: Pawnee Agency (Nebraska) 1873-1875: Wichita Agnecy 1875- Present: Pawnee Agency (Oklahoma)

These agencies were under the following Superintendencies: St. Louis Superintendency, Central Superintendency and Northern Superintendency

Reservations
Pawnee Reservation (Oklahoma)

Additional References to the History of the Tribe
Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, gave a more complete history of the Pawnee tribe, with estimations of the population of the tribe at various time periods. Additional details in David Bushnell's Villages of the Algonquian, Siouan and Caddoan Tribes West of the Mississippi.

Pawnee Pride: A History of Pawnee County. By Kenny A Franks and Paul F. Lambert. Oklahoma Heritage Association C 1994 FHL Book 976.626 H2f

Indian Sketcher Taken During an Expediton to the Pawnee Tribes [1833]. by John Treat Irving, Jr. and Ed John Francis McDermott. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK C 1955 FHL Book 970.3 P289

The Pawnee Indians, By George E. Hyde. C 1951. University of Oklahoma Press FHL Book 970.3 P289h

Allotment
Allotment Rolls and Index to allotment numbers, 1887-1929. United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pawnee Agency. Fort Worth, TX FHL film 1204636 Items 2 and 3

Pawnee Indian Reservation Land Allotment Ledger. United States Bureau of Indian Affiars, Pawnee Agency. Fort Worth, TX. FHL film 1025300

Annuity Payroll Records
Annuity Payroll records, 1883-1928. United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pawnee Agency. Fort Worth, TX FHL film 1023974 Item 2 (first of 5 films)

Cemetery Records
Pawnee County Oklahoma Cemeteries. By Beverly Herver Tubbs and John Joseph Balcer III. Vol 1 c. 1991. Published by Lone Chimney Press, Morrison, OK FHL book 976.626 V3t Vol 1

Heirship Records
Heirship Records Prior to 1940. United States Bureau of Indian Affairs Pawnee Agency. FHL film 1205533 Item 2

Register of Indian Families, Pawnee Tribe, 1905-1907. United States. Bureau of Indian Affirs. Pawnee Agency Fort Worth, TX FHL film 1023976 Item 2

Military Records

 * 1861-1869 Pawnee Scouts of Nebraska; list of Pawnee's who served as scouts for the military www.ancestry.com
 * Pawnee Scouts of Nebraska Calvary
 * American Indians in the Civil War

Original Discharge Papers, 1864-1877 (Military-Civil War) United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Pawnee Agnecy. Fort Worth, TX. FHL film 1205532

School Records
School Census, 1934-1944. United States, Bureau of Indian Affiars, Pawnee Agency. Fort Worth, Tx FHL films 1204636 and 1205532

Pawnee School Student Roster, 1947-1950. United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pawnee Agency, Fort Worth, TX FHL film 1205530 item 6

Vital Records

 * Register of Vital Statistics, 1909-1952; delayed birth certificates, 1944-1952. United States. Bureau of Inndian Affairs. Pawnee Agnecy FHL film 1204636 itme 4 and 1204636 tiem 5-6


 * Register of Birth and Deaths of Pawnee, Kaw, Ponca, Otoe, and Tonkawa Indian Tribes, 1915-1929. United States, Bureau of Inidan Affairs. Pawnee Agnecy. Fort Worth, Tx FHL film 1023976


 * Pawnee Agency, M595, births and deaths 1924-1932, FHL Film: 579750

Treaties:
The treaties of 1833, 1848, and 1857 ceded all their lands in Nebraska.


 * June 18-22, 1818: St. Louis, Missouri Territory. Peace was concluded with the tribes of the region disturbed by the War of 1812.
 * 1818 June 18, with the Grand Pawnee
 * 1818 June 19, with the Noisy Pawnee
 * 1818 June 20, with the Pawnee Republic
 * 1818 June 22, with the Pawnee Marhar
 * 1825 September 30, at Fort Atkinson, (Council Bluffs), Iowa, regulation of trade
 * 1833 October 9, at Grand Pawnee Village on the Platte River, land ceded "all land lying south of the Platte River: annuity: $4,600 in goods"
 * 1848 August 6, at Fort Childs, Nebraska ceded 60 mile strip on the Platte River and Grand Island
 * 1857 September 24, at Table Creek, Nebraska Territory, land ceeded, reservation. provision for half-breeds
 * 1892: land in severalty and became citizens of the U.S.

Also listed in Treaties with Marhar, Tappaye, Loups, Republic, Republicans Indians

Listed below in references:

Kappler, Charles J.Indian Treaties 1778-1883, Interland Publishing Inc. New York, NY. 1972

ISNB 0-87989-02508

Important Web Sites

 * Constitution of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma
 * Pawnee Nation of OklahomaOfficial Website
 * Pawnee Tribe Wikipedia