Dear Colleague:
It is a pleasure to invite you to participate in a study of three Native American tribes whose historic homeland is in the plains of Eastern Nebraska: "Legacies and Landmarks of the Plains Native Americans." Explore the journey of the Pawnee, Ponca, and Omaha from the time immediately prior to Western expansion to the present. Learn about their culture, and discover how the way of life they cherished was altered forever by Western expansion. Hear the theme of hope of a people still among us today who are painstakingly preserving a cultural legacy for the future.
This study is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of its "Landmarks in American History and Culture Workshops for Community College Faculty." Join us for a 5½ day workshop June 17 to 22 or June 24 to 29, 2012, on the Central Community College campus in Columbus, Nebraska. Columbus is in the heart of the plains where these Native Americans flourished. It is uniquely situated near many prehistoric Pawnee village archaeological sites, the Genoa U.S. Indian School, the Omaha reservation, and the city where the Standing Bear trial took place. These landmarks and more will be visited during the workshop.
The format will include historical site visits, presentations by scholarly researchers from Nebraska, and first hand accounts from contemporary tribal leaders. You will be introduced to plains Native American studies and in the process we will help you incorporate these and similar studies into your classroom as well as assist you in the pursuit of personal research interests. Prepare to actively discuss key issues with colleagues from around the country. There is no fee for the workshop, and each NEH Summer Scholar will receive a $1,200 stipend to help defray expenses.
Topics/Themes
Characteristics of the Indigenous Cultures 1780
By 1780, the Pawnee, Ponca and Omaha called Nebraska their homeland. The Ponca settled in north central Nebraska/south central South Dakota, while the Omaha were in the eastern part of the state. The Pawnee villages extended throughout the central part of Nebraska and north central Kansas.
All three - the Pawnee, Ponca, and Omaha - had similar patterns of living. During the Spring and Fall, they lived in permanent earth lodges and planted crops such as corn. In the Summer and Winter, they left their lodges, brought their tepees, and proceeded west to hunt buffalo and other animals.
Of the three, the Pawnee was the largest of the tribes, peaking at 10,000 to 12,500 in 1780. At the same time, the Omaha numbered around 2,800 and approximately 800 were Ponca. The land these three tribes held, however, covered an extensive area as indicated on the map above. Then, around 1800, a smallpox epidemic and other diseases greatly reduced the population, so significantly fewer people were living in a vast area. One theme of the workshop, then, is to study in depth the way these three tribes lived between 1780 and 1815, before Western expansion and treaties. Contemporary cultural leaders will provide further depth to this aspect of the study. In addition, archaeologists will explain what we can learn about their culture from artifacts and village sites.
Removal from Homeland to Reservations, Indian Schools
Then, beginning in 1815, the U.S. government persuaded the three tribes, each separately, to sign several treaties. The treaties followed a similar pattern. The first treaties were signed between 1815 and 1818 and acknowledged peace and friendship. Between 1825 and 1831, the second treaties regulated trade - guns and furs predominantly. The next series of treaties in the mid 1830's transferred land from the three tribes to the U.S. government. Finally, in 1854, Nebraska Territory was opened to settlers, and by 1857 the treaties established reservations.
The tribes lived in different parts of Nebraska, so the reservation system placed them in different locations. The Omaha, in the Eastern part of the state were never forced from Nebraska, but were limited to a small area most of which is in contemporary Thurston County. They eventually gave part of their land to the Winnebago, and Thurston County is the poorest in Nebraska today.
The Ponca, on the other hand, were forced to move to Oklahoma. Following the Standing Bear trial in 1879, some Ponca chose to return to their homeland near the Niobrara River, while many who had moved to Oklahoma chose to stay there, near Ponca City. As a result, today there is the Ponca tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca tribe of Oklahoma.
Initially the Pawnee were placed in Nance County, Nebraska, but eventually were forced to the area in and around Pawnee, Oklahoma. Even though Genoa, Nebraska, has a sign "Pawnee Capital of Nebraska," there is no organized Nebraska Pawnee tribe. The second theme for the workshop, then, is this uprooting of the Nebraska Native Americans and the effect it had on their cultures. Prior to the workshop, participants will read David Wishart's book An Unspeakable Sadness: The Dispossession of the Nebraska Indians and Dr. Wishart will lead discussion of this topic.
Following the establishment of reservations, a well-meaning U.S. government created U.S. Indian Boarding Schools beginning in 1875. The purpose of these schools was to provide education as the means to bring American Indians into society. Richard Henry Pratt had seen men educated at schools like Hampton Institute become educated and assimilated, he believed the principles could be extended to Indian children. Immersing them in the larger culture would help them adapt. Thus, he convinced the government to establish these boarding schools.
Reservation children were taken from their homes and sent great distances to boarding schools. The last boarding school closed in 1935. Participants will watch the PBS documentary "In the White Man's Image," which describes the experiment of boarding schools. The film producer, Christine Lesiak, will discuss her research for the film and the concept of boarding schools. In addition, participants will tour the Genoa U.S. Indian School museum and hear from Judi gaiashekibos whose mother was a student at the school.
Hope for the Future
Today, numbers of tribal members alone symbolize the hope for the future of the Pawnee, Ponca, and Omaha. The Pawnee number over 6,000, Omaha 1,170, and the Ponca tribe of Nebraska alone has 2,500 members. We will hear from contemporary tribal leaders: Pat Leading Fox of Pawnee, Oklahoma; Becci White and James Lapointe, tribal leaders from the Ponca tribe of Nebraska; Jeff Gilpin, Omaha tribal leader in Macy, Nebraska, and Matt "Sitting Bull" Jones, an Otoe-Missouria who will share verbal histories passed on through the generations.
Structure and Content
Sunday - Overview
The workshop begins at 4:00. Following a get-acquainted session and overview, our first speaker will be Robert Palmquist, a tribal attorney, who will explain several different categories of current federal/tribal relationships: tribal organization under the IRA; a Treaty Tribe; an Executive Order tribe; and tribes with only state recognition. He will also explain the current status of Indian lands, why tribes can have casinos, and the development of federal Indian law. Then, specifics for each tribe we will study will be presented, followed by time for discussion.
Then, following a reception hosted by the college and during dinner, Matt "Sitting Bear" Jones will present Native American stories, many of which he heard from relatives as a child growing up on Indian reservations in Oklahoma. "To the native American people, stories were teaching tools." His grandfather used stories to instill wisdom and morals and told him that "stories have a spirit and we as the teller give that spirit life and purpose."
Monday - Pawnee Tribe Republic County, Kansas
The first full day of our workshop we will travel by bus to our first landmark, the site of a large 1820's Kitkehahki Pawnee Indian Village in Republic County, Kansas, just south of Nebraska.
Richard Gould, caretaker of the Pawnee Indian Museum, will be our host. We will see the excavated floor of a large Pawnee earth lodge, a Pawnee sacred bundle, and other Pawnee artifacts. Copies of seven George Catlin paintings depicting early Pawnee are on display. We will hear the voice of a Pawnee elder as she describes the Pawnee culture. Outside the museum we will view many more earth lodge archaeological sites and see first hand the size of this large village. Our guide will be archaeologist Dr. Donna Roper from Kansas State University.
Lunch will be in Scandia, Kansas, at Tags Grill. Pat Leading Fox from Pawnee Oklahoma, head chief of the Pawnee Nation's Nasharo Council and one of our out-of-state speakers, will tell the story of the Pawnee through the eyes of a tribal cultural leader. We will learn about the Pawnee first hand and about how they are preserving their cultural legacy for future generations.
Tuesday - Pawnee Tribe Nance County, Nebraska
We will begin Tuesday by viewing the PBS documentary "In the White Man's Image" a film depicting the experiment of the United States government to force Native American children to attend Indian Schools. The first school was established in 1875 and they continued to operate into the 1930's.
We then will be joined by Christine Lesiak, a co-producer of "In the White Man's Image" with Matt "Sitting Bull" Jones. Lesiak will tell about the research she did for the film. She will also describe the recently released PBS film on Standing Bear and lead a thought-provoking discussion with participants.
Our next landmarks follow as we travel to Nance County, Nebraska by bus. Our first stop will be the Genoa U.S. Indian School established by the U.S. government in 1884. This Indian School, the fourth established in the U.S.,was one of the largest. It was in operation until 1934. Our tour guide will be archaeologist Nancy Carlson who will explain the history and magnitude of the school and efforts to bring former students and their families to the school for an alumni celebration each year. Nancy will show slides of Pawnee villages in and near the Nance County area prior to building the Loup canal in the 1930's. Our next speaker will be Judi gaiashekibos, Executive Director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs. Her mother, a member of the Ponca tribe, was a student at the school. She will cite detailed accounts of the experience of being separated from family and placed in the U.S. Indian School in Genoa, followed by a question and answer session.
Ms. Carlson, who has done extensive archaeological work in Nance County, will then take the group by bus to various village sites and explain their significance. Included will be a visit to Valley View cemetery in Genoa, the location of a significant Pawnee reburial site. Buried here are the six Pawnee scouts who were killed by U.S. Army troops.
Our afternoon lecturer will be Dr. Jean Lukesh who will discuss the Pawnee Scouts and the first required book to be read prior to the workshops: Luther North: Frontier Scout.
Wednesday - Ponca Tribe of Nebraska In Omaha
We will travel by bus to Omaha where we first will visit the Joslyn Art Museum's extensive collection of Native American art, including works by Karl Bodmer, followed by a session with researchers working on translation of the Maximilian papers. Directly following lunch, we will proceed to the Joslyn Auditorium. Presenters who will join us include: Becci White and James Lapointe, Ponca tribe of Nebraska leaders; Dr. Beth Ritter, a Ponca researcher; and author Joe Starita.
Becci White and James Lapointe will provide insight into the structure of today's Ponca tribe of Nebraska, current tribal concerns, and plans for the future.
Dr. Beth Ritter, University of Nebraska-Omaha associate professor, has worked with the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska since 1989. She has published several journal articles on Ponca culture and history as well as several scholarly research reports for the Tribe.
We will then discuss the required book I Am A Man: Chief Standing Bear's Journey for Justice, with its author, Joe Starita, Journalism professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Starita, a former investigative reporter for the Miami Herald's New York bureau, completed I Am A Man after four years of research, and is a recent publication.
Dinner will be on your own in the Old Market area of Omaha. On the return trip home, we will make a stop at Fort Omaha where Standing Bear was incarcerated during his trial.
Thursday - Omaha Tribe Omaha Reservation - Macy & Walthill, Nebraska
We will travel by bus to our next landmark, Macy, Nebraska, where the Omaha Indian reservation is located. En route Omaha tribal member Wynema Morris will help Omaha history come to life and will lead discussion of the third required book Betrayal of the Omaha Nation. Following a scenic overview of the reservation from Blackbird Bend, we will proceed to the tribal office where Jeff Gilpin, tribal council member, will tell the group about current projects the council is working on. We will then proceed to the Nebraska Indian Community College where the president Dr. Michael Oltrogge will provide information about tribal colleges throughout the country, and NICC in specific. Lunch will be on the Winnebago Reservation at Woodland Trails. On the return trip to Columbus, we will make two stops. The first will be at the Picotte Center, the location of Dr. Susan LaFlesche Picotte's hospital. We'll learn about the work being done currently at the Picotte Center. Our final stop will be at the Neihardt Center and Sacred Hoop Prayer Garden. The Niehart Center has an extensive library of research materials on Native Americans.
Friday Wrap Up
Our Friday morning speaker will be Dr. David Wishart, author of our fourth required book, An Unspeakable Sadness: The Dispossession of the Nebraska Indians. Wishart won the coveted J.B. Jackson Prize in 1995 with this book, designated as the best book of the year in North American Geography. Wishart is a professor of Geography at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an award-winning author.
Participants will spend the remainder of the final morning working on the website which has been designed for each week's participants exclusively.
A detailed schedule, further information about presenters, descriptions of the four required books, eligibility requirements, and application information is also on this website. We hope you will apply for this special study of Plains Native Americans!
Sincerely,
Dianna L. Parmley, Ph.D. Project Director