Ponca Tribe Archives - Lewis & Clark Research Database

Pressing Past Grand River Without Hunting

Tue, 05 May 2026 14:23:52 +0000

took our leave of him and proceeded on. In a short time,
passed the mouth of the river Grand, and soon after over-
took the hunters, who had not killed any thing. We con-
tinued our voyage all day without waiting to hunt; gathering
some papaws on the shores, and in the evening encamped on
an island.
The 19th was a fine day, and at day light we continued our
voyage; passed the mouth of Mine river; saw several turkeys
288 GASS’S JOURNAL
on the shores, but did not delay a moment to hunt; being so
anxious to reach St. Louis, where, without any important
occurrence, we arrived on the 23rd and were received with
great kindness and marks of friendship by the inhabitants,
after an absence of two years, four months and ten days.
FINIS.
INDEX
A
Adams, Point, 191
Aird, Mr., 233
Aleis Indians, 212; dress of squaws, 212
Allum, 21
Angelica, 137
Antelope (Cabre), 28, 32, 33, 36, 50,
76, 107, 108, 115, 121, 256-258,
266, 281.
Aricaris Indians, see Rickaree Indians
Arrow creek, 6
Arrows, Prairie of, see Prairie of arrows
Ash, 5, 8, 166, 206, 211
Ash creek, 4
Assiniboin Indians, 65, 75
B
Badger, description of, 17; mentioned,
46, 66
Bald-pated prairie, 284
Barbarole Indians, see Jonkta Indians
Baskets, willow, 133
Beans, raised by Indians, 47, 48
Bear, 8, 9, 76, 87, 95, 99, 104, 105,
210, 231, 234, 241-243, 249, 259,
268, 270
Bear, Black, 209.
Bear, Brown, description of, 82; men-
tioned, 83, 84, 86, 93, 104, 106,
247, 269, 271
Bear, Grizly, 232
Bear, White, adventure with a, 260;
description of, 80; mentioned, 52
Bear creek, 5
Bear island, 259
Bear meat, Indian method of cooking,
232
Beaver, 15, 17, 30-33, 75-79, 83, 118,
121, 124, 132, 203, 222, 223, 268,
269, 274
19
Big-bellied Indians, see Grosventres In-
dians
Big Devil river, 6
Big Goodwoman’s creek, 6
Big Muddy creek, 5
Big Rock creek, 6
Big-White (Indian chief), with his fa-
mily, goes to Washington with explor-
ing party, 276
Bighorns, see Mountain sheep
Birch, 166, 222
Blackbird, king of Mahas, 19
Black-bird creek, 7
Blackbirds, 104
Blue-water creek, 10
Blustry point, 177
Boat of iron, description of, 103
Boiling spring, 262
Bonum creek, 3
Bore-tree, 142
Brants, 167, 170, 175, 177, 178, 180
Brarow, see Badger
Breastworks, 26, 27
Buckeye, 8
Buffaloe, 22, 23, 29-33, 34) 51, 52,
57, 59-62, 65, 66, 76-79, 81, 83, 89,
91, 92) 97) 102-104, 107-109, 258,
259, 266, 268, 270-272, 274, 281,
282; night adventure with a, 92
Buffaloe prairie, 22
Burnt bluffs, 272
Butterfly creek, 14
Buzzard, 178
Cc
Cabre, see Antelope
Calamex (or Callemax), Indians, their
characteristics, customs, and dress,
204; mentioned, 192
Cannon-ball river, 51
290
Canoe camp, 111, 177
Canoe deposit, see Deposit, Canoe
Canoe, Indian, see Indian canoes
Canzan river, see Kanzas river
Cape Disappointment, see Disappoint-
ment, Cape
Cape Swell, see Swell, Cape
Catarack river, 215
Catfish, 20, 22, 24, 286
Cathlama Indians, their characteristics,
customs, and dress, 204
Cathlama village, 205
Cedar, 28, 83, 113, 116, 146, 210
Cedar bluffs, 21, 22
Cedar fort, description of, 35
Cedar island, 35
Cerwercerna river, 45
Charlotte rivers, the two, 7
Cherries, 14, 117, 129, 135, 140, 211,
230
Chien Indians, 58, 278
Chien river, 43, 280
Chilook Indians, 206; dress of women,
207
Chiltz Indians, their characteristics, cus-
toms, and dress, 204
Chinkook river, 177
Chinook Indians, their characteristics,
customs, and dress, 178, 204; their
hats, 198; mentioned, 188, 192, 198,
200-203, 206
Chinook Indian squaw saves life of one
of exploring party, 192
Chischeet river, 52
Chononish Indians, their method of
cooking bear meat, 232; some char-
acteristics, 255; mentioned, 226-230,
232-234, 240-242, 244, 248, 249,
252
Christmas, celebration of, 62, 63, 187
Clarke, Captain William: Takes com-
mand of expedition and proceeds up
Missouri river, 1; goes hunting, re-
turning next day with game, g; trav-
els by land, 13; holds council with
Indians, 17; goes hunting, 18, 19;
Index
Clarke, Captain William (Coztinued)
goes fishing, 20; goes hunting and
kills two elk and a fawn, 21, 22;
names Buffaloe prairie, 22; goes with
Captain Lewis to examine hill where
little people are said to live, 22, 23;
holds council with Sioux Indians, 24;
goes to view knob of a hill, 29; visits
prairie dog village, 29; goes hunting
and kills an antelope, 31, 32, 34, 353
threatened by Sioux Indians, 37;
holds council with Sioux Indians, 38;
goes to see Indians dance, 39; goes
hunting, 45; holds council with Rick-
aree Indians, 47, 48; visits Indians
and returns with corn and _ buffaloe
robes, 55; goes buffaloe hunting, 59;
goes hunting, 60, 61; gives brandy
to men for Christmas celebration, 63;
gives whiskey to men for New Year’s
celebration, 64; goes hunting, 68;
kills a hare, 75; kills an antelope, 76;
travels by land, 76; kills tliree black-
tailed deer and a buffaloe calf, 78;
measures Missouri and Yellowstone
rivers at mouth of Yellowstone, 795
measures Missouri and Muscle-shell
rivers at their confluence, 86; his ex-
pedition up south fork of Missouri
river, 94, 95; surveys road for a port-
age, 101, 102; measures portage and
Falls of Missouri river, 105; has nar-
row escape ina hail storm, 106; goes
in search of timber to build boats,
108, 109; goes ahead of party, 1123
leaves note informing party which
branch he had taken, 117; illness and
recovery, 117; starts for Columbia
river, 126; goes to Cape Disappoint-
ment to view the Ocean, 177; returns
from Cape Disappointment, 178; vis-
its the Ocean, 184, 185; gives men
tobacco and handkerchiefs for Christ-
mas, 187; visits salt-makers’ camp,
192; goes to examine tributary of the
Columbia, 209; goes hunting, 214;
Index
Clarke, Captain William (Continued)
purchases horses from Indians, 21 5—
217; journeys on foot so that men
with sore feet may ride, 220; kills
two pheasants, 222; doctors the sick
Indians, 226, 229, 2373; ascends
Clarke’s river, 254; ascends Gallatin
river in order to cross over to Yellow-
stone river, 262; account of his ex-
ploring trip, 274; holds council with
Rickaree Indians, 278; mentioned,
56, 57, 60, 69, 73, 88, 102, 113,
114, 11g, 121, 128, 130, 132-135,
146-149, 186, 197, 215, 235, 245,
2.53, 261, 271-274, 285
Clarke’s river, 139, 140, 159, 176, 252
Clarke’s view, 191
Clatsop, Fort, 190, 205
Clatsop Indians, their characteristics,
customs, and dress, 204; mentioned,
179, 180, 193, 194
Clear-water river, 112
Clover, 126, 257
Clover, red, description of, 220
Columbia plains, 211, 216, 219
Columbia river, exploration of, 125, 127,
158, 175, 177) 183, 205-219, 2525
falls of, 162, 163, 177, 218; mouth
of, 1745; narrows of, 163, 177, 216—
218; rapids of, 164, 167, 177, 212,
213
Columbia river Indians, see Indians of
the Columbia river
Columbia valley, 210
Commas, description of, 242;
tioned, 252
Commas flat, 242, 244, 248, 249
Commas root, description of, 148; men-
tioned, 222, 230
Copperas, 21
Coquallaisquet river, 256
Corn, raised by Indians, 47, 48
Cotton-wood, description of, 57; men-
tioned, 5, 8, 18,23, 28, 29, 56,81, 90,
92, 93, 100, 103, 112, 117, 166, 168,
170, 222, 223, 230, 256, 259, 266
men-
2g1
Council Bluffs, 17, 284
Cowas root, 230
Crab-tree bark, used as substitute for
tobacco, 201
Cranberries, 163
Crane, 139, 169, 175
Crow, 155, 161
Crusate’s river, 214
Currant bushes, 104
Currants, 112, 113, 117, 119, 129
Cutteau (Knife) river, 73
D
Dead, Indian custom of burying their,
204
De Chirn river, see Chien river
Deer, 4-6, 8-10, 12-18, 22, 24, 28-31,
33> 35» 46, 50-52, 57, 59, 61, 65,
66, 68, 75, 77, 78, 81, 83, 91, 96,
99, 101, 102, 108, 113-117, 119—
121, 123-126, 130, 134, 135, 137,
138-141, 151, 164-166, 168, 169,
175,177, 178, 180, 188, 193, 194,
201-203, 207-209, 213-216, 223,
2275 233, 235) 237-244, 247-249,
251-259, 269-272, 274, 276, 277;
279-281, 285, 286
Deer, Black-tailed or Mule, description
of, 33; mentioned, 34, 78, 269, 281
Deer creek, 4
Deer island, 206, 207
Deer-lick creek, 7
Depie creek, 9
Deposit, Canoe, 274
Deposits, 97, 98, 259, 260
Disappointment, Cape, 177
Divide between Missouri and Columbia
Trivers, 127, 257
Dog river, see Chien river
Dogwood, 211
Dogs, as diet, 163
Dogs, Indian, see Indian dogs
Du Bois (or Du Beau) creek, 9
Du Bois river, see Wood river
292
Ducks, 136, 147, 155, 156, 162, 166,
168, 169, 171, 175, 180, 182, 207,
211, 216, 233, 249
E
Eagle, 155
Elk, 13, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 26, 28, 30,
31, 36 51, 57, 65, 67, 68, 76-78,
91, 92, 96, 99, 101, 102, 104, 105,
113, 118, 139, 182, 185, 188, 190,
191, 193-199, 201-203, 205, 209,
210, 251, 2595 269, 270, 272-274,
2775 279, 281, 283, 284, 286
Elk island, 13, 36
Elm, 24
Elm creek, 34
Experiment, The, 108
Exploring party, start, 1; encamp for
the winter on the Missouri, 56-73;
find game scarce and are forced to
subsist on their horses and portable
soup, 142-147, 229, 238; dine at
head-waters of Missouri, 126, 127;
begin voyage down Lewis river, 152;
begin voyage down Columbia river,
160; reach the end of their voyage,
1753 prepare to encamp for the win-
ter on Pacific coast, 186-188; move
into winter huts and celebrate Christ-
mas, 187; leave Fort Clatsop and begin
return trip, 205; separate to pursue
different routes, 252; reunited, 274;
reach St. Louis, 288; number of elk
and deer killed by, Dec., 1805, to
March, 1806, 203
F
Fawns, 17, 22, 30
Fir, 144, 194, 195, 211, 255
Fire-prairie creek, 9
Fish, 20, 135, 155, 1733 petrified, 30;
see also specific names
Fish camp, 176
Fish creek, 51
Index
Flathead Indians, their lodges, 155;
their method of making bread, 147,
148; some characteristics, 204; men-
tioned, 137, 138, 140, 150, 151,
153, 155
Flathead river, see Clarke’s river
Flattening of the head, Indian custom
of, 165
Flax, 96, 101, 126, 133, 256
Fleas, 215
Flies, 190; horse, 249
Flounder, 177
Flowers, 206
Floyd, Sergeant, death and burial of, 21
Floyd’s river, 21
Fort Clatsop, see Clatsop, Fort
Fourth of July, celebration of, 11, 107
G
Gallatin’s river, 121, 262, 274
Garter snakes, 207
Gaskenade river, 4, 5
Gass, Sergeant, builds canoes, 70; finds
petrified log, 77; helps Captain Lewis
build his iron boat, 103; goes in
search of material for canoes and kills
two elks, 104; visits Falls of Mis-
souri river, 106, 1073 joins Captain
Clarke’s party in search of timber,
1093 goes with Captain Lewis to look
for Snake Indians, 118; ill, 149; re-
covers from illness, 151; has narrow
escape by canoe sinking, 153; has
attack ofague, 154; helps build quar-
ters for commanding officers, 186;
goes to salt works, 190-192; goes
hunting with companion and spends
a night out-doors in the rain, 1973 is
ill, 263; with companion, starts by
land to mouth of Maria’s river, 266
Geese, 75-77, 130, 139, 155, 156, 162,
166-169, 171, 175, 202, 207, 209
Geesem, an interpreter, 276
Glade creek, 252
Gnats, 247
Index
Goat creek, 28
Goat-pen creek, 76
Goats, 28, 32, 33, 35, 44, 50-52, 62,
76, 121-124, 266
Gooseberries, 100, 109, 117
Gooseberry bushes, 243
Grand Bend, see Missouri river, Great
Bend of
Grand Point, 76
Grand river, 7, 287
Grapes, 13, 31
Grapevines, 5
Grindstone creek, 5
Grosventres (or Grossventer) Indians,
55> 7% 73) 74) 117, 267, 275, 276
– Grouse, 159, 2333 see also Prairie hen
Gulls, 161, 162, 169, 172
i
Haley’s (Hailey’s or Hayley’s) Bay, 177,
Ig1, 200, 207
Hares, 32, 65, 75, 159
Hawks, 155, 177
Haws, 129, 141
Hazlenut, 166
Heath hens, see Grouse
Herrings, 198
Hickory, 5
Hidden creek, 45
Hood, Mount, 168
Hot Spring, 141, 251, 252
Hudson’s Bay Company, 61
Hungry creek, 245-247, 250
Hysop or hyssop, 77, 133
I
Ibex, see Mountain sheep
Independence creek, 11
Indian baskets, 133
Indian bread, 130, 134
Indian canoes, 208
Indian customs: burial of the dead, 204;
method of making fire, 133; mode
of worship, 81; use of cedar bark for
293
Indian customs (Continued)
food and clothing, 210; see also names
of nations and tribes
Indian dog poles, 35, 36
Indian dogs, 41
Indian saddles, 235, 236
Indian spears, 131
Indian war-mallet, 233
Indians, see names of nations and tribes
Indians hold council to decide about
accompanying exploring party to
Washington, 275
Indians of the Columbia river, burial
customs, 160, 161, 204; dress, 131,
170, 176; form of salutation, 127;
lodges, 162, 164; mentioned, 127—
131, 133, 158-167, 169-179, 186;
see also Chiltz, Chinook, Clatsop, and
Flathead Indians
Indians residing between Falls of the
Columbia river and the coast, rascally
and thieving, 227
Indians residing between Rocky moun-
tains and Falls of Columbia, honest
and well disposed, 227
Tron ore, 14
Isquetcoqualla river, 254, 255
J
Jaune river, see Yellowstone river
Jefferson river, 121, 122, 126, 127,
262, 274
Jitk, 9
Jonkta Indians, 44
K
Kanowa Indians, 286
Kanzas river, 10, 286
Kanzon river, see Kanzas river
Kilhouanakkle river, 200
Kimooeenem river, 154, 159, 162, 177
Knife river, see Cutteau river
Kooskooske river, 154, 159, 176, 224,
226, 232
294
L
Labenile creek, 9
Landselle’s fort, 280
Lewis, Captain Meriwether: Joins ex-
pedition, 3; kills a deer, 6; holds
council with Indians, 17; kills a peli-
can, 19; goes fishing, 20; goes with
Captain Clarke to explore a prairie,
22, 233 holds council with Sioux In-
dians, 24; views knob of a hill and
visits prairie-dog village, 29; passes
trading house built in 1796, 30; kills
a strange bird, 33; goes hunting and
returns with game, 3 3-35; holds coun-
cil with Sioux Indians, 38; persuades
Indians to return women prisoners
taken in battle with Mahas, 39; goes
to see Indians dance, 39; gives pres-
ents to Indians and persuades them to
allow exploring party to depart in
peace, 40; visits Rickaree Indians,
holds council with them, and presents
them with American flag, 46-48;
gives presents to Rickaree Indians,
50; holds council with Grossventer,
Mandan, Sioux, and Watasoon In-
dians, 55; visits Mandan village, 56;
goes buffaloe hunting, 59; gives
whiskey to men for New Year’s cele-
bration, 64; calls for volunteers to
pursue Indian robbers, 69; sets out
by land for Yellowstone river, 78;
rejoins exploring party, 79; kills a
white bear and an elk, 80; his expe-
dition up north fork of Missouri river,
94, 96; sets out for mountains, 98;
visits Falls of the Missouri, 100;
helps men to make an iron boat,
103; bleeds sick man with pen-knife,
104; goes to look at spring, 105;
goes to mountain to take observation,
111; goes ahead of party and en-
camps over night alone in the wilder-
ness, 118; goes ahead with party to
look for Snake Indians, 118; journeys
as far as Columbia river and returns
Index
Lewis, Captain Meriwether (Continued)
with Snake Indians, 125; buys horses
for party, 133; ill, 1495 goes hunting
by moonlight, 168; takes specimen
of Indian language, 177; gives medal
to Chinook Indian, 178; trades blue
beads to Indians for sea otter skins,
1793 goes in search of winter camp-
ing place, 181; returns and reports
place for camp, 183; gives men to-
bacco and handkerchiefs for Christ-
mas, 187; buys canoes of Indians,
214; strikes Indian for stealing, 2173
journeys on foot so that men with sore
feet may ride, 220; doctors sick
among Indians, 226, 229, 2373 de-
scends Clarke’s river, 254-2673; as-
cends Maria’s river, 261; and party
have encounter with Grossventress’
Indians, 267; has skeleton of bighorns
prepared to take to Washington, 268,
269; wounded accidentally by one of
the party, 273, 274; recovering from
wound, 277; mentioned, 1, 60, 71,
86, 99, 108, 109, 112, 117, 119—
I2I, 124, 128, 132, 133, 140-142,
146, 150, 160, 163, 173-175; 184,
197, 213; 215, 235; 253; 260, 270,
271, 285
Lewis river, 152-159, 177; 224, 240
Little-bow creek, 23
Little Goodwoman creek, 6
Little Missouri river, 74, 75, 79, 275
Little Osage river, 3
Little Sioux river, 18
Loos Indians, see Loup Indians
Loup Indians, 14, 285
Lucelle, Mr., 35
M
Mackenzie, Mr., 36, 41
M’Clanen, Captain, 287
M’Clelland, Mr., 285
Madison river, 121
Magpie, 243
Maha creek, 12, 20
Index
Maha Indians, 19, 20, 23, 39, 285
Maha village, 20, 254, 283
Mandan, Fort, 58, 63, 65, 79
Mandan Indians, their method of hunt-
ing buffaloe, 59; superstitions regard-
ing buffaloe, 66, 67; burial customs,
54; characteristics, 71, 72; method
of wintering horses, 64, 65; men-
tioned, 47, 48, 52, 53, 55-73, 275
Mandan villages, 53, 54
Maple, 168, 170; soft, 211.
Marapa river, 46
Maria’s river, 96, 97, 99, 260, 261,
266-268
Marrow creek, 6
Medicine river, 101, 103, 104, 257-259
Milk river, 83, 270
Mine creek, 6
Mine river, 287
Mississippi river, 1
Missouri Indians, 17
Missouri river, ascent of, 1-55, 73-1273
description of country through which
it flows, 89~91; descent of, 257-288;
distance from mouth to Pacific Ocean,
176,177; Falls of the, 99, 100, 105—
107, 254; Great Bend of, 34, 35, 53,
280; north branch, 118-122; rapids
of, 100, 112; source of, 127, 257;
south branch, 120-122; three forks
of, 117, 121, 122; two forks of, 93,
94,96, 97; west branch of, 120-122
Moha creek, see Maha creek
Mombran’s tavern, 4
Mountain holly, 135
Mountain sheep, 80, 87-89, 93, 112,
240, 268, 269
Mud creek, 5
Mulberries, 8
Muscle-shell (or Muscle shoal) river,
86, 269
Musquitoes, 18, 19, 32, 104, 109, 115,
202, 243, 244, 247, 249, 253, 254,
256, 258-262, 272, 275) 2775 2795
282-284, 286
Myrrh, 137
295
N
Nadowa, 12
Namahia creek, 13
Nettles, 206
Netul river, 200
New Year’s day, celebration of, 64
Night creek, 34
North West Company, 61
North West Company traders, 54, 58,
61, 62, 66, 277
oO
Oak, 5, 24, 164, 166, 206
Onion creek, 75
Onions, wild, 114
Osage Indians, 5
Osage river, 5
Oto Indians, see Otto Indians
Otter, 52, 124, 203, 223, 274
Otter, sea, 164, 166, 172
Otter creek, 4
Otto Indians, 14, 16-18, 284
P
Pacific Ocean, exploring party arrive at,
174, 175; distance from mouth of
Missouri river to, 176, 177
Paint creek, 28
Pania river, 28
Panther, 149
Papaws, 287
Pelicans, 19, 51, 161, 283
Perch fish, 20
Petrified wood, 77
Pettit-ark creek, see Little~Bow creek
Pheasants, 131, 136, 137, 142, 147,
149, 222, 227, 248
Philosophy river, 122
Pigeons, wild, 10g
Pike fish, 20
Pine, 83-85, 113, 114, 116, 121, 126,
128, 131, 135, 136, 140, 142, 144,
146, 148, 152, 164, 166, 168, 170,
178, 184, 228, 242
296
Platt creek, 10
Platte river, 14, 15, 90, 284, 286, 287
Pleasant camp, 281
Plumb creek, 27
Plumbs, 281
Poncas Indians, 28
Pond creek, 11
Pond river, 49
Ponis (Panis or Poenese) Indians, 7, 14,
286, 287
Porcupine, 31, 32
Porcupine creek, 81
Porpoises, 172
Portage river, 263-265
Portages, Missouri river, 102, 105, 261—
264; Columbia river, 162, 164, 167,
213, 214, 216
Prairie dog, 29
Prairie hen, 131; see also Grouse
Prairie of Arrows, 6
Prarow, see Badger
President of the U. S., specimens sent
to, 71
Prickley pear, 95
Pumice stone, 13, 74, 77, 178
Q
Quail, 211
Quicksand river, 177, 208
R
Rabbit berries, 22, 52
Racoon, 203
Rainy, Mount, 169
Rapid-water river, 28
Ravens, 161, 202
Rat, wood, 11
Rattle-snake, description of, 116; men-
tioned, 216
Rickaree (Aricaris, Rickree, or Rees)
Indians, characteristics, 48; lodges,
45-475 superstitions, 278; mentioned,
42, 46-50, 54, 70, 73
Rickaree Indian villages, 48, 277, 278
Index
River de Bois, see Wood river
Rock camp, 215
Rocky mountains, 65, 80, 111-117,
119, 124-132, 137, 139, 140, 142—
147) 176, 231, 250
Rogue’s-harbour creek, 177
Roots, edible, 222, 238; see also names
of roots, and Shrub, edible
Rose river, 94, 266
Round-knob creek, 16
Rush creek, 4
Rushes, 5
S
Sacque river, 23, 24
Sage brush, 221
Saine creek, 6
St. Charles, 2, 3
St. Johns, 3
St. Louis, 1, 3, 71, 288
Salmon, 128, 129, 132, 136, 151, 157,
158, 161, 163, 172, 177, 182, 186,
188, 213, 240, 247
Salmon-trout, 247, 249
Salt spring, 30
Salt works, 188, 190-193, 195-198
Sandy river, 209, 210
Service berries, 117,
256
Service-berry bushes, 141, 142, 149,
243
Service-berry valley, 125
Shallow Bay, 171, 177, 181
Shapaleel (Indian bread), 215, 218, 219,
221, 222, 226
Sharbons creek, 75
Sheep, Mountain, see Mountain sheep
Sheep, unknown variety, 150
Sheep-sorrel, 202
Shoshone Indians, see Snake Indians
Shoshone river, see Snake river
Shotto, Mr., 283
Shrub, edible, 211
Sioux crossing-place, 34
UG EGS U5
Index
Sioux Indians, councils held with, 24,
55; dances, 25; declare war against
exploring party, 70; lodges, 24; mu-
sical instruments, 25; mentioned
7) 20, 23, 24, 36, 45, 52, $7, 2845
see also Teeton Indians, Yonktin
Indians
Sioux river, 21
Slate run, 46
Slaughter river, 268
Smoke creek, 36
Snake creek, 8
Snake Indians, 74, 125, 126, t40, 240
Snake river, 162, 176, 177, 218
Snakes, 11; see also Garter snakes, Rat-
tle-snake
Snow creek, 99
Soldiers creek, 18
Spear mint, 104
Springs, see Boiling spring, Hot spring,
Salt spring, Sulphur spring
Squashes (raised by Indians), 47
Squirrel, description of, 108, 216, 243;
mentioned, 136, 164, 165, 177, 191
Stony creek, 142
Strawberries, 100
Strawberry creek, roo
Strawberry island, 212
Strawberry vines, 141, 242
Sturgeon, 200, 202, 206
Sugar tree, 8
Sulphur, 74
Sulphur spring, 101

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Paint Creek and White-Paint Creek Among Yellow Bluffs

Tue, 05 May 2026 14:22:12 +0000

creek on the south side about 30 yards wide, called Paint
creek; and high yellow bluffs on the same side. About a mile
and a half further we passed another creek on the same side
50 yards wide called White-Paint creek; and yellow bluffs on
the north side. About four miles higher up, we passed a river,
on the south side, 152 yards wide, called Rapid-water river:
Up this river the Poncas nation of Indians lived not long
since. We encamped on the south side among some cedar
trees.

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Towing Keelboat Past Ragged Yellow Cliffs

Mon, 04 May 2026 16:44:46 +0000

Set off eairly, got fast several times on the Sand bars, could not
make much headway with the oars nor poles & were oblidged to
cross over on N. S. & make use of the Towing line, the current
Swift & Shallow, we came to verry long Strait high Raged yallow
clifts S. S. Colter came to the Boat had not found Shannon nor
the horses But had killed one Buffelow, one Elk, 3 Deer one wolf
5 Turkies & one Goose one Beaver also N. B. the Boat got
fast on the Sand bar the [word illegible] Swung, the men all
out Got whiskey rainy & cold weather. Reuben Fields killed
1 Clark reports, on the contrary, that signs of Shannon and Colter were seen,
and that Shannon appeared to be ahead of his pursuer.
2 Modern Chouteau Creek, which empties into the Missouri near the west-
ern boundary of Bonhomme County, S. Dak.
3 Now called Ponca Creek. The M. H. C. map shows its mouth about a
mile above the mouth of the Niobrara River. Other modern maps represent
it as several miles above, approximately opposite the mouth of Chouteau Creek.
This agrees with Clark’s measurements which put the mouth of Ponca Creek
six miles above the mouth of the Niobrara.
4 “goats or antelope.” Gass. The antelope was first made known to scien-
tists by the Lewis and Clark expedition.
1804] SERGEANT ORDWAY’S JOURNAL 127
1 Deer & 1 faun, we Camped at a handsome Bottom prarie on
N. S. above a fine Grove of C. wood Timber.1

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Beaver Dam Forms Sizable Pond at Goat Creek

Mon, 04 May 2026 16:44:46 +0000

Set off eairly the wind Blew hard from the South we passed a
large Island, Reuben Fields J° Fields & Drewyer went on the
Isd hunting; we Sailed on, halted at past 7 took breakfast at a
Small creek called Goat Creek2 N. S. the Beaver had made a
curious dam across near the mouth which made considerable of a
pond above found plumbs; 2 men Sent across on the S. S. to
hunt on Shore N. B. at ponca River3 which we passed for the
2 men with the horses &. C. passed some handsome Mineral
Springs on N. S. under a clift. the 2 men who crossed to hunt the
horses come to the Boat in a Short time at a fine Bottom prarie
had killed a Deer, we Saw Several Goats4 on the Side hill on N. S.
we proceeded on till 4 oClock & Camped on an Island made a
niew ceeder mast, the hunters out hunting returned to the Boat
& R. Fields killed a fat Buck. Drewyer killed an Elk & Newman
killed [a] faun Elk & a faun Deer, tracks of the horses seen where
the 2 men passd &. C.

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Three Frenchmen Returning from Three Years among Poncas

Mon, 04 May 2026 16:19:45 +0000

we Set out at the usuel ouer and proseded on our Jorney
day Clear water Strong Came 3 miles met 2 Conoes with
3 French men and one Negro [Mallatto] from the Poncye
Nations. they have ben up 3 years with the Indianes 2 of
them is half preades of the poncas. past a Creek on the N.
1804] _FLOYD’S JOURNAL
Side Called the Snake Creek it is about 25 ya” wide a noted
place whare Indianes of Differnt nations Cross to Go to
ware they Say that thar is hundreds of Snakes at this place
ouer hunters killed one Deer encamped on the N Side of the
River the Land is good about hear the Chief of the timber
is Cotten wood.

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Treaty with the Ponka, 1858

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 13:47:26 +0000

Land cession by the Ponka. Region: Dakota 1. Counties: Boyd. Associated dates: 1858-03-12, 1865-03-10, 1890-10-23.

Present-Day Tribes

Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
Ponca Tribe of Nebraska

Citations

2 Hodge 278-79

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Dwight and Pierre on Omaha and Ponka Culture

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:36:05 +0000

because we have many voices that come here to talk about Lewis and Clark to talk about the Native Americans that they met along their way and to share different cultures and today we’re very fortunate to have with us Pierre Merrick and Dwight how from the Omaha and FKA Nations to talk to you a bit about their culture and share that with you today so at this time I’d like to introduce DWI and Pierre well I guess I should turn my mic on can you hear me okay I guess it on we’ll just sit here kind of casual cuz there’s just so few what we like to do is uh we’re here to talk about our Native American culture we’re not really no they now we’re not performers are entertainers actually we’re uh myself I’m an educator I do cultural presentations I’ve been doing them for over about 20 years now my relative here Pier mer is from the Omaha tribe as well and uh he works with uh he Human Services Human Services and works believe the Indian Child Welfare is advocate for Native American children he’s also a singer he sings around this drum uh drums like this we uh we hold this is a very sacred instrument uh I’m Omaha and PKA My grandmother raised me since I was about 10 months old so my earliest recollection of my life grown up was around Elders older people and the omahas and pkas are the same tribe we came up from the Ohio River Valley we Eastern Woodlands Indians the Kanza quapa oage and PKA we all One Tribe generations and generations ago maybe before the time of Columbus we were One Tribe and we migrated from the Eastern Woodlands uh High River Valley up to Missouri and finally to where present day about 90 Mi uh north of Omaha Nebraska is the Omaha Indian Reservation a little bit further up the river is NAA Nebraska and that’s the original homeland of the punka so we lived right next to them we didn’t move very far from our NE our relative but uh during Andrew Jackson’s era and I guess it was right after uh the battle of the Little Big Horn with the kuster getting uh Mass wiped out you know in the battle of the Little Big Horn there was real retaliation towards Indians and the society as a whole wanted to put a stop to the Indian Wars and even though the pkas Never were in that battle or even at War they were one of the tribes picked to move to Indian Territory so they were forcibly removed from Nebraska the Homeland down to Oklahoma and that’s where I grew up but that’s my relationship with my relative here kind of went off the course but I was talking about this here this drum drum is symbolic to us it’s a sacred instrument I see some tobacco here that uh maybe John had left here and I’m sure before John even sang he put some Tobacco on that drum I I just I wasn’t even here but I can almost guarantee that he probably did we hold that to be powerful among the punas and I can speak primarily from my upbringing which is a punka culture uh and it’s similar but yet different from the Omaha they talked about this being a very powerful instrument and you can just imagine they sang These Things sang L this many years ago when they had to go to war war and it sort of like a pep rally in a way it recanted those stories of their grandfathers of U uh of U Wonga big Soldier W shinga Little Soldier kakuni um uh smoke maker those men way back there who who performed Brave Deeds or courageous acts they made songs about them and they put them songs to this drum and they said the way I was told is that this drum if taken care of and if you as a as a singer take care of yourself and you remember those songs in a good way you’ll make sad people happy when they hear it if you ever hear a drumbeat it’s like the beat of your heart and and if you ever get close to a drum when you’re dancing that it vibrates within you it just shakes you it moves you it becomes a part of you it’s a powerful instrument and it evokes strong emotions it makes like I said uh sad people feel happy it makes old people feel young and they forget their troubles for a while it has a medicine and about it and itself that it can touch you inside I believe that I I really have high regards for it among my people uh the punas not anybody can just pick up a drumstick go out there and start hitting that hitting that drum you have to pay your way to in there you have to you have to give away to have that right to be around this drum you have to show the respect for this drum then you also have to learn the songs you can’t sit around that drum and this he was a head singer and he had his drumstick and he’s sitting there and all he’d have to do is just point to you like that song that family is asking for a certain song you have to be able to start that song otherwise you’re not contributing to that that whole thing that’s going on there it’s a powerful thing to see everyone dancing all around this drama recanting those songs the way I heard it is that they had uh um heard it heard it sound like thunder it’s man heard sound like thunder way off and he went over to the sound and this woman had a hide stretched out on the ground they stretched that you know I’m taking that back it was a log and she was hitting that log and she was singing these songs and she said if you sing these songs take them back to your tribe they will help you and so that’s what they did they they stretched a hide out sted it to the ground and that was their first first drum then they turned into then they made it wood and they made this kind of drum here uh out of a a log but through those songs that they were given by that woman was was um creation thoughts emotions all those things that that evolve in life they center around this drum and we as P of people gather once a year uh in August and we dance and we gather and we have camps all around the PA and everywhere at the camps there’s prayer there’s laughter there’s Fellowship it’s like reunions and then we all come together and we dance around that drum there’s no alcohol there’s no drugs around this this is something saf well at least let me say there’s not supposed to be there’s not supposed to be uh but as far as I I’ve known I’ve been to many pows and I camp and everything and I don’t see that very much I know that that goes on in other places but uh powers that I camp at where I’m at I don’t see that and around the drum I don’t see that they have a lot of respect for this thing they have it evokes a spirit when um when our when our men when our men folk went to war the way they explained it to me and the way I was told is that we were a small tribe we were smaller than the omahas but on all three sides of our borders were enemy there was the Rika the Mandan uh the yankin Su Seven Nations and the omahas were our only border that were our friends and they had the Missouri River guarding them on on two of their sides so we had we sort of we a buffer zone and we were always kind of on at rage I had to be on alert our men the hoska were always on guard and the way I was told through in the song say that is that they were like um uh comma what I would what I consider like kamakazi they were a warrior a group of men that dedicated their life for the people and as soon as there was an alarm as soon as there was danger they would just run into it I mean they would just like throw themselves into it and many died but many many lived and any anybody that came within our borders knew that if they met this tribe there was going to be trouble when when Prince maximilan came up looking for the cities of gold or whatever it was he was at the paon E camp and he asked them who lives up that way Northeast of you and they said don’t go that way there’s bad people up there don’t go over there needles say they traveled that way they want just wanted to keep going they when be went down and they went up they came to this border where they found these three poles in the ground they were 9 ft High describe them sticks that were 9 ft high and on top of each one of them were heads and that was the Border it was pawy heads were up there the punkers had decapitated them and put their heads up there symbolically saying if you come over here this will happen to you and that’s sort of the how they how they Protected Their their area their their hunting grounds um time went on it never used to the way my grandmother said it never used to really be that way all the time but uh when when game was scarce when when times were lean we had to protect our hunting grounds we had to protect our burial grounds our our our traditional Gardens we had communal Gardens so there was a need to be vigilant to watch your borders um just so much like we do today uh with the National Guard and things the same concept but um I was I was told that that the hoska these songs they would talk about that they would recant those things that would happen that that battles there was even a time when when they had uh uh when they were traveling and there was uh a group of lotas and they had encountered the women and they took some hostages they took some people and uh uh that were gathering and some of them ran back to the uh tribe and said uh they’ve taken our women and a couple of our children as captives and the the pkas got got up together and got their horses and stuff and ran after them and they followed them almost all the way up to their border all the way up to their to their uh camp and they and they they ran into them and they and they fought him and they got those women those children back now there’s the story there from that point on it was a running battle all the way back to Nera from like almost the Black Hills was like many miles it was they would run run run then they would stop and have to fight and they’ fight and then they back and they take Skirmish and they take off again and all along that way at every Skirmish that was Bloodshed a sue would get shot in the leg with arrow a Ponka would get shot in the shoulder or get hit with a an axe or something or or or one would be hurt and another one would try to save him and he would get killed trying to save his friend another one would grab him and pick him up and carry him uh there was a they told of a a man that could really run fast and a a a one of them got shot he got shot in the neck with a bus musket ball and then the other pker was shot in the thigh and so he picked him up and that Indian put his the other Punker put his thumb on his neck so he wouldn’t lose his blood and they ran things like that happened all along that way they got to a gully a low spot and they stopped they were tired but the punk stopped they going to fight again and the Su stopped on the other side of the hill and the Su stopped and they sang a song cuz they recognize this as being something sacred something significant sort of like out of respect they said you must really think a lot of your people to that’s what they basically that song said kind of an honoring song and the punk has made a similar song about how how how many Brave Deeds that ensues what Brave Acts were done there along that trail all the way back on that day and we and they put it into words and they kept it ours is an oral tradition it’s not a written language it’s passed on through stories like this and it’s passed on through songs like what my brother sings without that we’d lose so much of our culture being raised by my grandmother she’d often would tell those things over and over and over who I am where I come from what my descendency is who where where my people are who they were so I could be know who I am and I can in turn give that to my daughter I want that to be that way for my myself uh I could recount early in my earliest ages as a little boy I could say that uh my grandmother’s my my great-grandfather the name was gun and that means headman his father is named wepp weas sappi’s father is named Tao Tao’s father is named Manu Jinga Manu is be and Jinga is little I know that to be true my grandmother raised me with that saying that’s who it is on the same on same and along the same lines she would say who uh my father’s father was and that his name was Oliver how and that he was a northern PKA from Nia and that his father was the first episcop minister in NBR by the name of Edward how and he was half Dutch and half punka and that his father was named George Washington how and that when he was 17 he came from co uh he came from Pennsylvania on a with a surveying crew to the Nebraska territory and married a pun a woman and uh spent his life with her and uh he had an Indian name by the name of Duma scaran and that that’s my ancestry and that he came from Pennsylvania his father was named AO how and he came from Copenhagen Denmark on a steamship that’s several Generations back my grandmother always was telling me those things over and over and over every time there was snow snow winter time the stories came out again when it rained it was time to sit in the stories would come out she saved things she would do things uh she had a way of looking at it I think what she had was a sense of urgency she wanted to retain the culture she wanted to see that our culture didn’t get lost when she was young and she had all her children the government sent them to boarding schools and she didn’t say nothing about it her oldest boy Wy how was born 1910 and in 1920 they sent him to seagar Oklahoma to all Indian boarding school at 10 years old can you imagine your your child at the age of 10 being taken from You by a government agency and said we’re going to teach them to live a c different way we’re going to teach them a different language we’re going to teach them something else something better and so she let her children go they all left my uncle my my dad went to shello Indian School my Uncle Junior went to Paw Indian school they all went to government boarding schools my dad talked about it and he talked about it sort of fondly because he said when he was born he grew up in the depressions so it was a poor time it was a hard time so when he went to a government boarding school for high school there were three Square meals a day there was jobs he could work and there was people and he liked it it was like a Letterman’s Club the boarding school that he went to at Sho he was an athlete played sports played baseball boxed did all those things he enjoyed it but he said uh he missed home but uh he enjoyed it because it was a better better life you know than having to sleep on a hard floor and little two room house with with four or five other brothers and sisters uh so he he looked he talked about shalat fondly in fact he talked about it so fondly that when I got old enough to go to high school the high school that I wanted to go to was the same that he did so I graduated from shello Indian School uh back in 1976 uh and just shortly after that in the 80s they closed it they closed a lot of the government boarding schools down but I attended shello Indian School to kind of continue that Legacy that my father had talked so fondly of but uh my his his oldest his oldest brother Wy who was 10 years old and was sent to Seager Oklahoma didn’t talk about it very fondly he said they were uh they were punished if they were caught talking their language if they were T if they were caught talking punka they were punished and he came home only twice a year and uh uh Harvest Time and uh I think it said R Christmas he got to come home but while he was gone his grandfather died and his grandmother died he didn’t even get to go to the funeral he just came home and they were gone and that must be devastating to a young Indian or anybody who would be attached to their grandmother and then be sent away to school and then come home to find that she’s gone and not even be able to go to the funeral and mourn the loss of a a loved one that’s what the Indians had to endure that’s what uh in a lot of times that’s what a lot of the Indians felt like what LS and Clark helped represent a changing of the ways and uh uh some were good and some were bad our relative that we come from we are both descendants of a gentleman by name of car La flesh and car flesh’s father was named Joseph leesh and he was a chief among the omahas he saw it as something that was inevitable he said change is happening it’s coming like a flood and we have to prepare ourselves this is something we cannot avoid we need to learn these ways so in fact he was so adamant about it that he sent his kids off to school and one of them became an anthropologist and later became a lawyer his name is Dr Francis Le and his other daughter his other child was a young lady who became the first Indian woman to become a physician and her name was susette the Flesh and she was a country doctor in Nebraska so that’s where we come from on the Omaha side there he even had a a village built of houses wooden houses square houses and they called that the white man Village he wanted the Indians to adapt assimilate cuz he saw that as being necessary we have to be like the white man we have to change our ways so he tried his best to encourage him to do that he was very Progressive man he believed in it a great deal that times have changeed and we need to change with him and so that’s one of the reasons why Pierre and I come to do cultural presentations because we want to share our culture and heighten people’s awareness about cultural relations about who we are I don’t really talk philosophically as much as I do when uh when children are here when there are little kids here sitting in these rows we talk about games and we talk about what I like to eat and what they ate back then and the houses and we we talk about games but when there’s an older group here I I like to take that opportunity to share Indian culture I like to a perspective mine is just been one you ask if you ask 10 Indians one question you’re going to get 10 different answers uh there are over 511 federally recognized tribes with over 300 different dialects so there’s different languages different ways different beliefs uh today there are over two there are over 2 million Native Americans in the United States today but that’s still less than 1% of the total population the significant thing about the Indians today is that um over half are 30 and below because of poor health care our elders the average life expectancy is 10 years below the national average and if you’re a diabetic like uh my brother and I then add 7 to 10 more years off that so if uh average life expectancy for an Indian male is 65 then uh average life expectancy for an Indian male with kind of illnesses that we have it’s 55 so at 45 right now we have about 10 more good years St statistically so that means basically theoretically I’m an elder because maybe in 10 years I might be gone so it’s like that it’s like that for our Indian people it’s uh uh I guess they’re working on changing working on better Lifestyles but that’s statistically that’s the way it is for for Indians today and I want to share a little bit about that maybe uh we could uh sing a song and then we can talk about a little bit sure yeah this is my brother Pier Merritt my relative maybe he might tell you uh his Indian name and introduce himself I say good afternoon or good morning to each of you I take a moment here to acknowledge the elders that are out there customarily back home it’s the right thing to do it’s a custom to say that to people that are sitting that we’re going to be talking to or addressing in a either a ceremony setting or otherwise that we first acknowledge our that asked for their forgiveness for pardon us pardon me for speaking before you uh this song that I’m going to sing is a song that was composed for my uncle uh who returned from World War II he was a Darby Ranger and uh when he returned uh home safely our people one of our composers are uh composed this song for him and uh like my brother was saying you know a lot of our our songs that have words are prayer songs are songs songs of thanks to the Creator where we where be that song the words of that song means it’s me speak this isn’t speak speaking to the Creator speaking to God addressing him looking for acknowledgement asking to be looked at it’s me the that’s word means look at me me look at the next verse is he went peras stood on foreign soil and faced the enemy the came home that was the song that was composed and that’s the meaning of that song the story behind it before him uh at this time I would like I guess uh car you about myself a little bit my name is I’m a Cas amongst our people I Come From the Black shoulder Buffalo my name means uh Shaggy Waring Buffalo and uh what I’m going to do here now is I’m going to show us picture slideshow of my daughter this is my daughter her name is Emy she is a senior in high school at the sou sou High School in Nebraska she will be graduating next month she’s your average kid she loves to be on a computer go to the mall her mother CH to be sent her to school although there was a school available to her on the reservation a public school her mother and I chose to send her to the school that’s about 25 miles away north of us off of the reservation where there’s probably three or four Indians I high school she attends there’s like 2500 students that attend the school so it’s a very competitive world that we placed our daughter in and she has succeeded every summer she goes and she attends a uh summer program at the University of North Dakota called idence and Medicine the school is a unique school that requires that a student be uh uh at least a honor student not a uh having a high grade point average while they’re in school she’s been attending the school since she was in a seventh grade like I said and this year is her final year at this school she’s looking at going into the field of medicine as a following her mother uh my wife her name is Kim she’s a nurse and she’s also in the commission Corp uh the military uh medical field she’s a lieutenant commander at she works at the Wago Indian Hospital in Wago Nebraska we have chose to give our child our children and a lot of families amongst their native people push our children to to the challenges that are put before them in the life that they’re going to be living we push them to compete and uh take every educational opportunity that comes to them we encourage them that way we also try to instill in them the traditional values and Customs that we have within our tribe in our school on the reservation we have native programs that we push ask our children to be involved in these pictures here are pictures of my daughter when she was uh selected as the Winnebago veterans Power Princess the dress that she wears her mother wore that the crown that she has we had made for her because that’s an appropriate thing to do when she holds that position as a princess for a year she’ll represent the wio veterans association as you see that was in 2003 the B that she the feather that she carries uh and she dances this feather I gave to her when she was just a young girl it’s a a winter hwk feather and the bag that you see was given to her by her mother who was uh given to her uh by her mother grandmother she also attends Taekwondo in classes back home this is a very uh big part of her life she’s been attending this for 4 years very consistent with it her mother it’s either her mother or her auntie that takes her up at least uh four times a week she attends us after school travels home to the reservation or sometimes we go up there and have her stuff in the car but she attends these Monday Wednesday and Friday nights after school in the evenings uh and then on Saturday morning she gets up and she goes and uh does this again her and her brother her brother’s uh 15 he just turned 15 he’ll be attending this school also the summer school and medicine program this coming year this will be his first year so what I’m showing here is trying to uh let you know that our our children are the same our children face the same problems and also we encourage them to set their goals high in life and to be a someday when they become an adult there’ll be a positive figure amongst them our Indian Community or wherever they may choose to live in this world that’s the kind of parenting that we like to do to do with our children across the country this is done all in all reservations um as my brother Pi said it’s it’s a balance that we’re looking for with our children we want them to be Progressive and and have all the opportunities that every children has but yet in the same hand we want to help be sure that they retain some of the cultural things that are significant that we consider important um an example one example is is being of service U being able to be a provider for the people when after coming out of the service in military I was inducted into a warrior Society Andy those society and they talked about that and uh to me and saying what my responsibilities were and that was to be a protector and a provider for the people and I think that um that is uh a way of life that I will always have with me instilled in me and I hope that I can do that with my children as well we can pass those type of things on I often use an example when there’s kids here we talk about shell Society among the omahas and it’s the same as the the U Clan or chiefs clan that my grandmother was a part of and they say that you should be able to count to 100 to be a member of that society and they don’t mean 1 2 3 4 it would be they would have to come to the society in order to be a member of it bring them bring with them 100 Willow sticks and each time they laid the willow stick down they have to recant something that did a good deed or something that was worthy for the people let’s say uh he laid a willow stick down and said last summer this uh Man passed away on the Buffalo arm left a wife and three kids here all winter I’ve been C I’ve been providing for my family but I also have been providing meat for them or let’s say a widow lived in a shelter and it was stared to fall apart and he would go over there and him and his wife would make new hides and they would uh um uh they would uh fix her shelter all up he can count that as one uh another example would be uh another story on top of that uh is that this woman came among them to the lodge and she had all her her clothes were all raggedy and worn out maybe maybe like a homeless person in the streets today we might see and he he came to that she came to that Lodge and uh he saw her and he invited her in and she sat in a place of honor she sat down there he told his wife we need to help her so they combed her hair fixed it up he reached back and he asked her get some of your your clothes and they gave her a beautiful uh beautiful bug skin dress and they cleaned her up her daughter and then got water and cleaned her up and they fed her they gave her a beautiful fan and then she walked out and she left and then she walking I said look it was that Homeless lady look at look how well stressed she is who did that for her and I said that good man over there he could count that as one something like that 100 times that would be imagine if if this room was filled every seat in here was filled with somebody that did 100 good things for each other what kind of society that would be if we all did 100 good things for each other each of us the Omaha practice that kind of culture before the time of Columbus we were good to each other tried to help one another how much time do we have Mar what I was about 12 more minutes are there any questions that you might have if not we might be able to sing another song and maybe explain it or describe it after the questions and let us know that I’ll sing a song question um when you were naming your ancestors you didn’t name any female ancestors is that normal or was it just you weren’t thinking of them today I just weren’t thinking of them but by lineage we we follow them men we are a patriarchal society not that the women aren’t significant in fact my grandmother there was certain type of protocols that would happen among Indian people like uh um um mother-in-law never talks to her son-in-law there comes a certain age where she doesn’t talk to her brother uh when when her brother would my uncle my my grandpa Kenneth would come over to visit I’d have to get up and sit there because they need I need to be present and it’d be like it would be like uh um I’m wanting to talk to to him through you and I’d say tell my tell my brother that I need we need to lease that land and 40 acres over there because our lease is about ready to expire now he heard he heard that and he go back and say tell tell my sister that uh that’s okay with me cuz we need the money they don’t need to do that but they’re sitting there but that was out of respect there were certain regulations or protocol that was uh established that they didn’t talk to one another and in the same way with my my dad and then she never said anything publicly but whenever there was a crisis in our family Whenever there was a major decision that had to be made it was my grandmother who made it she was in charge that it wasn’t so I guess publicly it maybe it look like she wasn’t but the women are are really the strength of our families they are the lifegiving and they are the mothers they are they are the she is the one who was in charge when there was a decision that be made what does Mom think what what he you know so she had she held Court when it was when it was a decision that need to be made so it’s not disrespecting her but we are a patriarchal society that try to follow the men’s lineage so that’s how you we that’s why I mentioned the men folk with within our tribe uh in our involving our Classics uh we follow our father and my father he was a aate from the Buffalo Clan his father before him and so on it’s been handed down but because of our children and around is married outside the tribe if our one of our daughters uh marri somebody outside the tribe that uh does isn’t a part of our tribe well their children won’t have clan names or won’t belong to specific Clans within our tribe so that’s kind of how and our names our naming ceremonies you know our names apply to our clan gender or our clan clanship like my name is referred to the chagy part of the buffalo’s ankle um it’s referred to the Buffalo because that’s where I come from if your daughter marries outside the her children don’t have PL but your son marries a woman who’s not in your clan do they have clan names then yes they do she becomes a part of that Clan she has right there are times when certain tribes have enrollment requirements like up in the north in the northern like in Canada in the north Northeast where they are a patriarchal society I believe the iroy are a patriarchal lineage they follow I mean the matriarch they follow the women they they inherit the women they when they get married they go to the women’s family uh uh the naming it goes to the women and sometimes uh it can counteract each other because if if you happen to be a man and your you marry a woman that your kid kids follow hers they kind of can negate each other and you can be you could be neither tribe you could be a full- blood Indian but not be eligible to be on either tribe because one would negate the other because of the the lineage thing saying well you you follow the you follow the on his side you follow the women’s and on on her side it’s only the men that side that can be enrolled in the tribe so end up being a full-blooded Indian but not enrolled in any tribe because of the Mator artical the men and women thing it’s kind of uh complicated any other any other questions that we could uh hey hey we hey hey oh High hey hey oh that song we use at the end of our Gatherings it’s an appreciation song for today for your your attention to me and my brother as we uh did our presentation I say thank you does anyone have any other questions no well let’s thank Pierre and Dwight very much for sharing your culture with us and I’d like to thank all of you for coming to our tent of many voices that’s how it got its name this is a place for many voices to be heard and we’ve heard from Dwight and Pierre talking about the Omaha and Ponka cultures our next presenter is

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Jury Mast Rigged; Niobrara River Confluence Reached

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 20:34:34 +0000

5th September 1804 Wednesday, Set out early the wind blew hard from the
South as it has for Some Days past, we Set up a jury mast & Sailed, I
saw a large gangue of Turkeys, also Grous Seen Passed a large Island of
about 3 miles long in the Middle of the river opposit the head of this
Island the Poncarre River Coms into the Missourei on the L. S.the
S. S is a Clift under which great numbers of Springs run out of mineral
water, Saw Several wild goats on the Clift & Deer with black tales,-
Sent Shields & Gibson to the Poncas Towns, which is Situated on the
Ponca river on the lower side about two miles from its mouth in an open
butifull Plain, at this time this nation is out hunting the biffalow they
raise no corn or Beens, Gibson killed a Buffalow in the Town, The two men
which has been absent several Days is ahead, we came to on the upper pt.
of a large Island at 3 oClock to make a mast Sent out Some hunters on the
Island (which I call no preserve Island, at this place we used the last of
our Preservs) They killed 3 bucks, & two Elk which welurked

—

September 5th Wednesday 1804 Set out early the winds blew hard from the
South, Goats turkeys Seen to day, passed a large Island (1) opsd. this
Island near the head the Poncasar River Coms into the Missourie from the
West this river is about 30 yards wide. dispatched two men to the
Poncaries Village Situated in a handsom Plain on the lower Side of this
Creek about two miles from the Missourie (the Poncasars nation is Small
and at this time out in the praries hunting the Buffalow), one of the men
Sent to the Village Killed a Buffalow in the town, the other, a large Buck
near it, Some Sign of the two men who is a head.

above the Island on the S. S We passed under a Bluff of Blue earth, under
which Seveal Mineral Springs broke out of the water of which had a taste
like Salts, we Came too on the upper point of a large Island (which I call
No preserves Island) here we made a Ceeder Mast, our hunters brought in
three bucks, and two elks this evening which we had jurked

One of the hunter Shields, informed that he Saw Several black tailed Deer,
near the Poncaser Village

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Treaty with the Ponca, 1817

admin — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 21:11:03 +0000

This 1817 treaty was between the United States and the Poncarar tribe to reestablish peace and friendship after the War of 1812. It stipulated mutual forgiveness for any past injuries or hostilities. The Poncarar acknowledged U.S. protection and sovereignty. The treaty renewed friendly relations between the tribe and the U.S. to their pre-war status. It aimed to solidify peaceful relations going forward between the Poncarar and the United States.

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