A
Native American people from
Nebraska, later driven to Oklahoma. They hunted
buffalo but also practised agriculture and had large villages. They were a federation of four
bands, the
Chaui,
Skidi (Wolf),
Kitkehahki, and
Pitahauirat.
Their language is of the Hokan family. Their own name for themselves is Chahiksichahiks, or less accurately Chaticks-si-Chaticks, the form used on the Great Seal of the modern nation. The term Pawnee may be from a word for 'horn' and refer to their hairstyle.
Their supreme spirit is called Tirawa or Atius Tirawahut. Their sacred tree is the cedar. Tirawa's two chief spirits are the Morning Star, who is male, and the Evening Star, who is female. Morning Star and Evening Star had a female child. Their respective helpers were the Sun and the Moon, and the Moon bore the Sun a boy. This girl and this boy became the origin of the Pawnee people. They used to offer a female captive in sacrifice to make up for taking the Morning Star's daughter.
People belonged to a moiety (summer or winter) inherited matrilineally: this was the primary allegiance in games and ceremonies.
The Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma uses a wolf as its emblem, in blue on the Great Seal; and in red on the flag, designed by Brummett EchoHawk. This has a crossed peace pipe and tomahawk below the wolf's head, also red, and at the bottom seven white arrowheads, symbolizing the seven wars the Pawnee have fought in, from the Indian Wars to Desert Storm. On the blue background is a small version of the US flag. The population was reduced to 600 in 1900 but now stands at over 2000.