Following the 1833 Treaty, the Pawnee did not establish permanent settlements, contrary to the United States' desires. Instead, the Pawnee continued to follow their traditional hunting practices. Depending on the season, communities would either practice horticulture in their villages or travel west to hunt. During the hunting seasons—which could last for months at a time—communities established semi-permanent shelters on the plains and did not return to their village until the hunts concluded. Poor hunts and unsuccessful harvests led Pawnee chiefs to ask the United States to provide essential services, as promised in the 1833 Treaty. The U.S. government refused the Pawnee request, citing language in article 10 of the treaty.
"To construe the treaty as I understand you say the Commissioner [of Indian Affairs] does, that the shall at first all remain at their location for the whole year, or a whole year before any thing is done for them by the government, sounds too much like saying that for the improvement of the Pawnees, a big grave will be dug and, the whole tribe buried in it in the space of one year"
To say that the Treaty demands that the must remain in the farming villages for one year before the United States fulfills its Treaty promises is the same as saying that for the Pawnee's benefit, all of the Pawnee villagers will be caused to die within one year.
In 1837 another round of smallpox hit the . Warfare with neighboring tribes persisted, and the Pawnee again asked for the assistance promised by the United States in the 1833 Treaty. The United States would not fulfill the Treaty's promises based on its interpretation of article 10, which states that the Pawnee must move to farming areas and continue to live there for one year. John Dunbar—a missionary working with the Pawnee—took issue with the position of the U.S. Office of Indian Affairs. His statement points to a difference in interpretation of article 10.
"In 1833 the Indians had signed a treaty with the government ceding rights to land south of the Platte River in exchange for in the form of money and goods. They were also promised that teachers, farmers, and blacksmiths would be employed by the and sent to live among them so the Indians could learn the ways of the white people. The government, as well as the , supported this plan for it was generally believed the Indians' only chance for survival was the adoption of white ways and eventual into the dominant society. The welcomed these whites because they could provide much valued service for the tribe, but the Indians had no intention of changing their customs or their lifestyle. The white visitors never seemed able to comprehend the with which the Pawnees would cling to their own culture."
In 1834, the (ABCFM) sent to establish the Pawnee . The ABCFM advocated for converting Indians to Christianity and believed that a Western system of education was superior to the educational practices of Native Nations.
"My Great Father the Great Spirit made us all… He made whites to cultivate the earth and feed on domesticated animals; but he made us…to rove through the uncultivated woods and plains, to feed on wild animals…I love my country; I love my people, I love the manner in which we live… Father; let me enjoy my country, and pursue the buffalo, and the beaver, and the other wild animals of our wilderness… We have everything we want. We have plenty of land if you will keep your people off it… Let us exhaust our present resources before you make us toil and interrupt our happiness. Let me continue to live as I have done."
While the Pawnee did agree to cede some of their lands to the United States in the 1833 treaty, they did not agree to give up their traditional ways of living. Despite the challenging conditions and efforts on the part of the United States and missionaries, members of the Pawnee Nation resisted assimilation and made difficult decisions in order to maintain their cultural ways.
On June 27, 1843, about five hundred struck a town at Willow Creek, killing seventy people and burning half of their lodges in the village. Afterwards, the Pawnee quickly buried their dead and moved south across the Platte River. The whites who witnessed the battle fled to the town of Bellevue. The promptly ended the Pawnee mission, and a year later the U.S. government stopped the .
