Soon after the 1857 Treaty, the assigned to the reported that they were living in horrific conditions and that the United States had not provided the basic resources it had promised in the Treaty. Despite increasing pressures to abandon their culture, Pawnee communities found ways to resist into an “American” way of living. Drawing on the strengths of their own culture, the Pawnee acted to challenge the mistaken idea that they would abandon their own culture, values, and beliefs.
Despite the terms of article 3 in the 1857 Treaty, many Pawnee parents elected not to send their children to reservation schools. In 1869—when the Quakers gained control of the reservation—only twenty percent of school-aged students attended reservation schools. In spite of the Quakers’ attempts to increase student attendance, by 1872 the percentage of Pawnee children who were enrolled in reservation schools remained the same as it had been in 1869.
Many families continued to live in traditional and did not send their children to . Instead, they chose to educate their children according to Pawnee values and beliefs.
In accordance with article 3 of the 1857 Treaty, some parents did send their children to reservation schools. In addition to teaching students some English and a few other subjects, the instruction emphasized that Pawnee children should learn to live, think, and act as whites.
Patrolling Native Nations’ territories required a robust U.S. military force; however, the Civil War had left the U.S. Army depleted. To address this weakness, Congress authorized the military to enlist American Indians, including the , to serve as scouts. American Indian scouts became valuable allies in U.S. military actions during the Plains Indians Wars of the 1860s–1880s.
The decision to act in alliance with the United States military was a strategic choice on the part of the Pawnee. A military alliance allowed Pawnee to strike back at their enemies and helped the Pawnee coexist with the United States. Many U.S. Army officials thought that this alliance would have a “civilizing” influence on the Pawnee. Conversely, the Pawnee men in the regiments maintained their own Pawnee war practices and traditions.
Despite pressures from the United States and missionaries to the to a Christian religion, many Pawnee continued to practice traditional ceremonies. Spiritual leaders used every opportunity to practice important ceremonies and worked tirelessly to maintain the integrity of their customs and religious traditions.
This rattle represents , the of the . The inscribed stars identify the four sectors for the universe and the that preside over each.
Conditions on the Nebraska Pawnee Reservation became as fewer resources were made available to the Pawnee. Neither the United States nor the Quakers came up with a way to address the situation. Instead, the officials responsible for the health and well-being of the Pawnee recommended that the Pawnee be removed to Indian Territory–what is today known as Oklahoma.
In the late 1870s the United States government removed the Pawnee from their 1857 treaty lands to an even smaller reservation in Indian Territory.
