Pawnee Indian Museum
Located in Republic County in north central Kansas, Pawnee Indian Museum was the first to be designated a state historic site. Here overlooking the Republic River valley was once a village of 2,000 Pawnees. In 1899 the landowners donated the site to the state of Kansas. Although their understanding of the site’s history was not entirely accurate, their generosity led to preservation of this precious archeological record. This story of the land begins about the same time as the American Revolution.
The Pawnee Indians have been a dominant force in the central plains for at least 500 years. Their lives were influenced by cosmology; they developed star charts that set their calendars, guided their social structures, and inspired their beliefs. They share kinship with the Arikara and Wichita. Their four bands separated by location: Skidi (Wolf) is in the north, Petahauirata (Tappage) is in the east, Chaui (Grand) in the middle, and Kitkahahki (Republican) in the west.
The Kitkahahki (or Republican) band moved into the Republican River valley around 1770. They occupied at least three different villages in the valley. Here in what is now Republic County they established a village of approximately 2,000 people with as many as 75 lodges. They lived built dome-shaped earth lodges as large as 25 to 60 feet in diameter. The lodges were supported by large posts, a center pit that served as the hearth, and an entrance that faced the morning sun in the east. Large family groups lived together in the lodges, which could house 30 to 50 people. Housing had to be rebuilt every 10 to 15 years.
Here they planted corn, squash, pumpkins, and beans in the spring. They placed their harvest in storage pits that could be accessible during the year. They kept thousands of dogs and hundreds of horses that could assist with work and transportation.
In the winter and summer months nearly all the people left their villages and traveled hundreds of miles west where they hunted bison. They brought along portable housing and supplies using a travois (or sled) by dog or horse and camped near grazing areas. They gained a reputation for their expertise in tracking and hunting bison. Their kill provided food and supplies for the season. The meat was processed onsite and dried for storage, the skins were cleaned for use as clothing, housing, supplies, or trade. Skins and furs could also be used as payment to other tribes and French traders for needed items like guns, knives, and glass beads.
As a result of European settlement in the east, native peoples were pushed toward the west. This led to crowding in the Great Plains, increasing competition for land and food, and escalating into warfare. The chief rival of the Pawnee people were the Kansa. The Pawnees constructed fortifications around their village to protect from attack. By 1831 they abandoned this village and returned to the north near the Loup River area to live closer to other Pawnees.
Elizabeth Johnson and her husband, George, were landowners in Republic County in the late 19th century. She became fascinated with the story of the Pike expedition to the West in 1806. She came to believe incorrectly that Zebulon Pike made a stop at this Pawnee village. The Johnsons donated six acres to the state of Kansas in 1899. A fence and monument were installed, and the site was formally opened on September 30, 1901. Later archeological investigation of both sites led researchers to determine that Pike visited the Kitkahahki village 40 miles to the north in what is now Nebraska. He convinced the Pawnees to lower the Spanish flag, which flew over their village, and raise a U.S. flag in its place. That site in Nebraska was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
Archeological investigations were undertaken to learn more about this village in Kansas in 1933, 1949, and 1957. The Kansas Historical Society led an investigation from 1965 to 1968. Within the land protected by the state is evidence of about 26 lodges and a fortification ditch. A dome-shaped museum and interpretive center was built over one large earth lodge that had been excavated and opened to the public on December 8, 1967. Pawnee Indian Museum was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
Quick Facts
Dates active: AD 1770s – circa 1831
Date built: 1967
City: Republic
County: Republic
Significant People:
Architect:
Style:
State site: 1899
National Register: 1971
Timeline
1770s Kitkahahki Pawnees move into Republican River valley, and establish villages
1831 Circa when Kitkahahki Pawnees move back to south central Nebraska
1875 Elizabeth Johnson of Republic County incorrectly identified village site as one visited by Zebulon Pike
1901 Elizabeth and George Johnson donate site to the state of Kansas, which adds a fence, builds a granite monument, and holds dedication ceremony
1906 Ceremony held to mark 100th anniversary of the Pike expedition
1967, December 8 Museum and interpretive center built over archeological remains of one lodge
Sources
- Pawnee Indian Museum, National Register of Historic Places
- Kitkahahki Archeology: A Return to the Pawnee Indian Village Site, by Donna C. Roper Mary J. Adair, and Jack L. Hofman, Kansas Preservation September-October 2008, pages 13-27
- Making a Unique Heritage: Celebrating Pike’s Pawnee Vilae and the Santa Fe Trail, 19001918, by Amanda Laugesen, Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains (23) Autumn 2000, 172-185
