PREFACE IX 



Since much of the information in this monograph is based on the 

 testimony of Ponca informants, a brief sketch of some of the principal 

 contributors may be valuable in evaluating their respective 

 information. 



NORTHERN PONCA INFORMANTS 



Peter Le Claire (PLC) is of mixed French-Canadian and Ponca 

 descent (pi. 21) . He lives in a small apartment in Fairfax, S. Dak., at 

 the present time ( 1962) , though he was born near Niobrara, Nebr. He 

 is 79 years of age but still quite active. PLC is recognized by both the 

 Northern and Southern Ponca as the tribal historian, and often in- 

 quiries to other informants brought the response "You'd better ask 

 Pete." PLC is one of the very few Northern Poncas who still own 

 dancing costumes and participate in Indian dances. He is well liked 

 by all who know him, Indian or White. A short autobiogi-aphical 

 sketch of PLC, with an introduction by the present writer, appeared 

 in 1961 (Le Claire, 1961). 



Joseph Le Eoy ( JLK) is of mixed French-Canadian, Santee Dakota, 

 and Ponca descent (pi. 20, a). He is 70 years of age (1962). His 

 father was a Northern Ponca chief of the second rank. JLR now lives 

 in Ponca City, Okla., but at the time of my fieldwork he resided in 

 Niobrara, Nebr. Though his material is on the whole quite reliable, 

 it sometimes shows what I believe to be Santee Dakota influence. For 

 example, JLR gave me a rather lengthy account of Windigo cannibal- 

 ism which he attributed to the Ponca, but which is more likely Santee. 



Otto B. Knudsen (OK) was the last chief among the Northern 

 Ponca, having been created a chief of the second rank at the last chief- 

 making ceremony held in the north (pi. 20, c) . His father was a Dane 

 and his mother a Ponca. Because he learned most of his "Indian ways" 

 from his mother, much of the material he supplied relates to women's 

 activities, such as horticulture and the preservation of food. OK occa- 

 sionally used feminine forms of speech when speaking Gegiha. He 

 always laughed and corrected himself when such a slip occurred. He 

 was 75 years old at the time of his death in 1954. 



Edward Buffalo-chief or Buffalo-chip (EBC) was a fullblood 

 Northern Ponca. He lived on a farm near Niobrara, Nebr. He came 

 from a long line of Ponca chiefs and was himself a Peyote chief or 

 "roadman." EBC was a cripple and inclined to be slightly misan- 

 thropic. He was much interested in the old Ponca religion and cere- 

 monies, but frequently made gloomy comments to the effect "It is all 

 gone now." He was not particularly talkative, and such information 

 as was secured from him was usually the confirmation of data given 

 by other informants. He did, however, contribute valuable original 

 material on the Northern Ponca peyote religion. He died in 1950 at 

 the age of 80. 



