Howardl THE PONCA TRIBE 5 



organization of a relatively complex nature, and, in the case of tlie 

 Ponca, the custom of building fortified towns. 



Neither the Mandan nor the Southern Siouans carried the highest 

 form of the great southeastern culture into the Plains but rather a 

 muted, simplified form. Nevertheless, throughout the cultures of all 

 these tribes one can clearly see the impress of contact with the Middle 

 Mississippi way of life. 



It is with one of these Southern Siouan tribes, the Ponca, that this 

 monograph is concerned. By the time they were contacted by White 

 explorers, traders, and missionaries, the Ponca had become in most 

 respects a typical Prairie tribe. Yet there remained many elements 

 in their culture, the most notable being their custom of building bas- 

 tioned earthen forts, which demonstrate their Middle Mississippi herit- 

 age. One who fails to take account of this Southeastern leitmotif in 

 Ponca culture cannot, in my opinion, fully understand or appreciate it. 



Without further ado, then, let us meet the Ponca. 



The Ponca refer to themselves as Ponka^ and they were known by 

 this name to the Omaha, Osage, Kansa, Quapaw, Iowa, Oto, and Mis- 

 souri tribes. Many American Indian tribal names have a meaning 

 apart from their mere tribal designation. The name "Omaha" for 

 example, means "Upstream people." If such a secondary meaning 

 ever existed for the name "Ponca," it was lost long ago. Even the 

 oldest members of the tribe do not know just why the tribe is called 

 Ponca. 



One fact, however, is certain ; the name is not of foreign origin. It 

 occurs as a clan or subclan name among three of the other four 

 :^ep'^A(2-speaking tribes — the Osage, Kansa, and Quapaw. The fact 

 that the Omaha tribe lacks a "Ponca" clan may have significance be- 

 cause of the tradition that the Ponca were a clan of the Omaha before 

 the separation of the two tribes (Fletcher and La Flesche, 1911, p. 41) . 



As a result of the tragic Kemoval of 1877, the Ponca tribe is now 

 divided into two bands, one in Nebraska and adjacent parts of South 

 Dakota and the other in Oklahoma. These bands are generally known 

 as the Northern and Southern Ponca. The native term for Northern 

 Ponca is Osni-Ponka^ which means "Cold Ponca" and refers to the 

 relative coldness of their country as contrasted with Oklahoma where 

 the Southern Ponca are settled. By the same token the Southern 

 Ponca are called MaHS-Ponka^ "Warm Ponca." 



Concerning the term GSgiha^ which is the name applied to the lin- 

 guistic group consisting of the Omaha, Ponca, Osage, Kansa, and 

 Quapaw, James O. Dorsey (1885 b, p. 919) states: "When an Omaha 

 was challenged in the dark, if in his own territory, he usually replied, 

 'I am a ^egiha.'' So might a Ponka reply under similar circumstances, 

 when at home." I have heard this term used in speeches by Ponca and 



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