Howard] THE PONCA TRIBE 39 



Ponca tribal council, introduced a bill calling for a division of the 

 tribal assets and the termination of the Federal trust relationship 

 to the Northern Ponca band. Complete assimilation into the major 

 culture seems to be the goal of the majority of the tribal members in 

 the north. Such is not yet true of the Southern Ponca, where "In- 

 dian ways" are still highly valued by many, and participation in the 

 Peyote rite and Indian powwows continues to be important to a large 

 proportion of the members of the band. 



ECONOMY 



As was true with most of the Missouri Valley tribes, the economic 

 base of the Ponca rested upon a combination of hunting, fishing, 

 gathering, and horticulture. Hunting, being the most exciting of 

 these activities, was accorded the highest prestige in Ponca culture. 

 The principal animal hunted by the Ponca was the bison, although 

 elk, deer, and pronghorn antelope were also taken whenever the op- 

 portunity occurred. Smaller animals, such as rabbits and beaver, 

 were hunted only when larger game was not available. Two kinds 

 of hunting were recog-nized by the Ponca and their kinsmen, the 

 Omaha. One termed dbaye referred to hunting by small groups of 

 men without their families. The other, t^e-une or gax an, referred to 

 the tribal hmits when the entire group, with its belongings, moved in 

 pursuit of the bison (Dorsey, 1884 a, p. 283). 



There were two of these tribal hunts each year, one in the late 

 spring or early sunnner, the other in the fall. The first of these 

 began in late June or early July, the other in October or November. 

 Their length depended upon the success of the hunt. Both were 

 surrounded by ceremonial observations which were designed to obtain 

 supernatural favor. PLC emphasized repeatedly in our interviews 

 that: "The buffalo hunt was sacred to the Ponca because they de- 

 pended upon the buffalo for their winter store of dried meat." Some 

 idea of the tremendous importance of the bison to the people may be 

 gained from Ponca ceremonies, nearly all of which have some bison 

 symbolism. 



Skinner (1915 c, p. 795) writes: "Every year when the squaw corn 

 was about a foot high, the chiefs of the Ponca got together and coun- 

 seled concerning the buffalo hunt. Two men were selected to be 

 leaders, who took charge of everything. They picked the day that 

 the village was to move, and they selected the camping ground." 

 PLC, however, insisted that there was only one limit leader, or 

 Nudd-hgga, saying: "Wlien the time came for the buffalo hunt the 

 chiefs would appoint the leader. He was selected from among the 

 bravest warriors. He had to have a good head and not to do things 



