Howard] THE PONCA TRIBE 91 



andLaFlesche (191 1, pp. 42-48) ; Skinner (1915 c, p. 799) ; and Whitman 

 (1937, p. 13). Special haircuts were given to small Ponca boys to 

 show their clan affiliation. These are pictured by Fletcher and La 

 Flesche (1911, pp. 42-46). Each clan likewise had a stock of names, 

 both male and female, which belonged to it. Some of these alluded to 

 animals important to the clan. 



Clan exogamy was mentioned by aU informants questioned on the 

 subject. It still pertains to a degree, though breaches of the rule are 

 apparently viewed with more leniency today than in the past. Even 

 in aboriginal times intraclan liaisons took place. OK commented: 

 "In the old days a man never married a girl from his own band 

 (clan) .... Outside of marrying a girl, though, it was a different 

 story. We have a saying in our tribe 'We are related only from the 

 waist up.' " 



Localization of clans in the permanent villages is suggested by 

 Fletcher and La Flesche (1911, p. 51), describing the Ponca tribe as of 

 1874: "There were eight chiefs, each of whom had his 'band.' These 

 bands were probably composed of persons from the gens or subgens to 

 which the chief belonged." Such clan localization was not known to 

 any of my informants, though they did state that each clan had a 

 hereditary chief. There is certainly no clan localization among the 

 Ponca at present, but it is said to occur among the Omaha. 



Ponca government was of the very weak type which has sometimes 

 been termed "tribal." Decisions were made by a council of chiefs, 

 and enforced by a group called the "Buffalo-police" (because their 

 period of greatest activity came during the tribal hunts). The chiefs 

 attempted to act, at all times, in complete accordance with public 

 opinion. Lengthy councils were held in which the head chief 

 attempted to "feel out" each of the other leaders before proposing 

 a course of action. Complete, or nearly complete, unanimity was 

 necessary before any action would be taken. A chief who attempted 

 to initiate a program without nearly unanimous backing, though he 

 might not be challenged in the council, soon found himself without 

 support. 



White traders and explorers, accustomed to the hierarchical struc- 

 ture and "chain of command" of Western European government, 

 found the Indian procedures hard to understand. Military men, in 

 particular, were disgusted. James (1905 a, vol. 14, p. 313), wi-iting 

 of the Missouri tribes in general, states: "The Indian form of govern- 

 ment is not sufficiently powerful to restrain the young warriors from 

 the commission of many excesses and outrages, which continually 

 involve the nations in protracted wars . . . ." 



Even the Indians themselves realized that the usual lengthy 

 deliberations were not appropriate during the tribal hunt. Here, 

 decisions must be made and carried out swiftly, lest the entire tribe 



