Howard] THE PONCA TRIBE 133 



of the travelers who journeyed up the Missouri found Ponca visiting 

 in the Teton villages. Maximilian (1906, vol. 22, p. 160), for example, 

 mentions a young Ponca named Ho-ta-ma, among the Dakota at Fort 

 Pierre: "Frequently he was seen with his comrades playing what was 

 called the hoop game, at which sticks covered with leather are thrown 

 at a hoop in motion." 



From about 1850 on, however, the Teton became increasingly 

 belligerent. After the Ponca settled on theu- reservation, in 1858, 

 the Teton found it quite convenient to raid them. This situation 

 was made considerably worse by the Sioux Treaty of 1868, in which 

 the United States, by error, ceded to the Dakota the reservation which 

 had been guaranteed to the Ponca. Young Dakota braves who were 

 seeking war honors now had a good excuse for attacking the Ponca — 

 the Ponca were intruders on Dakota territory! Their raiding was 

 intensified until the Ponca could scarcely venture outside their villages 

 to till their land. It was this situation which finally prompted the 

 Federal Government to remove the Ponca to the Indian Territory. 



The Santee Dakota, who became neighbors of the Ponca following 

 the Minnesota Uprising of 1862, and now occupy a small reservation 

 adjoining that of the Northern Ponca, were apparently friendly with 

 the Ponca from the first. The Teton recognized this fact, and when 

 they raided the Ponca they often shot up the Santee settlement just 

 for good measure. Kelations between the Northern Ponca and the 

 Santee are very good at the present time and there has been a great 

 deal of intermarriage and cultural exchange through the years. 



The Ponca were, of course, familiar with many other tribes with 

 whom contacts were less extensive than for those listed above. PLC 

 and Dave Little-cook (a Southern Ponca) supplied the following list 

 of tribes with which the Ponca were acquainted. 



English name Ponca name Translation of Ponca name 



Arapaho Maxpiato Blue cloud. 



Arikara PdSi-plza Sand Pawnee. 



Blackf oot Si-s&be Black foot. 



Caddo Pdode 



Cherokee TsSdJkl (Ponca version of the English name 



for the tribe — used only by the 

 Southern Ponca.) 



Cheyenne Sahieda (Ponca version of the Dakota name 



for this tribe — meaning "Red 

 speakers," i.e., People of an alien 

 [non-Siouan] speech.) 



Comanche Padgkd, (Believed by some Omaha and 



Ponca to have to do with the 

 head, or hairdress.) 



Dakota (Sioux) 84 



Santee Dakota Isq-atH (Pon ca version of the Dakota name 



for the Eastern Dakota, meaning 

 "Dwellers at the knife.") 

 718-071-^65 10 



