Howard] THE PONCA TRIBE 157 



"lazy stitch" technique. It may be assumed that this borrowing was 

 not limited to items of dress and personal equipment, and that other, 

 nonmaterial, traits were borrowed as well. 



With the division of the Ponca tribe into Northern and Southern 

 bands after the Removal, the situation was altered. Those Ponca 

 who chose to remain in the Indian Territory were now no longer in 

 face-to-face contact with the Dakota. Among their new neighbors in 

 the south were various Northeastern, Southeastern, and Central 

 Siouan groups whose influence cannot but have tended to reinforce or 

 revive Woodland elements in Ponca culture. Likewise certain new 

 Eastern complexes, such as the "Stomp" dance, were introduced.^* 

 New Plains elements, not of Dakota origin, were introduced as well, 

 such as the Ghost dance, Peyote religion, and Brush dance. 



In the north, the process of assimilation to Dakota cultm-e continued. 

 There was a great deal of intermarriage with the Santee and Yankton 

 Dakota, and, after the cessation of hostilities, with the Teton Dakota 

 as well. This intermarriage, of com-se, led to increased cultural ex- 

 change. Members of both bands, in discussing recent Ponca history, 

 acknowledged that the Northern Ponca had "picked up a lot of Sioux 

 ways" in the years since the Removal. This was particularly evident, 

 according to EEC, in the last Heduska dances held in the Niobrara 

 area. The Northern Ponca dancers "dressed and danced like the 

 Sioux, bending down and shaking their heads Sioux style." 



At the same time these differing tribal influences were affecting the 

 cultures of the two Ponca bands, White acculturation was proceeding 

 apace. In the preceding chapters the reader will have noted that in 

 nearly aH respects the culture of the Northern Ponca more closely 

 approximates that of the Whites than does that of the Southern band. 

 In their economy, technology, social organization, and ceremonialism, 

 the Southern Ponca have retained much more of the aboriginal pattern. 



The only striking exceptions to this general rule are in the areas of 

 traditional history and mythology, where the Northern Ponca are the 

 more conservative. The reasons for this are immediately apparent. 

 The Southern Ponca, in their new environment, were no longer 

 reminded of past events by geographic landmarks (i.e., the site of the 

 Ponca fort, the den of Wakqdagi, etc.) ; hence the stories connected 

 with these landmarks were forgotten. This was clearly demonstrated 

 to me when I was gathering data in connection with the Ponca land 

 claims litigation in 1954. It was very important, in this work, to 

 secure descriptions of the tribal domain in terms of recognizable 

 geographic landmarks. Almost aU Northern Ponca informants over 



" According to Curtis (1930, p. 214) it was Henry Snake, a Southern Ponca, who introduced the Stomp 

 dance to the Osage, Oto, Kansa, Iowa, and Cheyenne. I was present when Henry's brother, Andrew, 

 Introduced the Creek style Stomp dance among the Omaha, in 1949. 



