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Definition: Pawnee from Collins English Dictionary

n

1 (pl -nees or -nee) a member of a confederacy of related North American Indian peoples, formerly living in Nebraska and Kansas, now chiefly in Oklahoma

2 the language of these peoples, belonging to the Caddoan family


Pawnee

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Member of an American Indian people who inhabited the lower Mississippi River Valley until the 17th–18th centuries when they moved to Nebraska on the Platte River after acquiring horses. Their language belongs to the Caddoan family. They adopted the buffalo-hunting lifestyle of the Plains Indian for part of the year, but maintained their traditional agricultural settlements. Their society was hierarchical, and astronomical observations dictated practical events. They fought the Dakota Sioux and worked as scouts for European settlers. The Pawnee now live on a reservation in Oklahoma and number about 2,000 (1990). Many are cattle farmers and most are Christian. Prior to European contact the Pawnee lived in the lower Mississippi River valley in villages of large, dome-shaped, earth-covered lodges that housed extended families. They grew maize (corn), squash, and beans, and made pottery. In Nebraska they maintained this culture, but used hide-covered tepees in the hunting season. Men…
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Full text Article PAWNEE

From Cassell's Peoples, Nations and Cultures Full text Article The Americas
A Native North American nation of the southern Great Plains. Sedentary farmers, hunters and gatherers, they spoke a Caddoan language. In the 17th century, until they acquired guns from FRENCH traders, they lost so many people to APACHE slave raids that their name became synonymous with ‘slave’. …
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Full text Article Pawnee

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(pônē'), Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Caddoan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages ). At one time the Pawnee lived in what is now Texas, but by 1541, when Coronado visited Quivira, they seem to have been settled in the valley of the…
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Full text Article Pawnee

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
North American Plains Indian people living mainly in Oklahoma, U.S. Their language belongs to the Caddoan language stock, and their name is derived from the Caddoan word meaning “horn,” a reference to their unique hairstyle. They once lived along the Platte River in what is now Nebraska. The Pawnee…
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Current Locations: Oklahoma Language Family: Caddoan The Pawnee may have been one of the first tribes to settle on the Plains. They had a mixed economy, reliant on both farming and hunting. The Plains were heavily contested, and many powerful tribes sparred for land and resources. The Pawnee had…
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Full text Article Pawnee

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Member of an American Indian people who inhabited the lower Mississippi River Valley until the 17th–18th centuries when they moved to Nebraska on the Platte River after acquiring horses. Their language belongs to the Caddoan family. They adopted the buffalo-hunting lifestyle of the Plains Indian for…
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Full text Article Pawnee

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Seat of Pawnee County, northeastern Oklahoma, USA, 48 km/30 mi southeast of Ponca City; population (1990) 2,200. It is situated in a traditional homeland of the Pawnee people, and many Pawnee remain in the area, along with members of the Otoe, Kaw (Kansa), Ponca, and Tonkawa groups. The Pawnee…
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Full text Article Pawnee

From Chambers Dictionary of World History
A Native American people, members of the Caddoan linguistic group, who migrated from south-eastern Texas to the Platte River in Nebraska, and lived in permanent villages there from the 16c to the late 19c. They acquired horses in the 17c and 18c, and became seasonal buffalo hunters. Although they…
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Full text Article Pawnee

From The Chambers Dictionary
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Full text Article Pawnee

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
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Full text Article Pawnee

From Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary
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