Pawnee Nation

The Pawnees have appeared in many historical documents, from early Spanish accounts and journals of American explorers and adventurers to fascinating accounts of daily life by Quaker agents and Presbyterian missionaries during the nineteenth century. In recent years, Pawnee activists have taken the lead in the repatriation struggle and have fought for respectful burials of their ancestors' remains. This is the first comprehensive bibliography of the Pawnees, examining a wide spectrum of books and journals on Pawnee history, culture, and ethnology. Chapters are devoted to topics such as: Pawnee archaeology and anthropology, Myths and legends, Social organization, Material culture, Music and dance, Religion, Education, Repatriation. Entries are thoroughly annotated and evaluated, making this up-to-date research tool essential for historians, ethnologists, and other Pawnee researchers.

The Pawnees have appeared in many historical documents, from early Spanish accounts and journals of American explorers and adventurers to fascinating accounts of daily life by Quaker agents and Presbyterian missionaries during the nineteenth century. In recent years, Pawnee activists have taken the lead in the repatriation struggle and have fought for respectful burials of their ancestors' remains.

Library Journal

At the time they came in contact with the Spanish and the French, the Pawnee resided on territory that included portions of what are now Kansas and Nebraska. Like many other tribes, the Pawnee were eventually forced by the U.S. government to move to a reservation in what became Oklahoma. Boughter (history, Univ. of Nebraska, Omaha) has produced a valuable research tool focusing on Pawnee history and culture that includes 1,307 entries divided into 27 subject-specific chapters, most accompanied by descriptive, critical annotations. The chapters titled "Archaeology and Anthropology" and "Graves Protection and Repatriation" are particular strengths. Indexes of subjects and of authors and editors provide access to entries that could have been assigned to a number of different chapters. Bottom Line Recommended for academic libraries supporting programs in Native American Studies and for public libraries located in the ancestral or present-day homelands of the Pawnee. John Burch, Campbellsville Univ. Lib., KY Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Judith Boughter is an instructor in the Department of History at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She is a Fellow of the Center for Great Plains Studies.