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Native American Tribes - P-R

 

Old West Wanted Posters

 

Index  A-B  C-D  E-K  L-M  N-O  P-R  S  T-V  X-Z

 

Paiute - Closely related to the Shoshone and Ute tribes, the two Paiute bands, the Walpapi and the Yahooskin, were known as the Snake Indians . Their  name means "the Water Ute." As a people the Paiute were initially described as peaceable, moral, and industrious, and were highly commended for their good qualities. However, this changed during the 1848 gold rush, when large numbers of whites crossed through their lands. In 1858, they allied with the Coeur d'Alene in a two year war against the whites. After two years they were defeated and Fort Churchill was erected to guard the California Trail. During the Civil War, they raided white outposts extensively. At the end of the Snake War of 1866-1867, the Snakes were forced onto a reservation in Oregon. In 1888, a prophet arose named Wavoka, who proclaimed the Ghost Dance, would return their lands. The ghost dance ritual quickly spread amoong other tribes and became so fervent that it was outlawed by the federal government. It eventually died out after culminating in the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890. Once scattered throughout the west, they now live mostly on reservations in California, Nevada, and IdahoMore ...  

 

Papago - Originally located in the desert regions of the northern Senoran Desert, the Papago are thought to be descendants of the prehistoric Hohokan Culture. These peoples were a semi-nomadic tribe that sometimes relied on farming but did not use irrigation systems. The Papago are today primarily located in three reservations in southern Arizona and continue to farm but have turned more to raising cattle as the major source of income.  Over the years, the Papago tribe has had little involvement with with white settlers, a tradition that continues today, allow them to preserve many of their aboriginal traits.

 

Passamaquoddy FlagPassamaquoddy - The Passamaquoddy nation was a member of the Wabanaki Confederacy that controlled much of New England and the Canadian Maritimes. The Passamaquoddys are original natives of the area between Maine and New Brunswick. They lived on both sides of the border before the two nations became countries.  Passamaquoddy  refers to a traditional way of catching pollock (a kind of fish) by using a spear. Fishing is still important to Passamaquoddy culture today. Now, most Passamaquoddy people live on the US side of the border, in Maine; however, one band lives in Canada.

 

Pawnee FlagPawnee - The Pawnee were a North American Plains Indian tribe who lived on the Platte River, Nebraska, from before the 16th century to the latter part of the 19th century. In the 1800's, the Pawnee tribe was composed of relatively independent bands; the Kitkehahki, Chaui, Pitahauerat, and the Skidi. Each of these were divided into villages, the basic social unit of the Pawnee people. The name, "Pawnee” comes from the native word ‘pariki; meaning ‘a horn’; referring to their scalp-lock. The Pawnee lived in large, dome shaped, earth-covering lodges. Skin teepees were used for buffalo hunts. Generally allied with the whites, they were fierce enemies with the Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, and Comanche. Often holding positions as scouts for the U.S. Army, a battalion of Pawnee were in active service from 1865 to 1885. This earned them the nickname of "Wolves" by the other tribes. They gradually lost their Nebraska lands, and were resettled in Oklahoma in 1876. The influx of white missionaries contributed to the gradual abandonment of their ancient customs and religious ceremonies. In 1970, the number of Pawnee was just under 2,000 with most of them located in Pawnee County, OklahomaMore ...

 

Penobscot - The Penobscot nation was a member of the Wabanaki Confederacy that controlled much of New England and the Canadian Maritimes. The Penobscots themselves are original natives of Maine. They still live there today, on a reservation at Indian Island.

 

Peoria - An Algonquian people, whose ancestors came from what is now Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio, their history goes back as far as once part of the Cahokia culture of Mound builders. T he name "Peoria" come from their name for themselves in the Illinois language, Peewaareewa, meaning "Comes carrying a pack on his back. Their  ancestral lands were in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Missouri, but most began to migrate into Missouri Territory by the mid 1700's.  In 1818, the Treaty of Edwardsville forced them to cede their lands in Illinois and the Treaty of Lewisville, in 1832, ceded their Missouri lands in exchange for land in Kansas, near the Osage River.

 

Disease and war drastically reduced the tribe's numbers, so the members of the Kaskaskia, Peoria, Piankeshaw, and Wea tribes formed a confederacy under the Peoria name in 1854. After the Civil War, most of the confederated tribe signed the 1867 Omnibus Treaty, which purchased land from the Quapaw tribe and relocated the majority of the tribe from Kansas to Indian Territory. Today, the federally-recognized tribe is based in Miami, Oklahoma and has more than 2800 tribal members.

 

Piankashaw - Members of the Miami Indians who lived apart from the Miami Nation, the Piankeshaw originally lived in an western Indiana and Ohio, and were closely allied with the Wea tribe. They were generally regarded as being "friendly" towards white settlers, often intermarrying with French traders and were treated as equals by residents of New France. The Piankeshaw generally sided with the Americans during the American Revolution and took no part in the Northwest Indian Wars that followed. However, they did suffer retaliation for attacks made by other native tribes, even though George Washington had issued a proclamation forbidding harm to the them.

 

Paviotso Paiute making petroglyphs

Paviotso Paiute making petroglyphs, 1924, Edward S. Curtis.

This image available for photographic prints and

 downloads HERE!

   

 

 

During the late 18th century, the Piankeshaw population began to decline with many leaving and joining other Miami tribes and others joining tribes aligned with the British. Despite their overall good relations with the United States, some Piankeshaw did not like the new settlers and participated with tribes in attacks on Americans. This led to increasing tension among many of the remaining tribe, who joined the Wea and Kaskaskia tribes. By 1818, Piankeshaw Chief Chekommia signed a treaty selling rights to much of their land, because their numbers had been reduced to such an extent that there were not enough of them to use the land.

Piegan - Today, the Piegan Indians, or Pikuni branch of the Blackfoot Indians, numbering about 6,000, primarily reside on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation in Montana. Part of the Blackfoot Confederacy, the word "Piegan” or "Pikuni” means "people having badly dressed robes.”  When white settlers began to push westward, the Piegan were the southernmost tribe of the Blackfoot, roaming through the Rocky Mountains on the south side of Marias River of Montana and along  both banks of the Missouri River. Despite their name, they were known for their beautiful craftwork designs in their tepees, clothing, weapons and riding equipment. Most exceptional were their war bonnets. Their reservations was established in 1855 when they were estimated to have numbered about 2,500. Like other tribes who were moved to reservations, their population fell to just a little more than 2,000 by the turn of the century.

Pima - First called the Pima Indians by exploring Spaniards who encountered them in the 1600s, these early Americans called themselves "O'Odham," the River people.  The Piman peoples, who live in the Senoran Desert region are descendants of the prehistoric Hohokan Culture. They were some of the first inhabitants to turn the desert into profitable farming ground with their many miles of irrigation canals for corn, beans, squash, kidney beans, tobacco, and cotton. Unusual among the Indian tribes, men did the farming and also wove cotton on looms, but the women made the clothing from it. They lived in oval lodges covered in grass and mud over a superstructure of poles. Each village had a chief who was responsible for overseeing cultivation and defense, mainly against raids by the Apache. The tribal chief was elected from their number. In the 17th century the Spanish began to impose their rule on the Pima, including taxation, which resulted in a revolt in 1695. However, they were quickly suppressed and many of them fled to their northern Pima lands. A larger revolt in 1751 was also put down. The United States acquired Pima territory in 1853 with the Gadsden Purchase, which saw an influx of white farmers, causing most of the Pima in the region to move to the Salt River area, where they were set up with a reservation. Today they live along the Gila and Salt Rivers near Phoenix, Arizona  

Pit River - The Pit River Indian tribe traditionally occupied lands along the Pit River in the far northeastern part of California, which included Mount Shasta and Lassen Peak to the Warner Range. The tribe is made up of 11 bands including the Achomawi, Aporidge, Astariwawi, Atsuge, Atwamsini, Hanhawi, Hewisedawi, Ilmawi, Itsatawi, Kosalextawi, and Madesi and spoke the languages of Achumawi and Atsugewi, a branch of the greater Hokan linguistic family. Like other northern California Indians, they lived by hunting, gathering and fishing, with their main foods being fish, acorns, grasshoppers, plants, and small animals. In the mid-19th century, they numbered about 3,000. Today there are around 1,800 tribal members living on a number of rancherias and on the Pit River, Round Valley and X-L Ranch reservations.

Ponca - A Siouan tribe of Nebraska, the Ponca were closely related to the Omaha, Osage, Kansa, and Quapah. The Ponca built their villages on both sides of the Niobrara River on the boundary between South Dakota and Nebraska. The Ponca sometimes lived with the Omaha, whose language is essentially the same. Their name, Ponka, means "Sacred Head." They practiced farming in permanent villages, but in other respects they were plains Indians. In 1876 the Ponca were relocated to Oklahoma. Many Ponca returned to their native land on the Niobrara River. Today there are Ponca reservations in both Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Poosepatuck - Also called Uncachogee, they were one of the 13 tribes of Long Island, New York, probably subordinate to the Montauk. They occupied the south shore from Patchogue Island to the Shinnecock country. In 1666 a 50 acre reservation was ceded to their leader, Tobaccus, on Forge River, a short distance above the town of Mastic. Currently the Poosepatuck Reservation has five core families and a population of approximately twohundred fifty.

Potawatomi Flag Potawatomie - An Algonquian tribe, their name is a translation of the Ojibwe "potawatomink" meaning "people of the place of fire."  The Potawatomis are original residents of what is now Michigan state, but b efore they came to the Great Lakes region they had been a branch of a single nation with the Anishinaabe and the Ottawa. As more Indian tribes were forced westward into the Michigan and Wisconsin area, many Potawatomi people migrated into other parts of the Midwest, including Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Ontario, Canada. They now have a reservation in Kansas and lands in Oklahoma , but communities still exist in Wisconsin and Michigan. More ...

Powhatans - The Powhatans were original residents of what is now Virginia, where they famously interacted with the Jamestown colony. British attacks drove them northward, and most of the surviving descendants currently live in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  The Powhatan Indians all speak English today as their original language has long been lost.

Zia PuebloPueblo - The Pueblo, which is Spanish for "town or village," are one of the oldest cultures in the U.S. Archaeologists have traced back their civilization 2000 years, but their ancestors, the Anasazi can be traced back 7000 years. The Pueblo peoples comprise a number of southwest tribes who share a culture centered about the pueblo, a village composed of mud and stone structures formed like irregular apartments. Many of these structures had no doors or windows and could only be entered from above by ladders, making them particularly well suited to military defense. The tribes that make up this cultural group are diverse with respect to language. The pueblo tribes are the Hopi and Zuni on the Colorado plateau, and by the Rio Grande, the Piro, Tewa, Tiwa, Towa, and Keres. The Pueblo Indians are best known for their agricultural skills, having cultivated corn, or maise, for thousands of years. The Spanish encountered the Pueblo people as early as 1539. When the Spanish founded Santa Fe In 1610 they put all the Pueblos under their authority. When the Keres rebelled, they were brutally dealt with. However, when the Spanish attempted to suppress the Pueblo peoples' religion, the Indians fought back enmasse in 1680 and were able to force the Spanish to withdraw from Santa Fe. It would be another twelve years before the Spanish were able to recapture Santa Fe. This time, the Spanish relaxed their demands.  It was during this period, the Pueblos became the first Indians to acquire horses, which soon spread across the plains, changing the native way of life. Many Pueblo Indians still live at century old pueblos including Taos, Isleta, Jemez, San Juan, San Ildefonso, and six others.  More ...

Quapaw - A  Siouan tribe, closely related to the Kansa, Omaha, Osage, and Ponca, their name translates to "Downstream People," so called from a tradition that they went down the Missouri River while the rest of the Sioux went upriver. The Quapaw people historically resided on the west side of the Mississippi River in what is now the state of Arkansas. They are  identical with the Arkansa Nation. When they were encountered by the DeSoto expedition (1539-43), they were living in a fortified, walled city. In the larger villages, well crafted lodges were seen with most people living in long houses with domed roofs covered in bark. They practiced extensive agriculture, and in art, they were particularly noted for their pottery designs. Ironically, the Quapaw and French had an amicable relationship, for the French were usually at war with most other native tribes. In 1833, the Quapaw signed were forced out of Arkansas , relocating to Oklahoma where they remain today.

 

Quinault - One of the few Indian tribes that continue to live upon their native lands, the Quinault are located on the Pacific coast of Washington , primarily in northwestern Grays Harbor County. Like many Northwest Coast Indians , Quinault relied on fishing from local rivers and the Pacific Ocean, hunting, and berry picking for food. The lived in long wooden houses situated up and down the Quinault River and also used the forest trees for making canoes and bark for clothing. The tribe remained isolated from white settlers until they were first visited by a Spanish vessel in 1775. Lewis and Clark also came in contact with them during their famed expedition in 1803. By the 1820s, more and more white trappers, traders and settlers began to visit and make their homes in the area and before long, fishing and lumber communities dotted the region. The the Quinault were initially friendly, friction began to occur as the new settlers heavily utilized the area resources. In January, 1856, a treaty was signed to create a 10,000 acre reservation that included not only the Quinault but other area tribes including the 

Quileute, Queets, and Hoh. Wanting to accommodate more coastal tribes, including the Chehalis, Chinook, and Cowlitz, the government expanded the reservation by some 200,000 acres in 1873.

Today, the Quinault Indian Nation accommodates about 1,400 residents, operates a casino and seaside resort at Ocean Shores and a high-quality seafood packing business at Taholah, Washington.

 

Rappahannock - In 1607, the Rappahannock were the dominant tribe of the Rappahannock River valley, maintaining thirteen villages along the north and south banks of the river that bears their name. The Rappahannock People first met Captain John Smith at their capital town "Topahanocke" on the banks of the river bearing their name, in December 1607. In an effort to solidify their tribal government in order to fight the state for their recognition, the Rappahannocks incorporated in 1921.In 1998, they elected the first woman chief to lead in Virginia since the 1700s, Chief G. Anne Richardson. Currently, the tribe is working on acquiring Federal Recognition, with six other Virginia Tribes.

Ree - See Arikara

Rogue River - A Native American group originally located in southern Oregon. This was not a single tribe, but rather group of tribes that French Canadian employees of the Hudson Bay Company called "coquins," meaning "rogues." The principal tribes commonly grouped under the generic name of Rogue River Indians were the Takelma, Shasta and different subtribes of the Coquille. After the Rogue River Wars in 1856, bands of the Rogue River were split between the Confederated Tribes of Siletz and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, relocating to either the Siletz Indian Reservation north of the tribe's traditional lands or to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation.

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