Created in 1893 from Cherokee Outlet. For the tribal name corrupted from "Pariki" meaning horn and refers to the tribal custom of dressing the scalp locks to resemble a buffalo horn.

Clerk of Courts has marriage records from 1893, divorce, civil court records from 1894, probate records from 1911.

Pawnee County
County Courthouse
Pawnee, OK 47058
918-762-3741

The Pawnee Nation has a long and proud history going back more than 700 years. At one time, early in the 19th century, there were more than 10,000 members of the Pawnee Nation along the North Platte River in Nebraska.

The Pawnee villages consisted of dome shaped, earth covered lodges with a diameter of 25 to 60 feet with a long entrance leading toward the east. A center pit dug three to four feet in diameter served as a fireplace for the extended families that lived there.

Before the middle of the 19th century, the tribe was stricken with smallpox and cholera. Because of this great loss of life, by 1900, the tribe's membership had decreased to 600.

The Pawnees were well known for their ability to raid neighboring tribes and acquire their horses, especially from the tribes to the south and southwest. Horses gave the Pawnees the mobility that made them a name to be feared by their enemies.

Although the Pawnees never waged open war against the U.S. Government and were classified as a "friendly nation," extra privileges were not gained.

The government felt the need to placate warring tribes with gifts, which sometimes consisted of rifles to hunt buffalo. These rifles were in turn used against the Pawnees, who were not so fortunately armed.

Nevertheless, the Pawnee warriors were men of courage and great endurance. Even when outnumbered and outgunned, they fought valiantly. Some of these warrior's feats were considered legendary.

One exemplary leader, Chief Crooked Hand of the Skidi Band, arose from bed to muster the old men, women and boys and led a charge to defend their home. Although outnumbered two to one, they outfought a superior armed enemy and drove them away.

Pawnees dressed like other Plains tribes. However, the Pawnees had a special way of preparing their hair by dressing a scalp lock with buffalo fat until it stood up and curved backward like a horn.

The Pawnees unwillingly ceded their lands to the U.S. Government in 1833, 1848, 1857 and 1872. The move from Nebraska to what is now Pawnee Country in Oklahoma was completed in 1875. The Pawnee Indian Agency was established just east of the present site of the city of Pawnee in Oklahoma, and an Indian boarding school called Pawnee Industrial School was built. The school, affectionately known as "Gravy U," was closed in 1958 and the land was returned to the tribe in 1968. Many of the old "Gravy U" buildings have been renovated and are now used as tribal as tribal offices.

Today, the tribal enrollment numbers about 2,500 members, and Pawnees can be found in many walks of life in all areas of the United States as well as in other countries of the world. Pawnees take much pride in their ancestral heritage. They are noted in history for their tribal religion, rich in myth, symbolism and elaborate rites.

Information for this article comes from the Native American Cultures Resource Handbook of the Kansas Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission, Suzanne Heck, editor.

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Debbie Reynolds House

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