Annual Powwow
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TTTJ! annual nstw vinaa . nt III
I Omaha- Indiana, which has Just
I been concluded nn their rnvrvA
Men north of Omaha In Thurs
ton county, in one of the most
Interesting events, which the dweller tn
this section has the, opportunity of witnessing-;
more interesting in fact than
many sights which people travel thousands
of miles to see. Yet , this goes by every
year and attracts no more Interest than
a camp of wandering gypsies. It is a
strange commingling of the aboriginal and
the modern, the customs of the Indian and
th' white man.
The Omaha are one of the most ad
Yanced tribes of Indians on the continent
They have their land in severalty and an
unusually large proportion of them farm
their land. They built, themselves houses,
many of them of a pretentious character,
and have adopted the dress of the white
man along with his other customs. Once
ach year, however, they pay tribute to
the old life, when the tent was their only
shelter and their abiding place wherever
they saw fit to pitch It. ' These gatherings
are designated ."pow wows," a representa-t
tion of the congregation of the old days,
when the tribe was gathered together for
eounsel. When this trme comes 'the houses
are abandoned, the tents are hauled out
and the habiliments of the old, free days
are brought from their retreats and so
far as possible the customs of years ago
are observed. -
. To the older men these annual gatherings
muHt bring a feeling of sadness, at It Is'
brought home to them that the once pow-',
erful tribe has now dwindled to about j
1,200 souls, with the' certainty that In i
few generations the full blood Omaha will
be but a memory.
The camp this year was pitched about
five miles southwest of the agency build
ing", on the crown of a high hill with a
large level space for the tents, which are
pitched In a circle. As a rule the old In
dian method of supporting the tent by
means of Interlocked poles is observed, but
the . modern dog ' tent Is not altogether
absent. The covering of skins of the old
days has been of necessity displaced by the
canvas of the. white man, for the chuse
bo longer affords the means of obtaining
the old. Many there were among those
Who assembled who could remember when
the lemonade stand, soda wntcr and other
luxuries of the white man's circus duy
wore not features of the pow-wows. The
team merry-go-round is another innova
tion of the white man which was enjoyed
Immensely by both old and young. From
the time the whlutle blew in the morning
until the fires were drawn at night the
Sons of nature patronised It liberally. That
they enjoyed it was evidenced by the con
stant laughter . of the squaws and the
grunts of satisfaction of the braves. Thore
was nothing but the dance in the big tent
which could draw them away from It.
During the day the majority who were
not patronising the merry-go-round lolled
about the tents, druased in the white man's
Clothing, talking l.irgely the white man's
language and following largely the habits
of the ordinary camper. It was only when
the drums sounded In the big tent that
the real Indlun appeared. The first symp
tom of the coming event was the gather
ing of some of the old men at the toot,
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OMAHA .INDIAN ENCAMPMENT, WUHIRE TUB ANNUAL POWWOW WAS H4LD-TUIS PICTURE SHOWS BUT ONE SIDE OF THE CIRCLE.-PUoto by a tiiatf
BOMB OP THE INDIANS .WHO TOOK PART
clad In the raiment which the Indian wore
before the reservation bound him.. These
gathered-around the drums placod In tho
center and the monotonous beating com
menced. From the tents in the great
circle gradually , came the Indians who
were to participate In the dance. They,
' too, had cast aside the fc-arb of the white
man and taken on that of the Indi-in. '
Faces were painted as of yore and feath
ers adorned the hair. Here, ngnln. It has
been impossible to entirely get nway from
the white man, though the' garb is fash
ioned after the manner of the Indian, It Is -largely
the product of the white man's
loom. The avenues for creating the old '
garb are closed with the passing of the
chose. The white man would hardly rec
ognise his handiwork In the garb which
the Indian hus fashioned from his product.
This latter change has not come . during
the lifetime of Indians now. living, for
yars and years before the coming of the
TENT WHERE
settler the trapper and the trader furnished
the Indian with these products of the white
man's industry. Under the big tent when
the dance starts the white man's languago
Is also dropped and the moUier tongue
alone Is heard, except from the Hps of the
curious onlooker.
Slowly the dancers gather and one by one
they drop into the . circle and perform
their part. The spectator may be Im
patient for the affair to start, but the In
dian is never in a hurry. He sticks to his
custom, and if the spectator does not wish
to wait he can come back later or not come
at all, for this dance Is for the pleasure of
the Indians and not given for the benefit of
the spectator. Once started he sticks to It
with a persistence unknown to his white
brother. Hour after hour the dn-ms keep
up their rhythmic beat, hour after hour the
Indian feet keep time, never seeming to
tire, accompanied continually with the
chanting songs, meaningless to the unini
tiated, but each word and movement sig
nificant of something to the participants
and the Indian onlookers.
Here to the Omaha Is the culmination of
the year's pleasures. Here is practically
all that Is left to him of the life which the
older generation cherish In memory and the
younger ones have been taught to rever-
of Omaha
IN THE DANCES. Photo by a Staff Artist.
enc-e. The glories and the trials of tho
past are retold and in memory he can see
the time when the country was peopled
only by his race and abounded with game,
which provided him with sustenance. No
reservation boundary circumscribed his
movements ar.d no s gent was near to tell
him it was time to break tip his powwow.
At the powwow which has Jurt closed 175
tents were pitched end It Is estimated that
at least three-fourths of the membership of
the tribe was present at one time. It Is
likely that few If any were not present at
some time dining its- progress. The best of
order prevailed, the policing of the camp
being In charge of Gary La Fleche, who
performed his duties in a creditable man
ner. There were a large number of visitors
during its progress, the number on the last
Sunday being especially large. Its location,
twenty-five miles from the railroad, prob
ably kept many visitors away, though the
Indian was probably no sufferer from this.
CEREMONIAL DANCE IS IfELD. Photo
He can get along fully as well. If not bet
ter, without the Influx of sightseers.
The dances of the Omaha Indians
were all ' ceremonial, and each had Its
peculiar . significance. The one which Is
now engaged at the annual powwow was
celebrated In connection with the annual
hunt on. which the tribe went each sum
mer to gather meat for fall and winter
consumption. This was one of the really
Important ceremonies of the tribe, and
was observed with even more than the
usual solemnity. In connection with it
were certain formula that were lost to
posterity by a peculiar accident. The ex
act method of opening the council that
was held prior to the beginning of the
dance was confided to one man,, the ritual
being long and Involved, requiring about
four hours to carry out and being entirely
oral. Only one man knew this, and he
was trusted to impart It to his son, or
someone designated by the elders of the
tribe to receive It Just before his death.
On one occasion, not so very many years
ago, but while the tribe was still living
In barbarism, the keeper of the secret
ritual was killed on a hunt, and the ritual
died with him. Many of the other forms
observed in connection with the hunting
dunce and council have been preserved,
and are charmingly described by Alice
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Indians
Fletcher in her "Hunting Customs of the
Omaha Indians," published in the Century
Magazine Fome years ago.
The annual hunt aiways took place after
the corn crop had been laid by. It
was a tribal offering and all the peo
ple of the village were expected to taka
part in it. After the date had been fixed
by the council it could not be changed for
any reason, as It was only determined after
the most solemn of ceremonial and was con
- sidered Irrevocable. All save the decrepit,
the sick and some who were necessarily
left behind to look after the permanent
Village, went on' the expedition. The
Omahas hunted between the Niobrara and
the Republican rivers on the north and
south and the Missouri and the Rocky
mountains on the east and west. The
hunts were conducted in strict conformity
.to well established rules, and the work was
duly apportioned among the people, so that
all had something to look after while
by a Staff Artist
away. Sometimes war parties of 81oux
from the north or Pawnees from
the south were encountered, but not fre
quently. The main occupation was to
kill, cut up and cure the meat and dress
the hides. The summer killed hides were
used for making tents, and the winter
hides for robes.
The arrangement of the village In a circle
is also significant. It runs each way from
the sacred lodge in the center, and the line
of division, though unmarked, la a sacred
boundary dividing the several gentes of the
tribe. No one who belonged on the one s'.de
could live on the other. . The little Indian
boy who happened to be sent on an errand
from one side of the circle to the other was
forcibly impressed of his trespass, but
when once they were away from the influ
ence of Mirroundings, they were friendly
enough. This dlv:lon of the tribe into
gentes or families was a marked character
istic of the North American races. In com
mon with the barbaric and ravage races
the .world around. It was observed with,
great strictness by all the Indians, but by
none so closely as among the Omahas.
Marriage within the gens was forbidden by
all, but among the Omahas marriage had
to be across the line, that la, a young man
(Continued on Page Sixteen.)
