Pawnee Villages

The plaque's head chief shares his name with a more famous man, and older histories often merged them. The best known Petalesharo, a Skidi (Ckiri) Pawnee born about 1797, freed a Comanche captive from the Morning Star sacrifice around 1817 and met President Monroe in Washington in 1821. He died about 1836 in a fight with the Cheyenne near the Platte, long before these villages. The later Petalesharo was head chief of the Grand Pawnee, the Chaui, into the 1860s. Leshara, a Saunders County village founded in 1905, takes its name from a Petalesharo who lived in the area.

What the plaque says

Pawnee Villages Before the Pawnee Indians were placed on a reservation, they located their last earth lodge villages on these nearby bluffs. Pa-hŭk' hill, one of the five sacred places of the Pawnee, was also near here. The villages were occupied from 1850 to 1859 by the Skidi, Tappage and Grand bands led by head chief Petalesharo. The Republican band lived some distance upstream. The Pawnee once numbered more than 10,000 people and were recorded in history as early as 1541. Often harassed by the Sioux, they erected sod walls to protect their villages. The Pawnee were friendly toward whites, and some later served as army scouts. By 1833 the tribe had given up all of its land north of the Platte River. General John M. Thayer and O. D. Richardson, representing Territorial Governor Izard, held a conference with the tribe here in 1855. In 1857 the Indians signed the Treaty of Table Creek, ceding the rest of their land to the whites. In return they received a reservation along the Loup River near present-day Genoa. In 1875 the Pawnee moved south to Indian Territory, ending their settlement in Nebraska. Historical Land Mark Council

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Fremont, Nebraska — 2.4 mi
• The Great Platte River Route West — 4.9 mi
• Platte River History — 5.0 mi
• Dodge County Poor Farm — 7.0 mi