The North Brothers

The Pawnee who served under the Norths had their own reasons. By the mid-1800s, History Nebraska writes, the Pawnee Nation was pressed to cede land, hemmed in by settlement and under relentless attack by the Lakotas and Cheyennes, and with no good options it chose an alliance with the United States. About a thousand Pawnees served from 1864 to 1877. Tribal member Walter Echo-Hawk writes that the Scouts hold an honored place in Pawnee history and culture. An 1869 portrait of Roam Chief, Knife Chief, Charley Brave Chief and Young Chief is captioned North Bros Boys.

What the plaque says

The North Brothers The West produced many fighting men and ranking high among them are Frank and Luther North of Columbus, leaders of the legendary Pawnee Scouts. The Pawnee, located at their nearby reservation, were eager to cooperate with the Army in fighting their hereditary enemies the Sioux and Cheyenne. Organized as a fighting unit in 1864, they partici- pated in the Powder River Campaigns of 1865 and 1876-1877 and the Republican River Campaign of 1869. They also guarded the builders of the first transcontinental railroad, 1867-1869. William F. Cody, "Buffalo Bill," later Frank North's ranching partner, first became associated with him in the campaign which culminated with the battle of Summit Springs, 1869. Frank North was the commander of the Scouts and one of the West's most successful Indian fighters. The Pawnee revered him and knew him as Pani Leshar or Pawnee Chief. He was assisted on most of the campaigns by his brother Luther. The two brothers spoke Pawnee and a mutual respect and affection existed between them and the Indian soldiers. A number of other Columbus men, including Lt. Gustavus G. Becher, served as officers of the Scouts. The Pawnee moved to Oklahoma in 1875. The North Brothers lived in Columbus the remainder of their lives after having contributed a colorful chapter to the story of the West. Becher-Curry Company Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Genoa U.S. Indian School Museum — 19 mi
  The surviving trades building of a federal boarding school that ran from 1884 to 1934 on the Pawnee Nation's last Nebraska land, where at least 86 children died and the cemetery is still lost.

More markers nearby

• The Villasur Expedition, 1720 — steps away
• Andrew Jackson Higgins — 0.3 mi
• Frank Zybach - Inventor of Center-Pivot Irrigation Machine — 1.5 mi
• Agricultural Park — 1.6 mi