28 Nebraskaland • October 2025
nce numbering 60,000 strong,
the Pawnee people lived in
the Loup, North Platte and
Republican river basins in present-day
Nebraska and northern Kansas. They
were semi-nomadic people, hunters
and gatherers for parts of the year and
cultivators during the growing season.
In spring, the Pawnee lived in
permanent cities and focused their
energies on tending crops such as
corn, beans and squash — known as
the "three sisters." In June, hunters
traveled west to the High Plains, where
they spent the summer in mobile
tipis, to follow the bison herds that
roamed the prairies by the millions.
In late summer, they returned to their
respective villages to harvest crops,
and in late October or November, the
hunters left again for the winter hunt.
The Pawnee returned to their dome-
Nebraska gardeners
replenish ancestral foods
Story and photos by Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
O
THE PAWNEE
SEED SAVERS
Miller, Alfred Jacobs. "Pawnee Running Buffalo." 1858-1860. Watercolor.
8 1/4 x 11 11/16 in. Commissioned by William T. Walters.
