Native American Facts For Kids was written for young people learning about the Ponca Indian
tribe for school or home-schooling reports. We encourage students
and teachers to visit our Ponca language and
culture
pages for more in-depth information
about the tribe, but here are our answers to the questions we are most often asked by children, with
Ponca pictures and links we believe are suitable for all ages.
How do you pronounce the word "Ponca"? What does it mean?
It's pronounced "pong-kah," and it was the name of a tribal town.
Where do the Poncas live?
The Ponca Indians are original people of original people of Nebraska
and South Dakota.
The Northern Poncas are still living in Nebraska today, but the Southern Poncas were forced to move to a reservation in Oklahoma during the
1800's.
How is the Ponca Indian nation organized?
The Omahas live on a reservation, which is land that belongs to them and is under their control.
The Omaha Nation has its own government, laws,
police, and services, just like a small country. However, the Omahas are also US citizens and must obey American law.
In the past, each Omaha band was led by a chief who was chosen by a tribal council. Today, the Omaha tribe is governed
by a chairman and councilmembers who are elected by all the tribal members.
What language do the Ponca Indians speak?
Most Ponca people speak English today. However, many Poncas, especially elders, also speak their native
Omaha-Ponca language,
which they shared with the neighboring Omaha tribe.
If you'd like to know an easy Ponca word, "aho" (pronounced ah-hoe) is a friendly greeting.
What was Ponca culture like in the past? What is it like now?
Here's a link to the homepage of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska.
On their site you can find information about the Ponca people in the past and today.
How do Ponca Indian children live, and what did they do in the past?
They do the same things all children do--play with each other, go to school and help around the house.
Many Ponca children like to go hunting and fishing with their fathers. In the past, Indian kids had more
chores and less time to play in their daily lives, just like colonial children. But they did have
dolls, toys, and games to play.
Here is a picture of a hoop game
played by Plains Indian kids.
A Ponca mother traditionally carried a young child in a
cradleboard
on her back--a custom which many American parents have
adopted now.
What were men and women's roles in the Ponca tribe?
Ponca men were hunters and sometimes went to war to protect their families. Ponca women were farmers
and also did most of the child care and cooking.
Only men became Ponca chiefs, but both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine.
What were Ponca homes like in the past?
The Hidatsa Indians lived in settled villages of round earthen lodges. Hidatsa lodges were made from wooden frames
covered with packed earth. When Hidatsa men went on hunting trips, they often used small buffalo-hide
tipis (or teepees) as temporary shelter, similar to camping tents.
Here are some pictures of lodges, tepees, and other Indian houses.
Today, Native Americans only put up a tepee for fun or to connect with their heritage, not for housing.
Most Poncas live in modern houses and apartment buildings, just like you.
What was Ponca clothing like? Did the Poncas wear feather headdresses and face paint?
Ponca women wore long deerskin dresses.
Ponca men wore breechcloths with leather leggings
and buckskin shirts. The Poncas wore moccasins
on their feet, and in cold weather, they wore long buffalo-hide robes.
A Ponca lady's dress or warrior's shirt was fringed and often decorated with porcupine quills, beadwork,
and white ermine fur. Later, Ponca people adapted European costume such as cloth dresses and vests, which they also decorated
with quillwork and fancy beading.
Here is a site about the symbolism of Plains Indian war shirts,
and some photos and links
about Indian clothes in general.
Ponca Indian leaders sometimes wore the long
warbonnets that Plains Indians are famous for,
but feather caps were more traditional. Omaha women usually wore their hair in two long braids.
Some Ponca men wore their hair long, like most of their Plains Indian neighbors. Others, especially warriors, shaved their heads
except for a scalplock (one long lock of hair on top of their heads) and wore a
porcupine roach.
The Poncas wore tribal tattoos and also painted their faces for special occasions.
They used different patterns for war paint, religious ceremonies, and festive decoration.
Today, some Ponca people still have moccasins or a buckskin dress, but they
wear modern clothes like jeans instead of breechcloths...
and they only wear traditional regalia on special occasions like a wedding or a dance.
What was Ponca transportation like in the days before cars? Did they paddle canoes?
No--the Ponca Indians weren't coastal people, and when they traveled by river, they usually built bowl-shaped rafts out of
willow rods and buffalo hide. Over land, the Poncas used dogs pulling travois (a kind of drag sled) to
help them carry their belongings. There were no horses in North America
until colonists brought them over from Europe.
What was Ponca food like in the days before supermarkets?
The Ponca Indians were farming people. Ponca women worked together to harvest crops of corn, beans, squash, and pumpkins.
Men hunted deer and small game, fished in the rivers and lakes, and took part in seasonal buffalo hunts.
What were Ponca weapons and tools like in the past?
Ponca hunters used bows and arrows. In war, Ponca men fired their bows or fought with
war clubs and hide shields.
What other Native Americans did the Ponca tribe interact with?
The Omahas traded regularly with other tribes of the Great Plains and the Western Plateau, especially the
Pawnee and
Wichita.
These tribes usually communicated using the Plains Sign Language.
The Poncas also fought wars with other tribes. Plains Indian tribes treated war differently than
European countries did. They didn't fight over territory but instead to prove their courage, and so Plains Indian war parties
rarely fought to the death or destroyed each other's villages. Instead, their war customs included
counting coup (touching an opponent in battle without harming him),
stealing an enemy's weapon or horse, or forcing the other tribe's warriors to retreat.
Some tribes the Poncas frequently fought with included the
Pawnees and
Dakotas.
What kinds of stories do the Poncas tell?
There are lots of traditional Ponca legends and fairy tales. Storytelling is very important to the
Ponca Indian culture. I do not know of any Ponca legends available online, but this Omaha Indian legend, about
a two-faced ogre, is similar to one told by the Poncas.
The Omaha and Ponca Indians are kinfolk, and many of their traditional stories are similar.
What about Ponca religion?
Sorry, but we cannot help you with religious information. Religions are too complicated and culturally sensitive to describe appropriately
in only a few simple sentences, and we strongly want to avoid misleading anybody. You can visit this site to learn more about
Ponca religious traditions or this site about
American Indian religion in general.
Can you recommend a good book for me to read?
If you want to know more about Ponca culture and history, an excellent source is
The Ponca Tribe.
For a more dramatic read,
Standing Bear Is a Person and
Standing Bear and the Ponca Chiefs are two
good books about the Ponca leader Standing Bear and his successful human rights court case establishing the legal personhood of American Indians.
You can also browse through our reading list of recommended Native American books in general.
How do I cite your website in my bibliography?
You will need to ask your teacher for the format he or she wants you to use. Our names are Laura Redish and
Orrin Lewis and the title of our site is Native Languages of the Americas. The site was first created in 1998 and last updated in 2007.
Thanks for your interest in the Ponca Indian people and their language!
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