Pahuk
Encyclopedia
Pahuk, also written Pahaku, or Pahuk Hill, is a bluff on the Platte River
in eastern Nebraska
in the United States
. In the traditional Pawnee religion, it was one of five dwellings of spirit animals with miraculous powers. The Pawnee occupied three villages near Pahuk in the decade prior to their removal to the Pawnee Reservation
on the Loup River
in 1859.
Pahuk is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
.
name "Pahuk" is generally translated as "hill island". The accent is on the second syllable; the vowel in the first syllable is pronounced like the "a" in "father"; and the "u" is pronounced short, as in "us".
More recently, the name has often been rendered "Pahaku".
In the Pawnee traditional religion, the supreme being Tirawa conferred miraculous powers on certain animals. These spirit animals, the nahurac, act as Tirawa's messengers and servants, and can intercede with him on behalf of the Pawnee.
The nahurac had five underground lodges, of which Pahuk was one. The others were Lalawakohtito, or "dark island", an island in the Platte near present-day Central City, Nebraska
; Ahkawitakol, or "white bank", on the Loup River
opposite the mouth of the Cedar River in what is now Nance County, Nebraska
; Pahur
, or "hill that points the way", a bluff south of the Republican River
near its namesake Guide Rock, Nebraska
; and Kitzawitzuk, translated "water on a bank", a spring on the bank of the Solomon River
near Glen Elder, Kansas
, also known to the Pawnee as Pahowa, but generally called today by its Kaw
name of Waconda Spring
.
The nahurac who met at Pahuk were regarded as the most powerful. They figure in two of the Pawnee tales recounted by George Bird Grinnell
. In "A Story of Faith", a young doctor is poisoned by a rival. Sick and miserable, he wanders until he unwittingly arrives at Pahuk. He is brought into the lodge, but before the doctor animals there will essay to cure him, they send him to the other four nahurac dwellings. At all of these, the doctors admit that curing him is beyond their powers, and acknowledge the leadership of those at Pahuk. The man is then returned to Pahuk, where the doctors cure him and instruct him in their secrets. He returns to his home, where he uses the magic he has learned to destroy the doctor who poisoned him, pouring his enemy's flesh and blood into the river to feed the nahurac.
In "The Boy who was Sacrificed", a man sacrifices his dearly-loved son to Tirawa, killing the boy with a knife and throwing him into the Platte. The boy's corpse drifts downstream to Pahuk, where the kingfisher
messenger of the nahurac finds him and implores the spirit animals to restore him to life. The nahurac of Pahuk send the messenger to the other four lodges to ask what should be done with the boy; but the animals there are unable to make the decision, and it is left to the nahurac at Pahuk. Petitioned earnestly by the messenger bird, they bring the boy back to life, then teach him their secrets. He returns to his village and becomes a great doctor.
In a Pawnee creation story recounted by Mari Sandoz
, the first people and animals awoke from a sleep underground, and emerged onto the earth's surface through a hole on Pahuk.
attack with a sod wall. The Chaui (Grand Pawnee) were in a village at the Leshara Site, about four miles southeast of the Skidi, near present-day Leshara, Nebraska
. A third village, probably of the Kitkehahki (Republican Pawnee) was located on the south bank of the Platte west of the Skidi.
In 1857, the Pawnee, under pressure from white settlers and Sioux attacks, signed a treaty giving up all claims to land in Nebraska in exchange for a reservation
on the Loup River
in present-day Nance County, Nebraska
. In 1859, the Mormon
settlers of the town of Genoa
on the reservation were evicted, and an agency built there. In that same year, the Pawnee left the villages near Pahuk for their summer buffalo hunt; shortly after they had departed, the villages were burned, either by Sioux raiders or by settlers. The destruction of the villages and the hope of obtaining government protection from the Sioux drove the Pawnee to leave the Platte and move to the reservation.
In 1858, the Nebraska Territorial Legislature
, meeting in Florence
, voted to move the territorial capital from Omaha
to Pahuk, which they dubbed "Capitol Hill", and on which they proposed to build a capital city named Neapolis. Although a majority of the members of the legislature had been present at the Florence session, Governor William Alexander Richardson
refused to recognize its actions, on the grounds that it had not met at Omaha, the legitimate seat of government. The nascent Neapolis community was soon abandoned.
Pahuk was claimed by homesteaders
in 1868. Its name was given to Pohocco Precinct
, organized in about 1869, although the bluff did not actually lie within the precinct.
. The application was approved in 1973. By then, it was the only one of the five nahurac sites that had not been destroyed or significantly damaged.
In the 1980s, the Gilberts placed a conservation easement
on their property. The existence of the easement and Pahuk's sanctity to the Pawnee were factors cited in the 2005 decision by the Nebraska Department of Roads
not to reroute U.S. Highway 77 west of Fremont
in the course of converting it into an expressway
between Lincoln
and Norfolk, Nebraska
.
In 2008, Pat and Nancy Shanahan, who farmed the land atop the bluff, created a conservation easement to protect their 257 acres (104 ha) from development. Four representatives of the Pawnee tribe traveled from Oklahoma to Nebraska for the dedication ceremony.
Apart from its historic and religious significance, Pahuk is of interest to biologists, as lying near the westernmost point in the Platte Valley distribution of a number of eastern woodland plant species, including bitternut hickory
, black walnut, American linden
, and Dutchman's breeches.
Platte River
The Platte River is a major river in the state of Nebraska and is about long. Measured to its farthest source via its tributary the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which in turn is a tributary of the Mississippi River which flows to...
in eastern Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In the traditional Pawnee religion, it was one of five dwellings of spirit animals with miraculous powers. The Pawnee occupied three villages near Pahuk in the decade prior to their removal to the Pawnee Reservation
Pawnee Reservation
The Pawnee Reservation in Nebraska was located on the Loup River in Platte and Nance counties in mid-central Nebraska. The Kawarakis Pawnees, the ancestors of the Chaui, Kitkehahki, and Pitahawirata Bands, settled in southeastern Nebraska in approximately 900....
on the Loup River
Loup River
The Loup River is a tributary of the Platte River, approximately long, in central Nebraska in the United States. The river drains a sparsely populated rural agricultural area on the eastern edge of the Great Plains southeast of the Sandhills...
in 1859.
Pahuk is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Description
Pahuk was defined by erosion of the Platte River and tributary gullies into the plain south of the river. The north side of the bluff is a near-vertical face rising 150 feet (45.7 m) from the river. The east and west sides are delimited by deep and steep-sided gullies about 1000 feet (304.8 m) apart. The ground dips slightly to the south; there is a gentle rise about 40 feet (12.2 m) high near the bluff edge, making Pahuk the highest point for several miles in any direction.Pawnee tradition
The PawneePawnee language
The Pawnee language is a Caddoan language spoken by some Pawnee Native Americans now located in north central Oklahoma. Their traditional historic lands were along the Platte River in what is now Nebraska. Once the language of thousands of Pawnees, today Pawnee is spoken by a shrinking number of...
name "Pahuk" is generally translated as "hill island". The accent is on the second syllable; the vowel in the first syllable is pronounced like the "a" in "father"; and the "u" is pronounced short, as in "us".
More recently, the name has often been rendered "Pahaku".
In the Pawnee traditional religion, the supreme being Tirawa conferred miraculous powers on certain animals. These spirit animals, the nahurac, act as Tirawa's messengers and servants, and can intercede with him on behalf of the Pawnee.
The nahurac had five underground lodges, of which Pahuk was one. The others were Lalawakohtito, or "dark island", an island in the Platte near present-day Central City, Nebraska
Central City, Nebraska
Central City is a city in Merrick County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Grand Island, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,998 at the 2000 census...
; Ahkawitakol, or "white bank", on the Loup River
Loup River
The Loup River is a tributary of the Platte River, approximately long, in central Nebraska in the United States. The river drains a sparsely populated rural agricultural area on the eastern edge of the Great Plains southeast of the Sandhills...
opposite the mouth of the Cedar River in what is now Nance County, Nebraska
Nance County, Nebraska
-History:The land that comprises Nance County was originally part of the Pawnee Reservation, created in 1857 when the Pawnee Indians signed a treaty with the United States ceding its lands in exchange for the reservation. After the state of Nebraska was admitted into the Union, the state government...
; Pahur
Guide Rock (hill)
Guide Rock, whose Pawnee name is Pa-hur or Pahur, is a hill in south central Nebraska in the United States. In the traditional Pawnee religion, it was one of five dwelling places of spirit animals with miraculous powers....
, or "hill that points the way", a bluff south of the Republican River
Republican River
The Republican River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, flowing through the U.S. states of Nebraska and Kansas.-Geography:...
near its namesake Guide Rock, Nebraska
Guide Rock, Nebraska
Guide Rock is a village in Webster County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 245 at the 2000 census. The town was the first settlement in Webster County, with the first white settlers arriving in 1870. The town was named after Guide Rock, a hill on the opposite bank of the Republican River...
; and Kitzawitzuk, translated "water on a bank", a spring on the bank of the Solomon River
Solomon River
The Solomon River, often referred to as the "Solomon Fork", is a river in the central Great Plains of North America. The entire length of the river lies in the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a tributary of the Smoky Hill River.-Names:...
near Glen Elder, Kansas
Glen Elder, Kansas
Glen Elder is a city in Mitchell County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 445.-Geography:Glen Elder is located at...
, also known to the Pawnee as Pahowa, but generally called today by its Kaw
Kaw (tribe)
The Kaw Nation are an American Indian people of the central Midwestern United States. The tribe known as Kaw have also been known as the "People of the South wind", "People of water", Kansa, Kaza, Kosa, and Kasa. Their tribal language is Kansa, classified as a Siouan language.The toponym "Kansas"...
name of Waconda Spring
Waconda Spring
Waconda Spring, or Great Spirit Spring, was a natural artesian spring located in Mitchell County, near the towns of Glen Elder and Cawker City in the U.S. state of Kansas. It was a sacred site for Native American tribes of the Great Plains and, for a time, became the site of a health spa for...
.
The nahurac who met at Pahuk were regarded as the most powerful. They figure in two of the Pawnee tales recounted by George Bird Grinnell
George Bird Grinnell
George Bird Grinnell was an American anthropologist, historian, naturalist, and writer. Grinnell was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in 1870 and a Ph.D. in 1880. Originally specializing in zoology, he became a prominent early conservationist and student...
. In "A Story of Faith", a young doctor is poisoned by a rival. Sick and miserable, he wanders until he unwittingly arrives at Pahuk. He is brought into the lodge, but before the doctor animals there will essay to cure him, they send him to the other four nahurac dwellings. At all of these, the doctors admit that curing him is beyond their powers, and acknowledge the leadership of those at Pahuk. The man is then returned to Pahuk, where the doctors cure him and instruct him in their secrets. He returns to his home, where he uses the magic he has learned to destroy the doctor who poisoned him, pouring his enemy's flesh and blood into the river to feed the nahurac.
In "The Boy who was Sacrificed", a man sacrifices his dearly-loved son to Tirawa, killing the boy with a knife and throwing him into the Platte. The boy's corpse drifts downstream to Pahuk, where the kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher
The Belted Kingfisher is a large, conspicuous water kingfisher, the only member of that group commonly found in the northern United States and Canada. It is depicted on the 1986 series Canadian $5 note. All kingfishers were formerly placed in one family, Alcedinidae, but recent research suggests...
messenger of the nahurac finds him and implores the spirit animals to restore him to life. The nahurac of Pahuk send the messenger to the other four lodges to ask what should be done with the boy; but the animals there are unable to make the decision, and it is left to the nahurac at Pahuk. Petitioned earnestly by the messenger bird, they bring the boy back to life, then teach him their secrets. He returns to his village and becomes a great doctor.
In a Pawnee creation story recounted by Mari Sandoz
Mari Sandoz
Mari Susette Sandoz was a novelist, biographer, lecturer, and teacher. She was one of Nebraska's foremost writers, and wrote extensively about pioneer life and the Plains Indians, and has been occasionally referred to as Mari S...
, the first people and animals awoke from a sleep underground, and emerged onto the earth's surface through a hole on Pahuk.
History
In the 1850s, three Pawnee villages were located in the vicinity of Pahuk. The Skidi (Wolf Pawnee) had established a village at the McClean Site on the bluff between 1847 and 1850. By 1855, the Skidi had been joined by the Pitahauerats (Tapage Pawnee), and the village had been fortified against SiouxSioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
attack with a sod wall. The Chaui (Grand Pawnee) were in a village at the Leshara Site, about four miles southeast of the Skidi, near present-day Leshara, Nebraska
Leshara, Nebraska
Leshara is a village in Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 111 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Leshara is located at ....
. A third village, probably of the Kitkehahki (Republican Pawnee) was located on the south bank of the Platte west of the Skidi.
In 1857, the Pawnee, under pressure from white settlers and Sioux attacks, signed a treaty giving up all claims to land in Nebraska in exchange for a reservation
Pawnee Reservation
The Pawnee Reservation in Nebraska was located on the Loup River in Platte and Nance counties in mid-central Nebraska. The Kawarakis Pawnees, the ancestors of the Chaui, Kitkehahki, and Pitahawirata Bands, settled in southeastern Nebraska in approximately 900....
on the Loup River
Loup River
The Loup River is a tributary of the Platte River, approximately long, in central Nebraska in the United States. The river drains a sparsely populated rural agricultural area on the eastern edge of the Great Plains southeast of the Sandhills...
in present-day Nance County, Nebraska
Nance County, Nebraska
-History:The land that comprises Nance County was originally part of the Pawnee Reservation, created in 1857 when the Pawnee Indians signed a treaty with the United States ceding its lands in exchange for the reservation. After the state of Nebraska was admitted into the Union, the state government...
. In 1859, the Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
settlers of the town of Genoa
Genoa, Nebraska
Genoa is a city in Nance County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 981 at the 2000 census. Genoa is a community rich in culture and farming is a major source of income for much of the surrounding area. The city was founded by the Mormons in 1857...
on the reservation were evicted, and an agency built there. In that same year, the Pawnee left the villages near Pahuk for their summer buffalo hunt; shortly after they had departed, the villages were burned, either by Sioux raiders or by settlers. The destruction of the villages and the hope of obtaining government protection from the Sioux drove the Pawnee to leave the Platte and move to the reservation.
In 1858, the Nebraska Territorial Legislature
Nebraska Territorial Legislature
The Nebraska Territorial Legislature was held from January 16, 1855 until 1865 in Omaha City, Nebraska Territory.- Slavery :In 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska Act created the Nebraska Territory, overturning the Missouri Compromise by allowing legislatures of the Nebraska and Kansas territories to...
, meeting in Florence
Florence, Nebraska
Florence is a neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska on the city's north end and originally one of the oldest cities in Nebraska. It was incorporated by the Nebraska Territorial Legislature on March 10, 1857. The site of Winter Quarters for Mormon migrants traveling west, it has the oldest cemetery for...
, voted to move the territorial capital from Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
to Pahuk, which they dubbed "Capitol Hill", and on which they proposed to build a capital city named Neapolis. Although a majority of the members of the legislature had been present at the Florence session, Governor William Alexander Richardson
William Alexander Richardson
William Alexander Richardson was a prominent Illinois Democrat politician before and during the American Civil War....
refused to recognize its actions, on the grounds that it had not met at Omaha, the legitimate seat of government. The nascent Neapolis community was soon abandoned.
Pahuk was claimed by homesteaders
Homestead Act
A homestead act is one of three United States federal laws that gave an applicant freehold title to an area called a "homestead" – typically 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi River....
in 1868. Its name was given to Pohocco Precinct
Pohocco Township, Saunders County, Nebraska
Pohocco Township is one of twenty-four townships in Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,088 at the 2000 census. A 2006 estimate placed the township's population at 1,066....
, organized in about 1869, although the bluff did not actually lie within the precinct.
Preservation
Although the top of the bluff was cultivated, the site otherwise underwent very little development. The wooded portion of the bluff was purchased in 1962 by Dr. Louis and Geraldine Gilbert. Learning of its significance to the Pawnee, they applied to have the site listed in the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The application was approved in 1973. By then, it was the only one of the five nahurac sites that had not been destroyed or significantly damaged.
In the 1980s, the Gilberts placed a conservation easement
Conservation easement
In the United States, a conservation easement is an encumbrance — sometimes including a transfer of usage rights — which creates a legally enforceable land preservation agreement between a landowner and a government agency or a qualified land...
on their property. The existence of the easement and Pahuk's sanctity to the Pawnee were factors cited in the 2005 decision by the Nebraska Department of Roads
Nebraska Department of Roads
The Nebraska Department of Roads is the state government agency charged with building and maintaining the state and federal highways in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The main headquarters of the agency is located in Lincoln, the capital city...
not to reroute U.S. Highway 77 west of Fremont
Fremont, Nebraska
Fremont is a city in and the county seat of Dodge County, Nebraska, United States, near Omaha in the eastern part of the state. The population was 26,397 at the 2010 census....
in the course of converting it into an expressway
Limited-access road
A limited-access road known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a controlled-access highway , including limited or no access to adjacent...
between Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
and Norfolk, Nebraska
Norfolk, Nebraska
Norfolk is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States, 113 miles northwest of Omaha and 83 miles west of Sioux City at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,210 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Nebraska. It is the principal city of the...
.
In 2008, Pat and Nancy Shanahan, who farmed the land atop the bluff, created a conservation easement to protect their 257 acres (104 ha) from development. Four representatives of the Pawnee tribe traveled from Oklahoma to Nebraska for the dedication ceremony.
Apart from its historic and religious significance, Pahuk is of interest to biologists, as lying near the westernmost point in the Platte Valley distribution of a number of eastern woodland plant species, including bitternut hickory
Bitternut Hickory
Carya cordiformis, the Bitternut Hickory, also called bitternut or swamp hickory, is a large pecan hickory with commercial stands located mostly north of the other pecan hickories. Bitternut hickory is cut and sold in mixture with the true hickories. It is the shortest lived of the hickories,...
, black walnut, American linden
Tilia americana
Tilia americana is a species of Tilia native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Texas, and southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to Cherry County, Nebraska...
, and Dutchman's breeches.