Pahuk
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Pahuk, also written Pahaku, or Pahuk Hill, is a bluff on the
Platte River The Platte River () is a major American river, in the state of Nebraska. It 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, w ...
in eastern
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. In the traditional
Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...
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 The Pawnee Reservation 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 ...
on the
Loup River The Loup River (pronounced /lup/) 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 ...
in 1859. Pahuk is listed in the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.


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 from the river. The east and west sides are delimited by deep and steep-sided gullies about apart. The ground dips slightly to the south; there is a gentle rise about high near the bluff edge, making Pahuk the highest point for several miles in any direction.


Pawnee tradition

The
Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...
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 is a city in and the county seat of Merrick County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Grand Island metropolitan area. The population was 3,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Early inhabitants The in ...
; Ahkawitakol, or "white bank", on the
Loup River The Loup River (pronounced /lup/) 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 ...
opposite the mouth of the Cedar River in what is now
Nance County, Nebraska Nance County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,380. Its county seat is Fullerton. In the Nebraska license plate system, Nance County is represented by the prefix 58 (it had the fifty-eig ...
; Pahur, or "hill that points the way", a bluff south of the
Republican River The Republican River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, rising in the High Plains of eastern Colorado and flowing east U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map acce ...
near its namesake
Guide Rock, Nebraska Guide Rock is a village in Webster County, Nebraska, Webster County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 225 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. History The first settlement at Guide Rock was made in 1870. Guide Rock was pla ...
; and Kitzawitzuk, translated "water on a bank", a spring on the bank of the
Solomon River The Solomon River, often referred to as the "Solomon Fork", is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 29, 2011 river in the central Great Plains of North America. The e ...
near
Glen Elder, Kansas Glen Elder is a city in Mitchell County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 362. History Glen Elder was originally known as West Hampton, and under the latter name was laid out and platted in 1871 b ...
, also known to the Pawnee as Pahowa, but generally called today by its Kaw name of
Waconda Spring Waconda Spring, or Great Spirit Spring, was a natural artesian aquifer, artesian spring located in Mitchell County, Kansas, Mitchell County, near the communities of Glen Elder, Kansas, Glen Elder and Cawker City, Kansas, Cawker City in the U.S. s ...
. 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 (September 20, 1849 – April 11, 1938) was an American anthropologist, historian, naturalist, and writer. Originally specializing in zoology, he became a prominent early conservationist and student of Native American life. ...
. 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 Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...
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 Susette Sandoz (May 11, 1896 – March 10, 1966) was a Nebraska novelist, biographer, lecturer, and teacher. She became one of the West's foremost writers, and wrote extensively about pioneer life and the Plains Indians.Bristow, David ...
, 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
Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...
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 is a village in Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 108 at the 2020 census. History Leshara was founded in 1905 when the Great Northern Railway established a station there. In early October, the S. C. & W. Tow ...
. 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 __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...
on the
Loup River The Loup River (pronounced /lup/) 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 ...
in present-day
Nance County, Nebraska Nance County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,380. Its county seat is Fullerton. In the Nebraska license plate system, Nance County is represented by the prefix 58 (it had the fifty-eig ...
. In 1859, the
Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
settlers of the town of
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
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 The Nebraska Territorial Legislature was held from January 16, 1855, until February 18, 1867, in Omaha City, Nebraska Territory. Major issues Slavery In 1854 the Kansas–Nebraska Act created the Nebraska Territory, overturning the Miss ...
, meeting in
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
, voted to move the territorial capital from
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
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 (January 16, 1811 – December 27, 1875) was a prominent Illinois Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician before and during the American Civil War. A protege of Stephen A. Douglas, Stephen Douglas, ...
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 The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of t ...
in 1868. Its name was given to Pohocco Precinct, 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 Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. 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 In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified land conservation organization called a "land trust", or a governmental (muni ...
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 The Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) was the state government agency charged with building and maintaining the state and federal highways in the U.S. State of Nebraska from 1957 to 2017. The main headquarters of the agency was located in Linc ...
not to reroute U.S. Highway 77 west of Fremont in the course of converting it into an expressway between
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...
and
Norfolk, Nebraska Norfolk ( or ) is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States, 113 miles northwest of Omaha and 76 miles southwest of Sioux City, Iowa, at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,955 at the 2020 census, mak ...
. In 2008, Pat and Nancy Shanahan, who farmed the land atop the bluff, created a conservation easement to protect their 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 ''Juglans nigra'', the eastern American black walnut, is a species of deciduous tree in the walnut family, Juglandaceae, native to central and eastern North America, growing mostly in riparian zones. Black walnut is susceptible to thousand can ...
,
American linden ''Tilia americana'' is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to ...
, and
Dutchman's breeches ''Dicentra cucullaria'', Dutchman's britches, or Dutchman's breeches, is a perennial herbaceous plant, native to rich woods of eastern North America, with a disjunct population in the Columbia Basin. The common name Dutchman's breeches derive ...
.


References

Jensen, Richard E. (1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form: Pahuk". Grinnell, George Bird (1893).
''Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk Tales''.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
Hyde, George E. ''The Pawnee Indians''. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1974. pp. 242-249. Johnsgard, Paul A.
"A place called Pahaku".''Prairie Fire''.
June 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
Real-McKeighan, Tammy.
''Lincoln Journal-Star''.
2008-09-26. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
Hammel, Paul.
"Sacred Pawnee heritage preserved".
''Omaha World-Herald''. 2008-09-26. Reproduced a
Nebraska Land Trust website.
Retrieved 2010-09-19.
Bowen, Don.
''Fremont Tribune''.
2005-04-16. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
Fitzpatrick, Lilian Linder (1925).
Nebraska Place-Names.
Retrieved 2010-09-19.
Retrieved 2010-09-19. "History".

Welcome to Genoa, Nebraska.
Retrieved 2010-09-19.

pp. 84-85. Retrieved 2010-09-19.



Retrieved 2010-09-19.
Sandoz, Mari. ''The Buffalo Hunters''. New York: Hastings House, 1954. p. xi.
{{National Register of Historic Places Protected areas of Saunders County, Nebraska Cliffs of Nebraska Sacred places of the Pawnee Religious places of the Indigenous peoples of North America Natural features on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska National Register of Historic Places in Saunders County, Nebraska