Walks on the Ground

Named a 2020 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Walks on the Ground is a record of Louis V. Headman’s personal study of the Southern Ponca people, spanning seven decades beginning with the historic notation of the Ponca people’s origins in the East. The last of the true Ponca speakers and storytellers entered Indian Territory in 1877 and most lived into the 1940s. In Ponca heritage, the history of individuals is told and passed along in songs of tribal members. Headman acquired information primarily when singing with known ceremonial singers such as Harry Buffalohead, Ed Littlecook, Oliver Littlecook, Eli Warrior, Dr. Sherman Warrior (son of Sylvester Warrior), Roland No Ear, and “Pee-wee” Clark. Headman’s father, Kenneth Headman, shared most of this history and culture with Louis. During winter nights, after putting a large log into the fireplace, Kenneth would begin his storytelling. The other elders in the tribe confirmed Kenneth’s stories and insights and contributed to the history Louis has written about the Ponca. Walks on the Ground traces changes in the tribe as reflected in educational processes, the influences and effects of the federal government, and the dominant social structure and culture. Headman includes children’s stories and recognizes the contribution made by Ponca soldiers who served during both world wars, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.               

Louis V. Headman (Ponca elder, Oklahoma) is the project coordinator of the Ponca Language Grant and pastor of the Church of the Nazarene in Ponca City. He is a coauthor of Dictionary of the Ponca People (Nebraska, 2020). Sean O’Neill is a professor of anthropology at the University of Oklahoma. He is a coauthor of Dictionary of the Ponca People (Nebraska, 2020).  

List of Illustrations Foreword Sean O’Neill Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Phonetic Key 1. Beginnings 2. Niobrara 3. Trade Agreements, Indian Treaties, and Indian Removal 4. Chief Standing Bear 5. Indian Territory 6. The Selection of Ponca Chiefs 7. The Ponca Reservation in Oklahoma 8. Ethnography 9. The Ponca Giveaway 10. The Old Ponca He-ÚŠkÀ 11. New He-üŠkÀ Dance Paraphernalia 12. The Ponca Singers 13. Ponca He-ÚŠkÀ Songs 14. Family Structure and Kinship System 15. Marriage and Property 16. Clans of the Ponca 17. Ponca Names 18. Toys, Games, and Sports 19. Arts and Crafts 20. The Ponca Native American Church 21. The Christian Church in the Ponca Community 22. The Spirit World 23. The Funeral Rites 24. Ancient Ponca Burials and Practices 25. Ponca Medicine 26. Journey to the School House 27. Into the School House 28. Warriors of the Ponca 29. Political Governance Afterword Appendix: U.S. Treaty Obligations to Indian Tribes Notes Bibliography Index