A key concept in the culture of warfare among the native nations of the Great Plains was the existence of warrior societies. These were formal organizations that existed within the social structure of almost every tribe living on the Plains. The warrior societies were more important among the tribes of the northern Plains than those of the southern Plains. The Comanches of the southern Plains did not have societies but the southern branches of the Cheyenne and Arapaho did have the societies.

Though a common feature among the northern tribes, the activities and structure of the warrior societies varied slightly among the different tribes. In some native nations including the Crow, Lakota, Assiniboin, Pawnee, Arikara and Cheyenne, a warrior would become a member of a society and would remain a member of the same group for his entire life. In other nations including the Blackfoot, Arapaho, Mandan, Hidatsa, Atsina and Kiowa, a warrior would change societies as his military experience increased. These graduated societies would have one specific organization for young novice warriors.

After they had gained experience by participating in a number of raids, then they would be invited to join one of the societies that contained the bulk of the veteran warriors. Later in life a successful warrior who had survived years of raids or a younger warrior who had shown exemplary courage in battle would be invited to join the highest level of societies which was reserved for the senior warriors. It would be from this highest society that many tribes would select their war-chiefs, war-medicine men and raid leaders from.

In the Pacific Northwest, where a warrior’s Totem clan association would cross tribal boundaries, a warrior of the bear clan would have as much in common with a bear warrior from another village as he would with an Eagle clan warrior from his own village. This relationship did not occur in the Plains region. A warrior of the Lakota ‘Kit Fox’ society would not have anything in common with a Crow warrior who was also a member of his tribe’s ‘Kit Fox’ society.

While there was no relationship between the societies of the same name in different tribes, the appearance of the warriors of a specific society may be similar. Members of an ‘Eagle’ society would wear Eagle feathers in their headdress or on their shield. (A detailed article on shield designs and their importance was printed in Issue ???) Members of the ‘Kit Fox’ society would wear a fox hide headdress or a fuller hide skin as a poncho. Another common item among the various societies was the wearing of a sash that may be up to twelve feet long. These sashes could only be worn by the senior members of a specific society or by the members of the highest order in a graduated culture. The wearers of the sash could act as a rallying point during a raid. During a defensive action, they would pin the sash to the ground as inspiration and to designate a point of no retreat for him. The pinning of the sash was a drastic action that could result in the loss of a great warrior, if the odds were overwhelmingly against him.

Society warrior appearance is one of the areas often overlooked by sculptors and miniature companies. Many castings are based on drawings of warriors in ceremonial attire rather than raiding clothes. Catlain and Bodmer paintings show the great Mandan warrior chief Four Bears wearing ceremonial dress of an eagle feather bonnet and hide tunic. This would be the model used by many miniature sculptors. However Four Bears was also painted by Bodmer in his raiding outfit. This outfit included a headdress of simple feathers (representing personal kills) and painted sticks (one per wound received in battle), buckskin trousers and he was bare-chested. His chest was painted with lines representing coups and handprints representing prisoners captured. This is a very different appearance than shown in his ceremonial dress.

Below are examples of the various warrior societies and the native nation to which they are associated. This is by no means a complete list, only examples. There are more that I could not identify with my limited access to material from the Plains region. Thank you to Barry Wallace who identified most of the Societies listed here.

Arapaho = 8 age graded societies - Fox-men, Star -men or Star Falcons, Club-men or Tomahawk, Lance-men or Staffs, Crazy-men (also called Lime-crazy Men or Moths), Dog-men, Sweat-lodge or the Stoic-lodge, Water-pouring or Water-sprinkling Old Men

Arikara = Age Graded - Young Dogs, Straight-head, Buffalo, Young Buffalo, Black Mouths, Grass Dance, Cut-hairs, Kit Fox, Hot Dance, Cut-throat, Crazy Horse, Crow, Hopping, Chppewa, Foolish People, Buffalo Calling

Gros Ventres / Atsina = age-graded - Fly, Crazy, Fox, Dog, Drum,

Blackfoot = very complex, Age graded - Doves, Flies, Pigeons, Mosquitoes, Braves, Brave Dogs, Raven Bearers, Dogs, Kit-foxes, Black Soldiers, Soldiers, Bulls, Tails, Ugly Horns, Catchers, Horns

Cheyenne = Confusing, non-graded - Red Shield, Hoof Rattle, Coyote or Kit Fox Soldiers, Dog Men (aka Dog Soldiers, Inverted or Bowstring, Owl-Man's Bowstring or Wolf Warriors

Cree = ‘Buffalo Dancers’, ‘Pairie Chicken’ and ‘Kit Fox’.

Crow = non-graded - Lumpwood, Fox, Big Dogs, Muddy Hands, Raven (died out), Little Dogs (became Crow Muddy Mouths who joined the Crazy Dogs when their numbers dwindled), Hammer Owners, Bulls, Hot Dancers, Crazy Dog

Hidatsa = age graded - Lumpwood, Stone Hammer, Notched Stick, Dog, Black Mouth, Half-shaved Head, Hot Dance, Crow, Little Dogs, Crazy Dogs, Raven, Buffalo Bulls

Kiowa = non-graded - Rabbits, Shepherds, Rulers of Horses, Berries, Black Feet,  Horses or Real Dogs

Lakota = non-graded - Civil Societies - Big Belly, White-horse Owner, Tall One, Owl Feather Headdress. Military Societies - Kit Fox, Crow Owner, Strong Heart, Badger, Bare- or Plain-lance Owner, White Marked

Mandan = age-graded - version 1) - Fox, Foolish Dog, Half-sheared, Make-mouth-black, Dog, Buffalo Bull, Black-tail-deer. version 2) - Cheyenne, Kit-fox, Little Dog, Crazy Dog, Crow, Half-shaved, Black Mouths, Bull, Dog, Old Dog, Coarse Hair, Black-tail-deer, Badger

Pawnee = "The Pawnee had a complex scheme of religiously oriented societies.......Each had its own regalia and war duties similar in a general way to those of the other plains nations."

Other types of Societies which are not associated with a specific tribe.

Bundle Societies - Two Lance, Skidi Red Lance, Red Lance, Thunderbird Lance, Crow Lance, Brave Raven, Fighting Lance, Wolf Lance, Black Heads, Knife Lance

Private Organizations - Crazy Horse, Children of the Iruska, Woderful Ravens, Big Horse, Society of Crows, Roached Heads, Young Dog, Mischevious, Organized War     Party, Women's

Medicine-men's Societies - Twenty-Day Ceremony, Bear Society, Buffalo Doctors, Deer, Blood Doctors, Iruska, One Horn Dance

Our Place in the Sun The Northern Great Plains

Bibliography
Plains Indians Colors for Uniforms
Native Nations of the Great Northern Plains
Warrior Societies
Weapons and Warfare on the Plains
Examples of Warrior Dress from Artwork of the Region

More Our Place in the Sun Issues' Table of Contents

TPP Fall 2002: Texas-Southern Plains Region
TPP Summer 2002: The American Southwest
TPP Spring 2001: Muskogee Wars
TPP Winter 2001: SE Atlantic Coast Native Nations
TPP Fall 2000: America's Far West