Currently based in Oklahoma, the Pawnee people lived in settlements along the Platte, Loup, and Republican River valleys in what is now Nebraska and northern Kansas since the 1200s.

Their ancestors probably came from the Ohio River Valley to that area. Eventually, the Pawnee formed four distinct bands: the Chaui (Grand Pawnee), the Skidi (Wolf Pawnee), Kitkehaki (Republic Pawnee), and the Pitahauerat (Tapage Pawnee). While each band was autonomous, the Chaui were the most powerful. According to oral history, the Skidi were associated with the Arikara and the Wichita before the Arikara moved northward. They didn't join the other bands of Pawnee until the mid-18th century.

By the time of extended contact with Europeans, each of these bands was associated with a single village, although each band previously had multiple villages.

Pawnee villages were permanent settlements in which people lived in earthen lodges and supplemented hunting and gathering with agriculture.

The traditional religion of the Pawnee was complex, and perhaps not well understood by historians and other authors on the subject.

Pawnee religion emphasized "Sacred Bundles," which formed the basis of many religious ceremonies, and were considered essential in maintaining the balance of nature and relationships with the gods and spirits. Each bundle contained a collection of ritualistic items that held importance for the group.

The Pawnee believed that some of the stars were gods, and performed rituals to solicit the presence of these celestial deities. The Morning Star ceremony focused on the rising Eastern Star, often associated with the planet Mars. Among the Skidi Pawnees, who believed that this star held immense power, the Morning Star bundle ceremony involved human sacrifice and was not directly tied to seasonal cycles. During this ceremony, the Pawnee reasserted their devotion to this celestial force through offerings and rituals, which only sometimes included human sacrifices.

Other celestial objects, such as the Evening Star, the North Star, and the Northeast Star, had specific tasks and responsibilities.

The tribe's agricultural practices were tied to their religious beliefs, as well. Corn was regarded as a symbolic mother through whom the sun god, Shakuru, bestowed blessings upon the people.

Within the traditional Pawnee culture, chiefs, priests, and shamans held favorable class distinctions. Each chief of a village or band safeguarded a sacred bundle, while shamans were believed to have special powers or abilities to treat disease and to protect against food shortages and enemy raids, and priests were trained in various rituals and sacred songs.

Although the Pawnee probably encountered Spanish explorers, trappers, or traders as early as the mid-16th-century, regular encounters with Europeans or European-Americans began in the 18th century, and the concept of land ownership was introduced after the United States claimed control over the territory following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and it wasn't long afterward that it was taken from them.

Under the conditions of several treaties between 1833 to 1876, the issue of resettlement in designated Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma became an issue that nearly divided the Pawnee tribes. Following a war with the Lakota Sioux in 1873, brought about, in part, because the federal government had assigned hunting rights in the same area to both hostile tribes, surviving Pawnee reunited to seek the protection of the United States government.

Between 1874 and 1876, the majority of the Pawnee people were resettled in Oklahoma, where they struggled to maintain their traditional way of life with severely limited resources. In Oklahoma, the federally recognized Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma is headquartered in Pawnee, and its jurisdictional area includes part of Noble, Payne, and Pawnee counties.

Pawnee people who crossed the border into Canada didn't fare well, as they became slaves of other First Nations tribes. The term Panis eventually became synonymous with "Indian slave" in the French colony, with a slave from any tribe being called < I>Panis, which was anglicized to Pawnee. Slavery was not abolished in Canada until 1834, by which time the majority of slaves in the region were of African descent.

This term was also introduced into New Mexico as Panana by the Apaches, who brought large numbers of Pawnee slaves to trade to the Spaniards and Pueblo Indians. Those who weren't sold were often beheaded.

In Oklahoma, the Pawnee Nation regularly sponsors social and heritage celebrations, many with traditional singing, dancing, and rituals. Several tribal services are available for members, including police and fire departments, a court system, healthcare facilities, a library, a senior center, a fitness center, and educational services.

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