Police and Punishment among Native Americans of the Plains

Abstract

The American Indians of the Plains and the adjacent woodlands have been given much credit in the literature concerning them, with regard to their abilities as warriors. Neither scientific nor popular writings, however, have taken much note of matters concerning their internal polity. The tribe is something we conceive of rather chaotically. Yet these native peoples were as neatly and elaborately organized politically as many civilized peoplesand-which is what interests in this paper-as an aspect of their political organizations there was included an important and effective police system, clothed with powers to enforce its orders, and able to inflict severe punishment for disobedience. Neglected as this phase of the life of these peoples has been, nevertheless there is available in the literature sufficient data to enable us to present a fairly complete, though imperfect, picture of these police organizations.' Among these native American peoples there was no military force or army standing above or apart from the armed body of the people. There were gradations of rank or degrees among the warriors, but every able-bodied man was nevertheless a warrior at all times in possession of arms. Among the people there were considerable differences of wealth; but wealth consisted largely in horses and clothing and adornments and appears to have been rather fluid. There does not appear to have been any landed property, among the Plains tribes who are our particular interest in this paper. Among those tribes who did not cultivate the ground but depended for food chiefly on the buffalo (bison) the open country was communal, tribal property and everyone shared in the proceeds of the hunt. These peoples were in political form, oligarchical, and certain families tended to monopolize political privilege. But there does not appear to have been any sharp permanent division of social classes with an economic base, no exploitation by owners of capital