Page 37 - ImmenseJourney

fined. The recompense went to the medicine man could now go to
who had informed the village leader. Needless to say, their earth lodge
my grandparents were very upset with my father. dwellings for the re- from lack of interest and use by the tribal people.
mainder of the year
This story and many others suggest that some earth until the flowering
lodge dwellings continued to be used as ceremo- of certain plants the
nial centers. In 1978 the Umonhon built their last following spring
earth lodge dwelling upon their He’dewachi dance marked the cycle
grounds. He’dewach was the dance to give thanks for of the summer hunt
a successful hunt. Traditionally, it was the last large again.
social gathering of the Umonhon after the summer
buffalo hunt. It served as a social marker ending the The dwelling was
formal tipi dwelling time and signaling that people built primarily
from memory, and
only after it was
completed, did
the Omahas call
in the “experts”
from one of the
nearby colleges to
confirm that it had
been constructed “correctly”. To see and actually
enter an earth lodge such as the one constructed in
1978 was an amazing experience. It was larger than
what most pictures reflect and actually appeared to
be comfortable. Covering the doorway would have
been a large buffalo hide to keep out cold winter
air. A fire pit built in the very center afforded both
light and warmth to cold winter days and nights. The
fire would have functioned as the cooking hearth as
well. Sleeping and lounging areas surrounded the fire
place. Despite the informality of earth lodge living
tribal people and visitors were encouraged to enter
and exit the dwelling in a clock-wise manner.
University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist
This last earth lodge dwelling built by the Umon-
hons, although indeed very sturdy, gradually decayed
Today, it is difficult to see the outline of the exact
spot of its construction.
This chapter started out thanking archaeology for
the studies done in unearthing these ancient dwell-
ings. Although it is difficult to link the distant past
to current tribes today, the tie remains due to the
tradition of some Plains Indian peoples in construct-
ing earth lodges. To claim earlier earth lodge dwellers
as the direct ancestors of these specific tribes is too
uncertain, but remnants of this past perhaps can be
gleaned by observing and learning from those tribes
today. Archaeological discoveries in collaboration
with tribal knowledge more richly informs this effort,
and gives the people of Iowa a reason to be proud of
our collective past.
*Where the author has used the term Umonhon, it must be
clarified that this could have included people from the other re-
lated Dhehiga-speaking tribes—Ponca, Quapaw, Kansa, Osage,
and Umonhon. According to various Umonhon elders, the Oto
and Ioway would also be included in this grouping. By the time
of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804, however, the Ioway
and Umonhon were long separate tribes that often warred
upon each other. Only the Ponca and the Umonhon appeared
to have maintained close ties and often intermarried with one
another. Yet, there is a story told by the Ioway that they are
the ones to have given the Umonhon people their name. It
bespeaks of a time when the Ioway were considered part of this
larger grouping of Dhegiha-speaking peoples.
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