ORGANIZATIONS OF THE PLAINS INDIANS1
AMONG the Indians of the plains there are societies to which the men of the tribe belong according to age or achievement. These societies are religious, military, or social, and some are very old, while others are modern. The military organizations are old, and are commonly called warrior societies. In old times the different societies had their several peculiar functions in warfare, in the hunt, and in camp discipline. Where the organizations are regulated by age, a man passes through successive societies and graduates from the lower to the higher.
Among some tribes the highest is the Chiefs' Society, composed entirely of chiefs; the Fox Men are usually young, while the Dog Soldiers are older warriors of high standing.
Again, a society may have for the nucleus of its being a dream or supernatural revelation common to all its members; or it may be the guardian of some wisdom revealed in vision by a spirit—often the emblematic spirit-animal.2 Thus an organization may bear the name of some animal whose virtue or psychic power it incorporates.
Each society has its own songs and ceremonies, and in some cases its members carry the peculiar staff or badge of office belonging to the society, such as a lance, a club, or a crook.
1 The Plains Indians are those who live between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, and who used to hunt the buffalo in days gone by.
2 See “Songs of the Dakotas,” page 60, and “Introduction to Pawnee Songs,” page 96.
