Walks on the Ground

2020 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Walks on the Ground is a record of Louis V. Headmans personal study of the Southern Ponca people spanning seven decades, beginning with the historic notation of the Ponca peoples origins in the East. The last of the true Ponca speakers and storytellers entered Indian Territory in 1877, and most lived into the 1940s. In Ponca heritage the history of individuals is told and passed along in songs of tribal members, and so Headman learned through singing with ceremonial singers such as Harry Buffalohead, Ed Littlecook, Oliver Littlecook, Eli Warrior, Dr. Sherman Warrior (son of Sylvester Warrior), Roland No Ear, and Pee-wee Clark. Headmans father, Kenneth Headman, shared most of this history and culture with Louis during winter nights of storytelling. Other elders in the tribe confirmed Kenneths stories and insights and contributed to the history Louis Headman has written about the Ponca. Walks on the Ground traces changes in the tribe as reflected in educational processes, federal influences, and the dominant social structure and culture. Headman includes childrens stories and recognizes the contribution made by Ponca soldiers who served during both world wars, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.