Pawnee, Oklahoma - Highland Cemetery Pawnee Scouts Memorial

The memorial honors the memory of the Pawnee Scouts, who served their country as U.S. Army volunteer scouts during the Indian Wars. These frontier wars took place during the periods 1813-1838 and 1866-1890. The memorial consists of a wooden entry gate, with a gray granite monument in the entry, two parallel rows of grave markers, lining a central grass walkway, and an adjacent flagpole with a bench at its base. The gate bears the words: PAWNEE SCOUTS. The monument rests on a concrete pad and is incised with the profile head of a wolf. The wolf image recalls the Tribe's name, "wolves," given by other tribes, for their cunning and courage. The monument is also inscribed: IN MEMORY OF THE PAWNEE SCOUTS AND REPATRIATED TRIBAL MEMBERS PROVIDED BY THE PAWNEE INDIAN VETERANS MONUMENT COMMITTEE There are a total of 16 individual markers in parallel rows, with 9 on the east and 7 on the west. All but one, on the east side, are unmarked wooden crosses, denoting that the interred remains are unidentified. The remaining one is a marble headstone bearing the Native American name, and English translation, of a Pawnee Scout during the Indian Wars, whose remains were identified. The flagpole flies the American Flag. The memorial was dedicated in 1996.