OSAGE

The Siouan-speaking Osage once lived along the Ohio River valley, then later migrated onto the eastern plains.

They were originally one people with the KAW, OMAHA, PONCA, and QUAPAW. The group who became the Osage

Settled along the Osage River tributary of the Missouri River in what is now the state of Missouri. They also claimed territory as far south as the Arkansas River in what is now northern Arkansas, southeastern Kansas, and northeastern Oklahoma.

The Osage Native name is Ni-U-Ko’n-Ska, meaning “people of the middle waters.” Osage, pronounced OH-sayj, is the French version of Wazhazhe, the largest Osage band. There were two main early bands: the Great Osage on the Osage River, and the Little Osage on the Missouri River. Another band broke off in the early 1800s from the Great Osage and migrated to the Arkansas River, becoming known as the Arkansas Osage.

Scholars classify the Osage among the prairie division of the PLAINS INDIANS (see PRAIRIE INDIANS). That is to say, they were seminomadic. Most of the year, they lived in villages along wooded river valleys and farmed the rich soil. While at home, they stayed in oval or rectangular pole-frame houses covered with woven mats or hides. But they also depended on the buffalo for food. They went on several buffalo hunts every year during which time they lived in tipis. Before acquiring horses, they often killed the large animals by waving fur robes to stampede the herd and lighting prairie fires to direct the animals toward the edge of a cliff.

Each Osage village had two chiefs, a peace chief and a war chief. One clan, the Sky People, under the peace chief, lived to the north; another clan, the Earth People, under the war chief, lived to the south. A council of elderly men, called the Little Old Men, made tribal laws and settled tribal disputes.

The French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet visited the Osage along the Osage River in 1673. During the 1700s, tribal members conducted much trade with French traders, bartering furs for guns, horses, and European manufactured goods, giving them power and influence among the tribes of the region. They called all whites I’n-Shta-Heh, meaning “heavy eyebrows,” because the Europeans seemed hairy to them. Osage warriors helped the French defeat the British under General Edward Braddock near present-day Pittsburgh in 1755 in the latter part of the French and Indian wars. After England and Spain had gained control of France’s holdings in 1763, the Osage developed new trade contacts.

In 1801, France regained control of the huge Louisiana Territory, which then included the Mississippi and Missouri River valleys. Two years later, President Thomas Jefferson bought the land from

Napoleon Bonaparte of France for $15 million. After the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804—06, American traders and settlers began arriving in great numbers on Osage lands.

At first, the Osage were hostile to the new intruders. But in 1808, they agreed to a treaty giving up huge tracts of their territory. They agreed to other land cessions in treaties of 1818, 1825, 1839, and 1865. The Osage served as scouts for the U. S. Army in Sheridan’s Campaign of 1868—69 (see CHEYENNE). Another treaty in 1870 established the Osage reservation in the northeastern part of the Indian Territory (now near the town of Pawhuska, Oklahoma), which had formerly been Osage hunting grounds.

In 1896, oil was discovered on the Osage reservation. The fact that some lands were allotted to individuals in the 1906 Osage Allotment Act led to attempts Osage bear claw necklace with otter fur By non-Indians to gain control of mineral rights. By the 1920s, however, many Osage had become wealthy from oil and natural gas leases. Others continued to earn a living from farming and ranching. The Osage Nation itself has an income from oil and gas found in Osage County. Other tribal income is generated from three casinos.

The Osage Nation sponsors a number of powwows. A traditional ceremony that is still held today is known as I’n-Lon-Schka for “playground of the eldest son.” It is a four-day series of dances and rituals that takes place in June and includes as many as 200 songs, feasting, and giveaways. Among the rituals are the Introduction to the Dance Ceremony and the Feast for the Mourners, as well as a Passing of the Drum Ceremony and an Acceptance of the Drum Ceremony if a new Drumkeeper of the Sacred Drum is being established, always an eldest son.

A famous Osage of recent times is the dancer Maria Tallchief, born in 1925. She was a prima ballerina who danced all over the world and gained respect for American ballet at a time when most great dancers came from other countries. Her younger sister Marjorie Tallchief, born in 1927, also became a well-known dancer.