19TH CENTURY PAINTER
GEORGE CATLIN
DESCRIBED THE OSAGE
AS AN “UNCOMMONLY
FIERCE, COURAGEOUS
[AND] WARLIKE
NATION.”
…WHILE AUTHOR
WASHINGTON IRVING
DESCRIBED THEM AS
“THE FINEST
LOOKING INDIANS I
HAVE EVER SEEN IN
THE WEST.”
CULTURE
•
•
•
The term “Osage” means “the Little Ones” or “Children of the
Waters”
Traditional Osage culture followed through with typical Plains
Indians’ beliefs concerning village-based farming and nomadic bison
hunting. The Osage also hunted smaller animals like deer, bear and
elk along with farming corn, squash, and beans and gathering wild
nuts and berries.
The Osage were a part of the large Siouan-speaking group called the
Dhegiha with other Plains tribes like the Kansa, Omaha, Ponca, and
Quapaw. The Siouan language is very huge and different in each
branch so it was rare for the Osage to understand other Siouanspeaking tribes. Sign language was often used to communicate in
trade and affairs with other tribes.
LOCATION
• The tribe originated in the Ohio River Valley in present day
Kentucky, with their neighbors being the Kansa, Quapaw, Panca,
and Omaha tribes.
• In 1802, American explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
identified three variations of the Osage tribe; the Great Osage
resided on the Osage River; the Little Osage lived farther up that
same river; and the Arkansas band which settled on the
Vermilion River. The Little Osage later became the main Osage
people.
• The Osage remained in villages on the Osage River until the early
19th century. They currently reside in an Oklahoma reservation.
POPULATION
•
During the early 1600s, about 17,000 Osage tribe members existed. Over
the course of the next two centuries, that number declined to 12,000.
Tragedy struck in the later 1800s when smallpox drastically depleted the
tribal population. By 2011, over 13,000 people remained members of the
Osage Nation but only half of them lived in the official Oklahoma tribal
reserve and even fewer were full-blood Osage.
•
At the time of European contact, many of the Osage intermarried with
Europeans, forcing certain religious ceremonies to be abandoned due to the
high number of new mixed marriages. The line that had once defined
religious tradition had been blurred, resulting in spiritual confusion that left
the Osage more open to Christian missionaries with some members going as
far as converting to Christianity.
HOUSING
The Osage typically lived in
longhouses covered in animal
skins and mats. These houses
measured up to 100 feet long
and were constructed of trees
driven into the ground, bent
over the house and tied at the
top. This framework was
covered in hides with
smokeholes remaining open at
the top, allowing fires to be
safely burned inside. Houses
were arranged in settled
village communities. Buffalohide teepees were utilized
during the hunting season.
ECONOMY
The Osage economy was
fixed on farming, hunting,
and trading. Men hunted
bison, bear, elk, and deer
while berries and nuts were
gathered by women. The
farms produced corn,
squash, and beans. Trade
with the French and
Spanish brought in new
goods that the Osage didn’t
have access to previously.
THE OSAGE CLASH WITH THE IROQUOIS
• TIME PERIOD : Pre-1600s
• BETWEEN : The Osage & the Iroquois
• CAUSE : Initially, the Iroquois and Osage were neighbors in the
Ohio River Valley. After a while of sharing the same area, each
tribe wanted a more defined property.
• EFFECT : Both tribes were very hostile when tensions between
the two rose over hunting grounds. Cultures clashed, resulting in
war. After years of violent war with invading Iroquois, the Osage
migrated away from the “dark and bloody” Kentucky.
THE OZARK PLATEAU NATIVE AMERICANS SEPARATE
•
TIME PERIOD : Early 1600s
•
BETWEEN : The Osage & other Native American tribes
•
CAUSE : Migration caused the original five Dhegiha groups to slowly separate
due to climate while each group became more culturally distinguished. (No
records were kept as of the final reasoning of why the large Dhegiha groups
parted, but it can be believed that their uncommon beliefs and newfound
tribal individualism had something to do with it)
•
EFFECT : The Osage remained in villages on the Osage River. In order to
achieve items unavailable to them, the Osage often led raids on other tribes
to gather materials for survival. One of the most vital developments in
society was the adoption of horses into their tribe by invading other Native
Americans. They eventually defeated the nearby Caddo tribe, proving their
dominance in the plains area, which they controlled for over 150 years.
TRADING BEGINS WITH THE FRENCH
•
TIME PERIOD : 1693
•
BETWEEN : The Osage & the French
•
CAUSE : The first French contact came in the 1670s when two explorers were
heading south from Canada to find new partners in business. They stumbled
upon the Osage and aligned with them.
•
EFFECT : This alliance blended the Osage’s warrior experiences with the French’s
strong economy and power. The friendly relations with the Osage brought French
fur-traders to extend their businesses. Fur trading was a booming business at the
time and the Osage traded skins and meat for fur among many other French
items like weapons, animals and tools. Once the Osage gained guns and horses
from French and Spanish settlers, they no longer heavily relied on farming for
survival. Their newfound weapons made hunting bison much easier.
Upon first contact, the Osage were
star tled by the French settlers and their
appearance. They noticed their
prominent eyebrows and strong scent.
Osage author John Joseph Matthews
wrote, “The Heavy Eyebrows with their
dried sweat and armpit odors made some
of the Little Ones sick.”
TRIBAL RELOCATION
•
TIME PERIOD : 1750 – 1825
•
BETWEEN : The Osage & American Pioneers/Settlers
•
CAUSE : Soon, the peacefulness of the East came to a gradual decline. The new
concept of American expansion shook Native Americans all over the country. New
American society focused on expansion, immigration, and economy and not the
needs of the Natives. The government was attempting to assimilate the Natives.
•
EFFECT : The Osage were forced to migrate west, slowly traveling about a
hundred miles every ten years. In the latter 1700s, the Osage were pushed even
farther west by American pioneers who wanted less to do with them. By 1825,
they had settled on a reserve in southern Kansas. There, they refused modern
American culture, disbelieving in their unconditional ways that contradicted the
tribes’ beliefs. They continued to dress in tribal garb and build traditional
longhouses.
TRIBAL RELOCATION CONT.
•
In 1833, land was once again a cause of violence. The Osage
clashed with the Kiowa near the Wichita Mountains in an event
known as the “Cutthroat Gap Massacre” in which the Osage cut off
the heads of their victims and arranged them in rows of brass
buckets. Not a single Osage died in this attack.
•
In 1871, the tribe relocated to Pawhuska, Oklahoma due to pressure
after the Civil War on the Native American lands to be moved for new
settlers. They were given six months to relocate from their four
million acre reserve to the new twelve million acre Oklahoma
reservation named after Osage Chief, Paw-Hiu-Skah, which meant
“White Hair.”
OIL DISCOVERY
•
TIME PERIOD : 1897
•
BETWEEN : The Osage & Congress
•
CAUSE : The US government had rushed to sort out an arrangement for
moving Native American settlements farther for the convenience of the
growing American population. They narrowed the choice for the Osage down
to an Oklahoma reserve, unknowing that oil was underneath the promised
lands.
•
EFFECT : When oil was discovered on their reserve in, they became among
the wealthiest in the world. This discovery made the United States
government decide that all mineral rights on the reservation belonged solely
to the tribe, granting the Osage royalties. Amidst the wealth came tragedy
and tribal conflict but it also helped them maintain their strong sense of
pride in their culture and community. By 1906, the Osage had made it big.
OSAGE REIGN OF TERROR
•
TIME PERIOD : Early 1920s
•
BETWEEN : The Osage & Americans
•
CAUSE : Due to the recent oil discovery, Congress gave each tribe
member land and required members to a court-given guardian –
normally white lawyers or businessmen – to oversee the land safely in
law. Both the member and the guardian received royalties/headrights [or
yearly payments] for the land. Many Americans became envious of the
recent Osage wealth and set out to get a part.
•
EFFECT : Such wealth attracted criminal intent. Mysteriously, an
estimated 60 Osage people died of suspicious causes. The series of
murders in the reserve caused tribal elders to contact the FBI to
investigate. A few greedy white men were to blame. The event resulted in
legislative laws protecting the Osage and their oil rights.
CURRENT LIFE
•
•
•
Tribal life remained until the late 1800s when traditions modernized
to fit in with mainstream society. Beliefs have wavered slightly since
the original Osage tribe but religion is still a major part of their
lifestyles. The tribe, for the most part, still dresses in tribal garb and
reside in longhouses.
Currently, in addition to profit from oil, the tribe’s reservation
economy is based on ranching, farming, and casinos. The Osage are
still among the wealthiest Native American nations in the United
States.
In 2006, the Osage Nation created an official congress unlike
previous efforts. Along with the constitution published in 1881, it is
loosely modeled after that of the US government.
Bibliography
"Osage." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.school.eb.com/eb/article-9057513>.
"Pawhuska." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.school.eb.com/eb/article-9058819>.
"Osage." U*X*L Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Ed. Laurie J. Edwards. 3rd ed. Vol. 2: Southeast,
Great Plains. Detroit: U*X*L, 2012. 833-852. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 9 Oct. 2012.
Document URL:
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&pro
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1ded3eda8f214
Gale Document Number: GALE|CX4019400062
Johnson, Michael. The Native Tribes of North America. "Plains and Praires." Osage. Pages 81-82. 1st Edition.
New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1994. Print.
"OSAGE." Oklahoma Historical Societ'ys Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. Oklahoma Historical
Society, n. d. Web. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
<http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/O/OS001.html>.
THANKS TO…
http://www.osagetribe.com/
Bibliography CONT.
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