Description
The Osage are an American Indian tribe whose ancestral domain included much of Oklahoma. A legend indicates the Osage and the other Dhegiha Sioux (Kaw, Omaha, Ponca, and Quapaw) originated at Indian Knoll near the mouth of the Green River in Kentucky. However, in paleolithic times they ranged from the fork of the Ohio River to the Mississippi and beyond. Osage genesis myths and archaeological evidence tend to support the legend. The term "Osage" is a French version of the tribe's name, which can be roughly translated as "calm water". By the early 19th century, the Osage had become the dominant power in the region, feared by neighboring tribes.
Language
The Osages speak a Dhegiha Siouan language
Culture
Traditional Osage culture was typical of many Plains Indians and involved a combination of village-based agriculture and nomadic bison hunting. Other important game animals were deer, bear, and beaver. Osage villages consisted of longhouses covered with mats or skins and arranged irregularly about an open space used for dances and council meetings. Tepees were used during the hunting season. Osage life centred on religious ceremonials in which clans were divided into symbolic sky and earth groups, with the latter further subdivided to represent dry land and water. The Osage were remarkable for their poetic rituals. Among them was the custom of reciting the history of the creation of the universe to each newborn infant.