The Osage of America by Jeff

                Have you heard of the Osage?  The Osage are one of many American Indian tribes. The Osage lived a good life. No war, lots of hunting, and nice people. They live in a new reservation in northeastern Oklahoma. But the Osage were not always perfect, they had to survive good times and bad.  

First, The Osage was established by Jacques Marquette. The tribe’s original name is Ouchage. They have had the same traditions since the 1700’s. They separate the boys and girls to help make a better learning environment, but they still get the same education. They are taught much like any other person in the United States with subjects like, math, science, and social studies.

Aside from education, in the 1800’s, one of the worlds best Cathedrals was built by the Osage. Since the early 1600’s, the Osage have been Christian. Once every now and then, they will have parties. They worship Wakonta, the Osage goddess. The Osage have always been religious. They do eat meat from animals such as pig, cow, and very rarely, bear.

The Osage god Wakonta

                 In 1874, a large amount of oil was found on the new Osage reservation in Oklahoma. It put the Osage on its feet; they bought new supplies, built a school, and bought back their homeland reservation. Men married Osage woman and killed them and got to keep the money and get away with murder.  And sometimes women married Osage men and got away with the same thing. Today, over 15,000 Osage people live in the U.S.

                Today, the Osage are much like they were 500 years ago. Keeping the past alive and accepting today’s modern society are key roles in keeping the Osage nation alive. The Osage are much like they have always been, and will probably be the same in another 500 years.

                 In 1872, the Osage moved to a new reservation in Oklahoma. The very same reservation were a large sum of oil was found. Today, the oil money has been spent and all the oil has been harvested from the Osage reservation, but this was there new reservation in Oklahoma.

                 Their original homeland is in the northern Mississippi valley. This is were they had to suffer the effects of the great depression made life hard for the Osage. It killed livestock, dried crops, and killed many people. They had to sell some of their land to get money to help people of the farmers and to buy medicine for the sick people.

                In conclusion, the Osage are still here today, they might be here for another 500 years or die in some other disaster. The Osage people have survived through good times and bad, but they always come together to help each other.

The Osage drank something called deer blood. They boil the deer blood and then mix the blood with crushed-up sugar cane.

References

“Osage” American the butifull. 2008. Grolier online. 29 Oct. 2008 http://atb.grolier.com/cgi-bin/artical?templatenome=topic.htm/&@ssetid=at1341508assettype=t

Martin, Dale “lake of the Ozarks” world book online reference center. 2008. http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/artical?id=ar309560>

Stewart, Phillip. The Osage Today. Philadelphia. Maroon crest publishing. 2005

World book online

The Osage by Tristan

                Did you know there was a group of people that made axes from animal’s bones?  The Osage people did this and much more.  The Osage were very religious.  They made and traded many weapons, not for war but for hunting.  The Osage lived in houses called wikiups.  The Osage were known for their food, religion, hunting, and housing. 

                First, the Osage main source of food was buffalo.  Buffalo were very sacred to them.  They used every part of the buffalo.  Non-Indian hunters almost took out all of the buffalo.  All they used was the fur.  They only used the fur for coats.  The Osage also hunted deer and bear.

                The Osage were also very religious.  They mainly worshipped “Wa-Kon-Ta” the creator.  They also worshipped “God Father” the son.  Sometimes the Osage prayed to borrow hunting and fighting skills from animals.  Some Osage joined the Native American church.  That church comings traditional and Christian beliefs.

                Next, Osage made and traded many weapons, not for war but for hunting.  They made weapons from tree bark.  They made weapons like bows and arrows, tomahawks, and spears.  Bow and arrows were made from tree bark and string.  They held the arrow on the string.  A tomahawk was an ax made from bones.  A spear was a long wooden pole with a sharpened rock on the end of it.  The Europeans made the Osage more powerful by giving them firearms.

                Lastly, the Osage lived in houses called wikiups.  They were dome shaped structures.  The Osage made frames from willow.  Then they placed animal hides over the frames.   They also lived next to the Osage river.

Osage Home

                In conclusion, not many people did what the Osage did.  The Osage lived a good life with no war. The Osage’s food, religion, hunting, and housing were very interesting.  The Osage was a cool tribe.

References

Kessel, William B. and Robert Wooster eds Osage and war fare. Encyclopedia of Native American wars and war fareNew York: Facts On File,      Inc., 2005American Indian history online: Facts On  File, Inc. http://.fof web.comActive Link2.asp?Item ID=we4 &iPin=

“Osage” America the Beautiful. 2008. Grolier online. 29 oct. http://atb.grolier.com/cgi-bin/artical?template name=topics.html & assetid =atb     4150 & asset type= t

Riehecky,Janet. The Osage Native Peoples Minnesota capstonepress2003

Wilson,Terry,p.  The Osage  New York Chelsea House Publishers 1988.

Last updated 12/9/08