Osage Nation

Osage Nation

Official seal of the Osage Nation
Total population
15,897 self-identified,[1] 11,394 enrolled[2]
Regions with significant populations
United States (Oklahoma)
Languages
English, Osage
Religion
Christianity (Roman Catholicism), Native American Church, Other
Related ethnic groups
Kansa, Omaha, Ponca, Quapaw

The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma by the mid-17th century. At the height of their power in the early 18th century, the Osages had become the dominant power in their region, controlling the area between the Missouri and Red rivers. They are a federally recognized tribe and based mainly in Osage County, Oklahoma. Members are found throughout the country.

The nineteenth-century painter George Catlin described the Osage as

the tallest race of men in North America, either red or white skins; there being few indeed of the men at their full growth, who are less than six feet in stature, and very many of them six and a half, and others seven feet.^[3]

The missionary Isaac McCoy described the Osage as a "uncommonly fierce, courageous, warlike nation" and Washington Irving said they were the "finest looking Indians I have ever seen in the West."^[4]

The Osage language is part of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan stock of Native American languages. Native speakers live mostly in Nebraska and Oklahoma. They originally lived among speakers of the same Dhegihan stock: the Kansa, Ponca, Omaha, and Quapaw in the Ohio Valley. The tribes may have become differentiated in languages and cultures after leaving the lower Ohio country.

Name

Osage traditions state that the tribe originally called themselves Ni-U-Kon-Ska, which means Little Children (or People) of the Middle Waters.^[5] By the late 17th century, the Osage were calling themselves Wah-Zha-Zhe.

The earliest record of European - Osage contact is a 1673 map by French Jesuit priest and explorer Jacques Marquette. He noted the people he encountered as the Ouchage, his way of expressing the sound of the name with French spelling.^[6] A few years after the Marquette expedition, French explorers discovered a Little Osage village and called it Ouazhigi.^[7]

French transliterations of the tribe's name settled on a spelling of Osage, which was also used by European Americans.^[8]

History

Osage warrior painted by George Catlin

Descendants of indigenous peoples who had been in North America for thousands of years, the Osage traditions and linguistic data show they were part of a group of Dhegian-Siouan speaking people who lived in the Ohio River valley area, extending into present-day Kentucky. According to their own stories (common to other Dhegian-Siouan tribes, such as the Ponca, Omaha, Kaw and Quapaw), they migrated west as a result of war with the Iroquois and/or to reach more game. Scholars are divided in whether they think the Osage and other groups left before the Beaver Wars.^[9] Some believe that they started migrating west as early as 1200 CE, and attribute long years of war with invading Iroquois to helping form their style of government. West of the Mississippi River, the Osage were sometimes allied with the Illiniwek and sometimes competing with them, as that tribe was also driven west of Illinois by warfare with the powerful Iroquois.^[5]

Eventually the Osage and other Dhegian-Siouan peoples reached their historic lands, likely splitting into the above tribes in the course of the migration to the Great Plains. By 1673, when they were recorded by the French, many of the Osage had settled near the Osage River in the western part of present-day Missouri. They were recorded in 1690 as having adopted the horse (often acquired in raids on other tribes.) The desire to acquire more horses contributed to their trading with the French.^[9] They attacked and defeated indigenous Caddo tribes to establish dominance in the plains region by 1750, with control "over half or more of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas," which they maintained for nearly 150 years.^[5] They lived near the Missouri River. Together with the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache, they dominated western Oklahoma. They also lived near the Quapaw and Caddo in Arkansas.

The Osage held high rank among the old hunting tribes of the Great Plains. From their traditional homes in the woodlands of present-day Missouri and Arkansas, the Osage would make semi-annual buffalo hunting forays into the Great Plains to the west. They also hunted deer, rabbit, and other wild game in the central and eastern parts of their domain. The women cultivated varieties of corn, squash, and other vegetables near their villages, and they harvested nuts and wild berries. In their years of transition, the practices of the Osage had elements of both Woodland Native American and Great Plains peoples.

Early French encounters

In 1673 French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, were among the first Europeans to encounter the Osage as they explored southward from present-day Canada in their expedition to the Mississippi River. Marquette and Joliet claimed all land in the Mississippi Valley for France. Marquette's 1673 map noted that the Kanza, Osage, and Pawnee tribes controlled much of modern-day Kansas.^[6]

The Osage called the Europeans I'n-Shta-Heh (Heavy Eyebrows) because of their facial hair.^[7] As experienced warriors, the Osage allied with the French, with whom they traded, against the Illiniwek during the early 18th century. The first half of the 1720s was a time of more interraction between the Osage and French. Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont founded Fort Orleans, the first European fort on the Missouri River. In 1724, the Osage allied with the French rather than the Spanish in their fight for control of the Mississippi region.

In 1725, Bourgmont led a delegation of Osage and other tribal chiefs to Paris. The Native Americans were shown the wonders and power of France, including a visit to Versailles, Château de Marly and Fontainebleau. There they hunted with Louis XV in the royal forest and saw an opera. After the French and Indian War (a part of the Seven Years War in Europe), France was defeated and ceded its lands east of the Mississippi River to England. It made a separate deal with Spain, which took control of much of the Illinois Country west of the great river.

In the late 18th century, the Osage did extensive business with French Creole fur trader René Auguste Chouteau from St. Louis, then part of territory under Spanish control. In return for the Chouteau brothers' building a fort in the village of the Great Osage 350 miles (560 km) southwest of St. Louis, they were given a six-year monopoly on trade (1794–1802) by the Spanish regional government. The Chouteaus named the post Fort Carondelet after the Spanish governor. The Osage were pleased to have a fur trading post nearby, as it gave them access to manufactured goods and increased their prestige among the tribes.^[10]

Lewis and Clark reported in 1804 that the peoples were the Great Osage on the Osage River, the Little Osage upstream, and the Arkansas band on the Vermillion River^{[disambiguation needed ]}, a tributary of the Arkansas River. The tribe then numbered some 5,500.

In 1804 after the United States made the Louisiana Purchase, wealthy fur trader Jean Pierre Chouteau, a half-brother of René Auguste Chouteau, was appointed the US agent assigned to the Osage. In 1809 he founded the Saint Louis Missouri Fur Company with relative Auguste Pierre Chouteau and other prominent men of St. Louis, most of whom were of French-Creole descent. Having lived with the Osage for many years and learned their language, Jean Pierre Chouteau traded with them and made his home at Salina, Oklahoma.

Osage wars with other tribes

Choctaw chief Pushmataha had a notable career as a warrior against the Osage tribe. When Western Cherokee (Arkansas Cherokee), who - like Sequoyah voluntarily removed to the Arkansas River valley in the early 19th century, they immediately clashed with the Osage, whose hunting lands they were invading. The Osage ceded these lands to the federal government in the 1818 treaty referred to as Lovely's Purchase after 600 warriors drawn from the United States, Choctaw and Cherokee Nations conducted the massacre referred to as the battle of Claremore Mounds, killing thirty people and capturing their horses and trade-worthy goods. Despite its proclaimed goal of creating peace among Native peoples, the United States promptly delivered these lands to the Cherokee aggressors, over the protest of Osages who hoped the land would serve as a buffer zone between them and the Cherokee invaders, one in which hunting rights were preserved for Osages even if other tribes settled there.^[11]

In 1833, the Osage clashed with the Kiowa near the Wichita Mountains in modern-day south central Oklahoma, in an incident known as the Cutthroat Gap Massacre. The Osage cut off the heads of their victims and arranged them in rows of brass cooking buckets. Not a single Osage died in this attack. Later, Kiowa warriors, allied with the Comanche, raided the Osage and others.

In 1836, the Osage prohibited the Kickapoo from entering their Missouri reservation, pushing them back to ceded lands in Illinois.

In 1867, because of their scouting expertise, excellent terrain knowledge, and military prowess, Osage scouts were used by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer in his campaign against Chief Black Kettle and his band of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians in western Oklahoma near the Washita River. Custer and his soldiers took Chief Black Kettle and his band by surprise in the early morning. They killed Chief Black Kettle, and there were additional deaths on both sides. This incident became known as the Battle of Washita River.

Interactions with the US and relocation

The Osage began treaty-making with the United States in 1808, the Osage Treaty, with their first cession of lands in Missouri.^[12] This treaty created a clear line between Osages and settlers in the Missouri Territory and ceded 52,480,000 acres (212,400 km²) to the federal government. This 1808 treaty also provided for approval by the U.S. President for future land sales and cessions.^[13] In 1808 the Osage moved from their homelands on the Osage River to western Missouri. The major part of the tribe had moved to the Three-Forks region of what would become Oklahoma soon after the arrival of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. This part of the tribe did not participate in negotiations for the treaty of 1808, but their assent was obtained in 1809.

The Osage occupied land in Indian Territory which the US government later promised to the Cherokee and four other southeastern tribes. When the Cherokee arrived to find that the land was already occupied, many conflicts arose with the Osage over territory and resources.

Between the first treaty and 1825, the Osages ceded their traditional lands across Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma to the US in the treaties of 1818 and 1825. In exchange they were to receive reservation lands and supplies to help them adapt to farming and more settled culture. They were first moved onto a southeast Kansas reservation called the Osage Diminished Reserve, on which the city of Independence, Kansas was later located. The first Osage reservation was a 50 by 150-mile (240 km) strip. Squatters were a frequent problem for the Osages. Subsequent treaties and laws through the 1860s further reduced the lands of the Osage. A treaty in 1865 ceded another 4 million acres (16,000 km²) and raised the issue of eventual removal from Kansas to Indian Territory.

The Drum Creek Treaty was passed by Congress July 15, 1870 and ratified by the Osage at a meeting in Montgomery County, Kansas on September 10, 1870. It provided that the remainder of Osage land in Kansas be sold and the proceeds used to relocate the tribe to Indian Territory in the Cherokee Outlet. They were thus one of the few American Indian nations to buy their own reservation. The reservation, of 1,470,000 acres (5,900 km²),^[14] is coterminous with present-day Osage County, Oklahoma in the north-central portion of the state between Tulsa, Oklahoma and Ponca City, Oklahoma.

Oklahoma and Indian Territory map, circa 1890s created using Census Bureau Data.

It was many years before the Osage recovered from the hardship suffered during their last years in Kansas and their enforced removal to their new home in 1871. Many adjustments to their new way of life had to be made. During this time, Indian Office reports showed nearly a 50 percent decline in the Osage population.^[15] This was due to the failure of the US government to provide adequate medical supplies, food and clothing. The people suffered greatly during the winters.

At the start of the twentieth century, the number of full-blood Osages, who were generally against allotment, was surpassed by the number of mixed-bloods, who were more open to allotment. In 1906, the Osage Allotment Act was passed by U.S. Congress. The act separated the land and distributed it among tribal members and created the Osage Tribal council to deal with the tribes political, business, and social affairs.^[15]

Although the Osage were encouraged to become settled farmers, their new land was the poorest for agricultural purposes in the Indian Territory. They existed by subsistence farming, later enhanced by stock raising. They were fortunate to have lands covered with the rich bluestem^{[disambiguation needed ]} grass, which proved to be the best grazing in the entire country. This enabled the growth of revenues by leasing grazing rights to cattle ranchers. Their income from grazing rights led the Indian Commissioner to call them "the richest people in the country."^[5]

The Osage's experiences with the US government increased their ability to negotiate for their rights. Through the efforts of Principal Chief James Bigheart, in 1907 they negotiated to retain mineral rights to the reservation lands. These were found to have great amounts of crude oil, from which tribal members benefited. They were unyielding in giving up their lands and held up statehood for Oklahoma before signing an Allotment Act. They are the only tribe today to retain a federally recognized reservation within the state of Oklahoma.^[2]

Federal law involving the Osages

Chief of the Little Osages

In 1889, the US federal government claimed to no longer recognize the legitimacy of a governing Osage National Council. Later, in 1906 the US Congress passed legislation which created the Osage Tribal Council to handle affairs of the tribe.^[16] The Osage Tribal Council was to be elected through inherited shares of the tribal mineral estate. The Allotment Act divided the Osage reservation into individual allotments divided among 2,228 members and one non-Indian on the 1906 tribal roll.^[17]

Osages were given a glimpse of hope with a 1992 district court decision which mandated a process through which citizen members of the Osage nation, who were not allowed to vote in the headright system, voted in a process to reinstate the Osage National Council. However, this decision was reversed in 1997 with the United States Court of Appeals ruling that ended the government restoration.^[18]

In 2004, there was a Congressional Revision of the 1906 Osage Allotment Act which enabled the Osage Tribe to determine their own membership and form of government.^[19]

In March 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that the 1906 Allotment Act had disestablished the Osage reservation that had been established in 1872.^[20] This ruling potentially affected the legal status of three of the seven Osage casinos, including the largest one, in Tulsa.^[21]

Natural resources and headrights

The Osage discovered a valuable natural resource on their reservation lands that allowed them to prosper financially. In 1894 large quantities of oil were discovered to lie deep beneath the vast prairie owned by the tribe. Because of his recent work in oil in Kansas, Henry Foster, a petroleum developer, approached the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to request exclusive privileges to explore the Osage Reservation in Oklahoma for oil and natural gas. The BIA granted his request in 1896, with the stipulation that Foster was to pay the Osage tribe a 10% royalty on all sales of petroleum produced on the reservation. Foster found large quantities of oil, and the Osages benefited greatly monetarily, but the "black gold" would eventually lead to more hardships. Over the next 10 years, the rise in production prompted Congress to pass the Osage Allotment Act on June 28, 1906. This act stated that all persons listed on tribal rolls prior to January 1, 1906 or born before July 1907 would be allocated a share of the reservation's subsurface natural resources, regardless of blood quantum.

The tribe auctioned off many of their mineral assets for millions as men tried the land to make their fortune. According to the commissioner of Indian Affairs, in 1924 the total revenue of the Osages from the mineral leases was $24,670,483.^[22] After the tribe auctioned mineral leases and more land was explored, the oil business on the Osage reservation boomed. Overnight, Osage share holders became the "richest people in the world."^[23] When royalties peaked in 1925, annual headright earnings were $13,000. A family of four who were all on the allotment roll earned $52,800, comparable to approximately $600,000 in today's economy.^[24]

Although the Osage Allotment Act protected the tribe's petroleum interests, any adult "of a sound mind" could sell surface land. In the time between 1907 and 1923, Osage individuals sold or leased thousands of acres of formerly restricted land to non-Indians. At the time, many Osage did not understand the value of such contracts, and often were taken advantage of by unscrupulous businessmen, con artists and others trying to grab part of their wealth. Other non-Indian Americans tried to cash in on the new Osage wealth by marrying into families with headrights. One such case resulted in the notorious "Reign of Terror", a series of deaths on the Osage reservation that also became known as the Osage Indian Murders. In 1921 white man Ernest Burkhart married into an allottee family. Together with his uncle William "King of Osage Hills" Hale, a powerful business man who led the plot, and his brother, they contracted to murder heirs of the headrights. The Osage requested the help of the newly organized Federal Bureau of Investigation to solve the Indian murders. It was the bureau's first murder case and they achieved the conviction of the principals.

As a result of the case and increasing problems with trying to protect Osage oil wealth, Congress passed legislation limiting inheritance of headrights only to those of Osage ancestry. Today, headrights have been passed down among descendants of the Osage who originally possessed them. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has estimated that 25% of headrights are owned by non-Osage people, including other American Indians, non-Indians, churches and community organizations. It still makes quarterly payments of mineral revenues.^[14] John Joseph Mathews depicted the social consequences of the oil boom for the Osage Nation in his semi-autobiographical novel Sundown (1934).

In November 2011, the US government settled a 12-year case brought by the Osage Nation over Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) management of tribal trust funds. It will award the tribe $380 million for estimated lost revenues, and has worked with the tribe to institute new procedures to protect tribal trust funds.^[25]Tulsa

Mineral Council

This is limestone, a mineral that also brought in profit for the Osage Nation

The Osage Tribal Council was created under the allotment act of 1906. It consisted of a principal chief, an assistant principal chief, and 8 members of the Osage tribal council. The mineral estate consists of more than just natural gas and petroleum. Even though these two resources brought in the most profit, the Osages also made money from the mining of lead, zinc, limestone, and coal deposits. Water could be considered a mineral and might soon be applicable on the reservation. The first elections for this council were held in 1908 on the first Monday in June. These elected officers stayed in office for a period of 2 years. If for some reason the principal chief's office becomes vacant, a replacement was elected by the remaining council members. Later the terms of office were increased to four years.

At the time of the council, each Osage tribal member shared equally in the mineral revenues. Adult males were permitted to vote and hold office on a one-man, one-vote basis. In 1958 the franchise was changed to permit voting by the amount of shares owned by each member. As the share in the mineral revenue was inherited by each generation, the share owning become fractionated. Due to the paternalism of the BIA, the Osage Tribe Council system of government became more representative of what the BIA wanted not what the Osage people wanted.^{[citation needed]}

In November 2011, the US government settled a 12-year case brought by the Osage Nation over Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) management of tribal trust funds, and will award the tribe $380 million for estimated lost revenues.^[26]Tulsa

Modern Osage Nation

Yatika Fields, Osage painter and muralist

Osage Nation before 1906

1881 Constitution^[27]

Current government

The Dawes Allotment Act, mentioned in more detail under the previous section Natural Resources and Headrights, provides for a principal chief, assistant principal chief and an eight member tribal council as the recognized governing body of the Osage Tribe. Each allottee receives 657 acres (2.66 km²) of surface rights and mineral rights reserved to the Osage Tribe.^[28]

Today, the Osage Nation has 9,635 enrolled tribal members, with 4,994 living within the state of Oklahoma.

The tribe issues its own vehicle tags and operates its own housing authority. The Osage Nation owns a gas station, 13 smoke shops, and seven casinos. Their annual economic impact is $222 million.^[2] The Osage Tribal Museum in Pawhuska, the oldest tribally owned museum in the country, documents and interprets their history.^[29]

In 2004, President George W. Bush signed Public Law 108-431, An Act to Reaffirm the Inherent Sovereign Rights of the Osage Tribe to Determine Its Membership and Form a Government.^[30] After this, the Osage Government Reform Commission began to function. This Reform Commission held weekly meetings to develop a referendum that Osage members could vote upon in order to develop and reshape the Osage Nation government and their policies.^[30] On March 11, 2006, the Constitution^[31] was ratified in a second referendum vote. By a 2/3 majority vote the Osage Nation adopted the new constitutional form of government.

The tribal government is headquartered in Pawhuska, Oklahoma and has jurisdiction in Osage County, Oklahoma. The current governing body of the Osage nation contains three separate branches; an executive, a judicial and a legislative. These three branches parallel the United States government in many ways.

Judicial branch

The judicial branch maintains courts to interpret the laws of the Osage Nation. It has the power to adjudicate civil and criminal matters, resolve disputes, and judicial review. The highest court is the Supreme Court. This Supreme Court has a Chief Justice, currently Charles Lohah, and two additional justices, currently Jeanine Logan and Meredith Drent. There is also a lower Trial Court and more inferior courts as allowed by the tribal constitution.^[32]

Executive Branch

The executive branch is headed by a Principal Chief, followed by an Assistance Principal Chief. The current Principal Chief is John Red Eagle, who is serving a four-year term. Administrative offices also fall under this executive branch.^[33]

Legislative Branch

The legislative branch consists of a Congress that works to create and maintain Osage laws. In addition to this role, their mission is to preserved the checks and balances within the Osage government, carry out oversight responsibilities, support trial revenues, and preserve and protect the nation's environment. This Congress is made up of twelve individuals who are elected by the Osage constituency. They hold two regular Congressional sessions and are headquartered in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.^[34]

Notable Osage

General Clarence Leonard Tinker (1887–1942) was an airman of Osage Indian ancestry who lost his life during World War II while on a combat mission during the Japanese attack on Midway Island in the Pacific, June 7, 1942. Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is named in his honor.

Ballerina Maria Tallchief, an Osage born in 1925 in Fairfax, Oklahoma, contributed greatly to the success of ballet in the United States. She danced with the New York City Ballet as it created a new American dance style. Its director George Balanchine choreographed dances just for her. Her younger sister Marjorie Tallchief was also a professional dancer. Both were prima ballerinas who performed in many countries throughout the 20th century.

Historian Willard Hughes Rollings published Unaffected by the Gospel: Osage Resistance to the Christian Invasion, 1673-1906: A Cultural Victory (2004), a study of Christian missionaries and the Osage, who resisted Christianization to retain their own religion and practices. The book was published by the University of New Mexico Press in Albuquerque.

Author/historian John Joseph Mathews (c. 1894-1979) was a World War I veteran who became one of the Osage Nation's most important spokespeople and writers. He studied at the University of Oklahoma and Oxford and served as a flight instructor during World War I.

David Holt (politician) currently serves in the Oklahoma Senate. Osage Assistant Principal Chief Scott Bighorse previously served in the Oklahoma House.

Popular culture

In the TV series, Little House on the Prairie, the family of Laura Ingalls Wilder was portrayed as moving to Kansas in the late 19th century.^{[citation needed]} The family's encounters with the Osage were part of several episodes. In the pilot, a French-speaking Osage chief, whom the Laura character called Soldat du Chêne (Oak Soldier), visited the family.

The Osage Nation is featured in the Daniel H. Wilson novel Robopocalypse.

Notes

1. ^ American Indian, Alaska Native Tables from the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2004-2005. (pdf file) Statistical Abstract of the United States 2004-2005. 2005 (retrieved 2 March 2009)
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Pocket Pictorial." Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission. 2010: 24. (retrieved 10 June 2010)
3. ^ "Fort Scott National Historic Site", National Park Service
4. ^ Schultz, George A. An Indian Canaan. Norman: U of OK press, 1972, p. 113
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Louis F. Burns Waters.""Osage" Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, retrieved 2 March 2009
6. ^ ^{a b} [1] Today in History: January 29th - Library of Congress
7. ^ ^{a b} "History of the Osage", Rootsweb
8. ^ "Osage Culture", Minnesota State University
9. ^ ^{a b} Willard H. Rollins, The Osage: An Ethnohistorical Study of Hegemony on the Prairie-Plains, Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1995, pp. 96-100, accessed 17 Nov 2009
10. ^ James Neal Primm, Lion of the Valley: St. Louis, Missouri, 1764-1980, St. Louis, MO: Missouri Historical Society Press, 3rd edition, 1998, pp. 56-57
11. ^ DuVal, Kathleen. The Native Ground: Indians and Colonists in the Heart of the Continent, University of Penn Press, 2006. p.208-10
12. ^ "Osage Treaties", American Memory, Library of Congress
13. ^ Warrior, Robert. 2005. The People and the Word. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
14. ^ ^{a b} "Osage Mineral Estate FAQ", Osage Nation website
15. ^ ^{a b} Warrior, Robert. The People and the Word: Reading Native Nonfiction. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 2005. (80-81) Print.
16. ^ Warrior, Robert. The People and the Word: Reading Native Nonfiction. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2005. Print. Indigenous Americas Ser. Page 54.
17. ^ Warrior. Ibid. edited. Page 54
18. ^ Warrior. Ibid. Page 55
19. ^ Warrior. Ibid. Page 87.
20. ^ Robert Boczkiewicz, "Appeal by tribe rejected: Judges say Osage County is not a reservation", Tulsa World, March 6, 2010.
21. ^ Clifton Adcock, "Ruling raises stakes: Some casinos deemed not on protected land", Tulsa World, April 12, 2010.
22. ^ Burns, Louis F. A History of the Osage People, New York: University Alabama, 2004.
23. ^ The New York Times, June 25, 1921, page 3
24. ^ [2], Tom's inflation calculator
25. ^ Jim Myers, "Osage Nation to get $380M in government settlement", AP, in News From Indian Country, November 2011, accessed 7 November 2011
26. ^ Jim Myers, "Osage Nation to get $380M in government settlement", AP, News From Indian Country, November 2011, accessed 7 November 2011
27. ^ Richards, William B. and Corden, Seth K. "CONSTITUTION OF THE OSAGE NATION", "Oklahoma Trails", 1912. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
28. ^ THE OSAGE NATION. "OSAGE HISTORY TIME CAPSULE - JUNE", "The Osage Nation Museum and Library", 2006. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
29. ^ "Osage Tribal Museum", Osage Tribe website
30. ^ ^{a b} Hokiahse Iba, Priscilla. “Osage Government Reform”, Arizona Native Net, 2006. Retrieved on 2009-10-05.
31. ^ "Osage Nation Constitution", Retrieved November 5, 2009.
32. ^ "Judicial", OSAGE NATION, Retrieved November 5, 2009.
33. ^ "Executive", OSAGE NATION, Retrieved November 5, 2009.
34. ^ "Congress", OSAGE NATION, accessed 5 Nov 2009

See also

• Osage alphabet

External links

• Osage Tribe Official Website
• Osage Tribal Museum
• Osage Indian Tribe History