The Osage in Missouri (Missouri Heritage Readers)

by Kristie C. Wolferman

On November 10, 1808, the American militia and the chiefs from the Little Osage and Big Osage nations celebrated. Fort Osage, built on a Missouri River bluff 250 miles west of St. Louis, was officially opened on that date, and the Osage Indians signed a treaty with the Americans written by Governor Meriwether Lewis. Fort Osage, intended as a citadel for the opening of the great American West, was also to function as a trading post for the Osage Nation. It was President Jefferson's hope that Fort Osage and other fort-trading posts would not only keep peace on the frontier but would also begin a new era in relations between Native Americans and the United States. For a short time, the fort did provide the Osage with a place to trade their furs. It also offered them limited protection from the many other tribes who were their enemies. However, the Osage chiefs discovered very quickly that the fort was small consolation for the lands they had given up by signing the treaty. In this well-written and very readable work, Kristie C. Wolferman traces the history of the Osage Nation from its origins to its forced departure from Missouri. She demonstrates the ways in which the Osage culture changed with each new encounter of the Osage with Europeans. The Osage had already experienced many contacts with the white man before Fort Osage came to be. They had encountered French trader-trappers, explorers, missionaries, Spanish administrators, and early settlers. Their lives had been changed by the influx of white disease, by the use of European trade goods and weapons, and by the political control of Spanish, French, and American governments. As a result, the Fort Osage experiment came too late to establish lasting good relations between the white men and the Indians. The Osage in Missouri suggests that the white men could never understand the Osage way of life, nor the Osage the white men's way. But Osage culture, greatly altered by Europeans and Americans, would never be the same again. The Osage would be forced to sacrifice most of their traditions and beliefs, as well as their homeland, on the way to becoming "civilized."

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Native American

136 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1997

Reviews

[Adam Gutschenritter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great quick-over of Osage history in Missouri. It gives solid, if shortened, history of the relationship between the United States and the Osage Nation. It is a great book to read if you want an overview of this portion of Missouri history.

[Kyle Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overall history of the tribe, but would love to learn more about their day to day culture.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an excellent overview, well written and informative but not terribly analytical. Wolferman takes, for the most part, the Euro-American perspective but not obnoxiously.

I needed a quick, solid read in a break from the excellent but somewhat ponderous The Best and the Brightest. Good choice.

[Roadhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about the Osage. Most modern books about Indians give the politically correct BS that they were peaceful, tranquil, litter crying people. Not this book.

This book discusses the true nature of the Osage. They were very war like. Their culture was based on a warrior class. The book discusses the numerous problems that the Spanish, French, and Americans had with them.