Language Information

The Osage Indians lived originally in Missouri, but in 1872 were settled on the Osage reservation in northeastern Oklahoma. The reservation has the same boundaries as Osage County, with tribal headquarters in the town of Pawbuska. The Osage language is of the Siouan family. Only a few hundred speakers remain today.

Family: North American Indian
Subgroup: Siouan

Writing Sample

Translation

Verily, at that time and place,
They placed beneath the pile of stones and in the spaces between them the dry branches.
Verily, at that time and place,
They set fire to the dead branches placed within and about the pile of stones,
And the flames leaped into the air with vibrating motions,
Making the walls of the heavens
To redden with a crimson glow.
Verily, at that time and place,
They said to one another: Let the reflection of this fire on yonder skies be for the painting of the bodies of the little ones.
Verily, at that time and place, The bodies of the people of the Tsi-zhu Fireplaces
Became stricken with the red of the fire, leaving no spot un-touched.

Painting Ritual of the Osage War Ceremony