The Osage People

Many of us have heard of First Nations people, but few of us have heard of nations (or people) not portrayed by Hollywood. The Osage, are just one of the many First Nations peoples, in the US and Canada, that still exist today. They have a rich heritage, and come from the Great Plains, around Missouri, and Kansas. Today many of the Osage live on a reservation in Oklahoma. They were placed there by our government in the 1800’s.

Historically they are known to have come originally from the Ohio Valley. They were pushed westward by other nations before Europeans came to the area. They settled west of the Mississippi River, between the Missouri and Arkansas Rivers. Notice the nations around them in the green map. Many states and cities in the United States, have names from the First Nations people. The Wichita people have a city in Kansas named after them. The name Kansas is also First Nations.

The Osage were somewhat different than the Lakota, and other peoples that were mostly nomadic, and hunted buffalo. The Osage had semi-permanent villages, and not only hunted buffalo and deer but they also grew crops, including corn, beans, and pumpkins. Early on, their houses were log homes covered with tree bark. My understanding is that they adopted earthen lodges (log homes covered with earth and sod), and later the tipis, we are so used to seeing.

If you have ever read the Laura Ingalls Wilder series, “Little House on the Prairie”, she describes living on the prairie, and seeing First Nations people (although she called them Indians). The people she saw and wrote about were Osage.

I hope you have enjoyed this brief look at a unique and beautiful people. It’s been a while since I have had some First Nations dancing on the site, so I thought I would place some here today. This film is so beautiful because it shows First Nations people living today, and because it shows in their own words, how they feel about dancing, and their culture. Watch for the young man, who is a “warrior within” PEACE.

Blessings to everyone and PEACE!

Commentary © Copyright 2015, nicodemasplusthree

video from youtube

images from google

The Strange and Wonderful Place

Historical Fiction About First Nations People of the 1700’s

Note for New Readers: The village you are about to enter has three distinct First Nations groups, the Tsi, the Grie, and now the Ite.

He was not used to people saving his life. Now he had an entire group of people that he was thankful to and thankful for. He didn’t know what to say. He had nearly died from the fever, and the search party waited for a week to travel again, until it broke. And then there was the eagle. How do you say thank you to an eagle? Was the bird for real, or just a spirit, or some of both? He was not sure.

They traveled slowly back to the village, due to Coyote still being weak. Shining Water and Thunder Speaking were at his side the whole time. Everything else was a blur, and he remembered little, until they arrived. He remembered the noise, the celebration of the people, welcoming everyone back home. The languages were so different, he could not understand a word they were saying, but he knew the people were happy, and he knew a sincere greeting when he saw one.

He remembered being helped to a lodge, with a person on each side of him, and that once he was inside, he collapsed. He awoke late the next day, when a number of people came to check on him. Sky continued to supply him with a number of herbal drinks, and they brought him food.

Thunder Speaking and his wife, Bluebird, spent a lot of time with him over the next several days. They told him all about the village, and that this was a village with three different peoples, and their languages. This had been a Tsi village, and then Thunder Speaking arrived, being the only Ite. Over the winter a group of Grie people had arrived, seeking refuge. And now Coyote, Shining Water, and the twins had arrived, being the last of the Ite people alive.

         

Shining Water also came to visit him and to bring him food. Everyone wanted him to eat! Why did he not like her before? He began to notice her, and he thanked her often for her kindness. She was a tall thin woman, and she often smiled at him. Was that a sparkle in her eye?

As he gained his strength he began walking around the village, and he saw how special the place was. There were not only different peoples, with different languages, these people were also very loving and kind. He often smiled at them, and they did likewise.

The more he walked outside in the cool spring air, the better he felt. When it rained he stayed in the warmth of the lodge, by the fire, and wearing thick buffalo blankets. Since it was early spring he started noticing young couples in love.

He often saw Wild Horse and Sky walking hand in hand, sometimes embracing on the edge of the village, or out by the horses. Wasn’t she a holy woman, a healer? Did they allow that type of thing here? He couldn’t help smiling, as he walked back to his lodge. He knew they would soon be married. He wondered what it would be like, having a woman so close, that she became his best friend. A woman as a friend? For some reason, as he was walking, he had an image in his mind of Shining Water. He saw her face, and she was smiling at him. “What a strange and wonderful place this is!”, he said out loud.

The next day the men decided to have a dance…….

Blessings to everyone and PEACE!

Writing © Copyright 2015, nicodemasplusthree

images from google

video from youtube

The Healing of the People and the Earth

Historical Microfiction About First Nations People of the 1700’s

The snow was melting now and the people were beginning to heal. The long, difficult winter was fading as a memory. The first sprouting of flowers could be seen, peaking through the ground, sometimes coming up through the snow, determined to make an appearance. There was no holding back their life. It was time to live again.

The people felt the same way. They had experienced great sadness, but there had been joy too. There had also been tremendous victory over fear. Sky, was especially grateful for the freedom from fear that she had experienced, even though thinking about the victory, brought back memories of Cricket in the Meadow. The people had also won a victory over the spirit of war. Relying on the Creator, they had come together and been moved by the Great Spirit. The Ulani warrior (and the hunting party he was part of) had vanished. There was peace, and there would be peace, and everybody knew it.

On a very practical level the people were busy, and humming with new life. Young mothers, including Redwing, were busy with their children, and the men were hunting. The people were growing and needed to be fed! The pregnant women were busy also making plans, making clothing, and comparing notes with each other. There was more time spent outside, and even talking became an outdoor activity, as long as there was a fire close by.

There was a large fire built almost every evening, in the middle of the village so the people could be together more as a group. On one warm evening they were all singing, when they noticed two points of light in their midst getting larger and taking shape, turning into people – or rather the spirits of two people. It was very brief, but the people were surprised when they saw the spirits of Lone Horse, and Cricket in the Meadow, standing with them and singing too. At the end of the song, the spirit couple waved goodbye, joined hands as they turned, and then disappeared into the night. Sky mentioned, she thought the two of them wanted the people to know they were at peace. No one ever saw them again.

Thunder Speaking was actively seeking wisdom from the Creator on how to help the 4 remaining Ite people, find their way out of the Great Mountains. His people had been devastated by war and sickness, and the White Wolves said they were looking for him. He needed to help them but he did not know how. Should he follow the same path that he had used, when he came to the Tsi village? How would he ever find that trail again? He decided to seek the advice of men he looked up to, like Standing on the Mountain, Bull Elk, and Seven Hawks. This was too big for him to handle alone. He would often go into the woods to pray.

A number of the women of the village decided to surprise the men one day. Since it was early spring they decided it was time for a Jingle Dress Dance, which was thought to bring healing and restoration. It was the right time. They decided to dance first thing in the morning, which had never been done before, but they wanted the village to wake up to the sound of their dancing. Each woman would dance around her own lodge, and then they would dance in the center as a group. They did need to tell a few men, so they could have the drums ready.

As the women began to dance that morning, there was a feeling of joy, of good things coming in the future, and that they were seeing another day, with the sun shining. There was hope. It was good, and right, and everybody knew it.

Blessings to everyone and PEACE!

Writing © Copyright 2015, nicodemasplusthree

top image from pinterest/additional images from google/video from youtube

The Seeker Returns

Contemporary Microfiction About First Nations People

He came down off the mountain, that afternoon, and was carrying more than just his belongings. He was thinking, and his heart was filled with questions. What was he supposed to do now? What was he supposed to do with all of the supernatural that had occurred? On the one hand his vision quest had been a huge success. He felt connected to the earth and to his people now, but what was he supposed to do with it all? How do you take feelings and put them into action?

The woman in white did give him some directions. He had a few people in mind that could teach him the old ways, or at least some of the songs. He knew, that he knew, he was to be a drummer, but he needed to learn that as well. Here he was seventeen, and he knew almost nothing of his people’s ways. He had rejected it all, for a long time. Tears filled his eyes, as he reached the old pickup at the bottom of the mountain. He threw his gear in the back, and headed for home.

And for the first time in his life he wanted to dance, but he did not know much about it – other than feeling the music, and flowing with it. As he drove the highway, he realized he was getting ahead of himself, and he thought about his time on the mountain, and the incredible peace there. He inwardly relaxed, and began to think of what to tell his father and mother.

His parents were at the dinner table when he came in. There was some small talk, as Johnny drank some chicken broth. He was feeling weak and hungry now from all the fasting. Then he opened up, and told them everything, including seeing his Grandfather’s spirit, and the vision of the lady in white. His mother was shocked that all of this had taken place, while his father just sat there and glowed. And he told them, “I remembered what Grandfather used to call me, it was Nighthawk”. “That’s the name I want to go by”. “And I need someone to teach me the ways, the songs, maybe even the language.”

Two weeks later he was being taught after work, by Tom Crowfoot, a trusted friend and a member of the people’s council. Nighthawk thought it was unusual, but Tom started out his training by telling stories, not just any stories, but stories about, and by, his people. He started with creation, how people came into being, and how his tribe began, and then how they lived in the mountains in peace, for many years. He even told funny stories about husbands and wives. After all that was a part of life, and part of the history of the people.

“You must find out where you are from – in order to know where you are going”, was Tom’s favorite expression. There was so much wisdom in this, and in the stories. The two of them would sit outside, if the weather was nice, and carve wood, Tom while he talked, and Nighthawk while he listened.

Tom never stopped telling stories, there were always stories to tell. But after a couple of weeks he began to teach Nighthawk some songs. They flowed like a river. Nighthawk’s spirit began to soar – and it would never stop soaring. The first song they sang together, was about the eagle, and as Nighthawk closed his eyes to feel the song even more, he had a vision. He saw himself dancing – and he was dancing the Eagle Dance…….

 

Writing © Copyright 2015, nicodemasplusthree

images from google, video from youtube

Blessings to you, and PEACE!

There is Joy in the Dance

We will not be held back,

pushed down,

mocked,

we will rise!

with joy in our hearts,

let the sun shine brightly,

let the love flow,

let forgiveness flow,

let us be a positive,

in this world,

let the people sing,

let the people dance,

joy

is an act of warfare,

We will not be held back,

pushed down,

mocked,

We will rise!

Let the people sing,

let the people dance!

 

Image from Pinterest

Video from youtube

Poetry © Copyright 2015, nicodemasplusthree

Do You Hear It Sisters?

by sheltieboy

Do you hear it sisters?

the heartbeat of the earth,

pounding, calling,

dance for the people, and bring in new life,

please tell me of good things to come,

of healing, and the restoration of the earth,

where the hatred is no more,

where the sun helps us to grow,

where the western wind is gentle,

and rivers flow,

and everyone has food to eat.

Do you hear it sisters?

The heartbeat of the earth,

pounding, calling,

dance for the people, and bring in new life,

please tell me of good things to come,

of healing, and the restoration of the earth.

 

I have included the video of jingle dress dancing, and hope it turns out alright.

Peace!

Poetry © Copyright 2015, nicodemasplusthree