Thousands of Osage Native Americans Called the Arnold Area Home
Thousands of Osage Native Americans Called the Arnold Area Home
Osage men were tall and wore loincloths, moccasins, and leggings. Painting by George Catlin published by State Historical Society of Missouri.
Osage Native Americans lived along the Meramec, Missouri, Mississippi and Osage rivers in Missouri for thousands of years. At one time, eight different Native American tribes lived in Missouri. The Osage, with a Missouri population of at least 8,000, were fearsome and warlike. They migrated from the Ohio Valley in the 1500s, settling near the confluence of rivers to find new areas for hunting buffalo.
Soon after launching the Corps of Discovery near St. Louis in 1804 to explore the Louisiana Purchase Territory, Lewis and Clark encountered a group of Osage traveling along the Missouri River. They noted in their journal that the Osage “are large in size and well proportioned, and a very warlike people.” The average Osage warrior stood more than six feet tall.
Lewis and Clark had little to fear. The Osage were the most successful fur-trading tribe in Missouri. With guidance from French traders including the Chouteau family in St. Louis , they had learned to make fur trade profitable and western exploration possible. That is why President Thomas Jefferson wanted to meet them. The Indians Lewis and Clark saw on the Missouri River that day were, in fact, 12 Osage chiefs traveling east for their official visit with President Jefferson, according to the State Historical Society of Missouri.
Presidential diplomacy aside, most Osage turned savage if they felt threatened. Until the Indian Removal Act of 1830, settlers in this area were often attacked by bloodthirsty warriors who considered pioneers interlopers. In many attacks, pioneer men, women and children were scalped and beheaded. Scalping was a sign of power celebrated before battles with a “scalp dance” in Osage villages for good luck fighting enemies. In the early 1800s, Osage tribes were constantly at war with other Missouri tribes.
Many ancient Osage arrowheads, tomahawk blades and broken war clubs have turned up on Arnold farms, such as these found by the Flamm family.
Osage villages were spread along Missouri rivers from Arnold to Kansas and beyond. The French called two of the tribes Great Osage and Little Osage – one group lived on a hill, the other on flat land. Artifacts indicate that an Osage village existed near the confluence of the Meramec and Mississippi rivers, downstream from where two salts licks were located, and where shards of human bone and crude pottery have been found. In addition, Arnold farmers have found many artifacts when plowing fields.
Allen Flamm, a local historian whose great grandfather Wilhelm Flamm settled here in 1836, says his family has found many arrowheads and tomahawk blades on their farm. Some are displayed at the Arnold Historical Society & Museum; Flamm also displays some at his home. Elsewhere in Jefferson County farmers have discovered burial mounds occupied by ancient human skeletons, stone tools and weapons, plus other Indian relics. “It is really interesting to think about how those Indians lived so long ago,” says Flamm.
Children of the Middle Waters
According to the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service, the Osage Indians, a very spiritual people, were excellent hunters and brave warriors. Their beliefs were based on what they called Wah-kon-tah, meaning a great mystery spirit. “The Osages believed that the People of the Sky (Tzi-sho) met with the People of the Earth (Hun-Kah) to form one tribe: The Children of the Middle Waters (Nee Oh-kah-shkahn).” Living in villages near rivers, the Osage roamed between the Missouri River to the north, the Mississippi to the east, and the Arkansas to the south. Their western boundary stretched into buffalo territory on Kansas plains.
The Osage farmed, fished, hunted and gathered food to survive, and conducted two buffalo hunts a year – one in summer, one in fall.
President Andrew Jackson . Wikipedia
The summer hunt was to obtain meat and fat. The fall hunt was to get meat, but also thick fur for making robes, moccasins, leggings, breechcloths, and dresses. Only Osage men hunted; women did butchering, prepared meat, and tanned hides. Men too weak or disinclined to become warriors dressed as women and were ignored by the tribe.
When Jefferson Barracks opened in 1826 it became a vital U.S. Army presence defending against Osage and other Native American raiders in this area. According to U.S. Library of Congress archives, the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was approved and enforced by former U.S. Army General Andrew Jackson, elected President in 1829. The act forced removal of Native American tribes from their homelands to locations west of the Mississippi River to make westward expansion easier for colonists.
Jackson offered incentives to make relocation seem appealing. He promised financial compensation and protection by the federal government. Once the act was in place, Jackson did whatever it took to move tribes to assigned land. Many tribes realized they were no match for the U.S. government. Some federal incentives, promises and treaties were broken.
The U.S. National Park Service notes that by the 1830s more than 5,000 Osage were relocated west to “Indian Territory.” Other Native American tribes were relocated west of Missouri and Arkansas boundaries. Federal troops stationed in those “Indian Territories” helped keep the peace.
Osage warrior painted by artist George Catlin. This image published by the State Historical Society of Missouri.
War Paint
The famous artist George Catlin painted Indians from nearly 70 tribal groups in the 1830s. He described Missouri’s Osage as “the tallest race of men in North America, either of red or white skins.” Historian Ron Soodalter wrote an article for Missouri Life Magazine that noted, “Aside from their physically prepossessing appearance, the Osage were fiercely warlike, ready to fight with any tribal group that threatened their domain. Proficient in the use of bows and arrows, lances, knives, clubs, and tomahawks…The Osage waged various types of war, from the nonlethal to outright slaughter.”
According to the website www.PowWow.com, “The painting of a man’s face and body was said to be a form of mental conditioning. Warriors would paint themselves with personal protective designs and colors before they engaged in battle with enemies, inspiring the term ‘war paint.’ This paint would have been prayed over. It was believed that Indians’ prayers were put into the paint and, when applied, the power of the prayers was conveyed. Special songs might be sung when paint was applied. Some warriors applied the paint themselves; others preferred to be painted by a holy person or medicine man.”
This image of Osage Warrior who visited President Thomas Jefferson is shown at lewis-clark.org
Face painting was not always related to doing battle. Different designs signified membership in societies; participating in special celebrations; marks of achievement; and were used in mourning for the dead.
According to www.PowWow.com, “The oldest materials used in paint were derived from animal, vegetable and mineral sources, with earth or mineral paint being most common. White and yellow paint was obtained from white and yellow clays along riverbeds, and buffalo gallstones produced a different kind of yellow. Green paint was obtained from copper ores. One type of blue paint came from drying a certain type of duck manure. Some tribes would combine bluish mud and yellow clay to make green paint. Powdered charred wood and black earth were used for black paint. The base for red paints, probably the most commonly used color, was crimson-colored clay.”
Oil Rich
Chauffer-driven Osage automobile circa 1920. Published by PBS. (1)
Relocated by the federal government to a Kansas reservation in the 1830s, in 1872 the Osage were forced to move again, this time to Osage County, Oklahoma, where they wisely bought the mineral rights to their new property. PBS reports, “This land, it turned out, was sitting above some of the largest oil deposits then in the United States. To extract that oil, prospectors had to pay the two thousand or so Osage tribe members for leases and royalties. In 1923, these Osage received collectively what would be worth today more than $400 million. Many of the Osage lived in mansions and had chauffeured cars.”
As some of richest people in the world at the time, the Osage attracted plenty of attention. “Murders began when royalty checks started pouring in,” a journalist said. PBS reports: “In 1923, after the official death toll had climbed to more than two dozen, the Osage Tribal Council issued a resolution demanding that federal authorities investigate the murders. The case was eventually taken up by the Bureau of Investigation, then an obscure branch of the Justice Department, which was later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
Newspapers described murders as the Reign of Terror, lasting from 1921 to 1926. Sixty or more wealthy, full-blood Osage Native Americans were reported killed from 1918 to 1931. Newer investigations indicate that other deaths during this time could have been covered-up murders, including people who were heirs to future fortunes. Law enforcement revealed extensive corruption among officials in the Osage guardianship program. Most of the murders were never prosecuted, but some men were convicted and sentenced…”
“Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI” by David Grann became a best-selling non-fiction book in 2017. Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DiNiro star in the movie of the same name, directed by Martin Scorsese, set for release in November this year.
Article by Jeff Dunlap for the City of Arnold
Resources for this article include Allen Flamm, Arnold Historical Society & Museum; Britannica.com; Missouri Life Magazine; Public Broadcasting Service (PBS); U.S. Library of Congress archives; U.S. Department of the Interior; U.S. National Park Service; State Historical Society of Missouri; www.PowWow.com; www.lewis-clark.org; Wikipedia.