The Great Omaha Nation

The word Omaha means the Upriver People. In 1718 the French mapped the tribe as  “The Maha, a wandering nation”.

The Omaha People are a tribe that are mainly located in present day, Macy Nebraska area. They speak the Siouan Language which is a language diminishing because the younger people are not as fluent or not speaking the language like the past.

The tribe inhabited the area of Ohio and the Wabish River’s back in the day which would now be present day Cincinnati, Ohio.

The tribe had a lot of conflict with the Mighty Sioux tribe and that pushed them to retreat to the area of Bow Creek, Nebraska.

Before the tribe was split, it was made up of the Omaha and the Quapaw tribes. The had a population of up to 5,000 members but the disease of small pox brought in by the Europeans which killed approximately a third of their members.

The Horse

The Omaha Tribes was the first tribe in the Northern Plains to adopt the horse and use it as a big part of their culture.

Horses changed the way of living for the Omaha people. They used it for hunting buffalo and developing vast trading routes which lead as far North as Lake Winnipeg.

It was also used a one of the highest forms of currency and highly prized possessions.

During marriage, the wife would be paraded around the village on a horse and it would be followed by all the gifts that the husband was offering the family.

The horses sometimes were painted by Omaha warriors for spiritual purposes and even braided the tails of the horses.

The Horses replaced dogs when it came to hauling materials when moving to new areas of land. The dogs used to pull the Omaha’s goods and materials with a travois.

That later was replaced by the powerful horse which could carry and pull more things.

Chief Big Elk and Leadership

Born in 1770, Chief Big Elk was the prominent leader of the Omaha People. In the upper Missouri River he lead his people but struggled to protect them from the arrival of the Europeans.

The biggest struggle though came from their biggest enemy which was the Sioux People.

Knowing the tribe had enemies and the world was changing with the European people, he decided to create alliances with United States during the war of 1812 between United States and the British.

Shortly after the war, in 1815 a Treaty was signed between the Omaha People and United States.

The Treaty was called the “Peace and Friendship” Treaty. It was signed on July 20th with several Chiefs including Chief Big Elk and the Governor of the Missouri Territory, William Clark.

Part of this treaty was to help get protection aid from the Sioux Tribe.

The Omaha people never fought the U.S but fought along side them during the American Civil War.

Chief Big Elk’s Adopted Son Joseph

It was common for the Omaha people to adopt others into the tribe. In 1843 Chief Big Elk adopted a Métis of French Canadian and Ponca descent into the tribe.

His name was Joseph LaFlesche. Joseph was mentored by Chief Big Elk in what it meant to be a Chief. Later on Big Elk appointed Joseph as his successor.

Joseph assimilated into the Omaha culture and way of life. He because appointed Chief of the Omaha people from 1885 to 1888.

During this time it was a time for change for the people. Reservations were starting to become implemented, education transitioned into mission school to learn English and to accept Christianity as the main form of religion.

Most importantly it was a way to change the Omaha People into a more European-American way of life.

The last full-blooded Omaha Chief was Big Elk who died in 1846 and is buried in Bellevue Cemetery in Bellevue, Nebraska.

Culture of the Omaha

The Omaha People were very spiritual people. They have developed many dances that can attributed to today’s popular dances in the Powwow world such as the men’s traditional and men’s grass dance.

Within their tribe they were usually split into two societies.

Those two societies were the Sky People and the Earth People.

Each society had specific roles for the people.

The spiritual need’s of the tribe was the responsibility of the Sky People. During the time of the buffalo hunt the Sky People would occupy the Northern part of the camp side which represented the heavens.

The Sky People had a unique relationship with the sky and were custodians to ceremonies in relation to the creation, the stars, and cosmic forces.

Clans were put into each society. The Sky people were made up of about 7 different clans including:

• Gray Wolf Clan also known as the Earth Maker Clan
• Buffalo Tail Clan
• Deer Head Clan
• Red Newborn Buffalo Calf Dung Clan
• Flashing Eye’s Clan

Earth people for the tribe’s physical welfare.  During the bison hunts the Earth People would occupy the Southern part of the camp side and represented the Earth.

They controlled the sacred tent of war which also held war ceremonies and they were keeper’s of the tribe’s sacred items and objects.

Anything involving war would be the responsibility of the Earth People.

The Earth People were made up of several clans as well which consisted of the:

• Elk Clan
• Buffalo Clan
• Leader Clan
• Kansa Clan

Marriage and Relationships

When it came to marriage, most times it was the parents who sanctioned individual choices.

Most times it was the female’s parents that arranged the marriage and usually sought out a man who established and ready to pay a bride’s price.

It was also common for a man to have more than one wife. There was a limit to this though as three wives was considered the max that one man can have.

Omaha-Ponca Language

Here are some common words for the Omaha-Ponca Dictionary here.

The Omaha have a beautiful sounding language. When they came upon other tribes with a different language, they would communicate using sign language.

It’s a language that comes from the Siouan language .

If you want to learn how to start learning the Omaha Language, there is an App you can download to your phone to learn basic Omaha.

The Act of Coup

Killing was considered a lesser exploit to the Omaha People.

One of the things that the tribe awarded special insignia was the act of coup. The act of coup had many meanings such as having daring exploites with the enemy.

Toughing the enemy without getting harmed, taking and stealing horses, or anything which risked death or injury and escaping unharmed.

Dwellings and Lodges

The Omaha people used to live in bark covered houses.

After a while they adopted the Tipi from the Sioux People and the Earth lodge from the Ankara People known as the Pawnee People.

The Tipi was used during the summer seasons during the Buffalo hunts as it was easier to travel with.

The Earth Lodges were used during the colder months such as Winter and inside had an area for fire that recalled their creation story.

The Sacred Pole of the Omaha People

The people held great significance of a sacred pole made of cottonwood.

It would be amongst the tribe leaning at a 45 degree angle.

Near the head of the pole would have a basket made of twigs and feathers and it would hold a sacred bundle.

The bundle on the Sacred Pole was said to represent the body of a man with the name a-kon-da-bpa. That name has the translation of how a warrior would use a leather shield to protect himself from the bow string.

The bow was intended to symbolize a man as part of their culture, no other being could hold a bow string shield.

It also symbolized as a provider and protector of the People. The tribe would annoint the pole in early summer months and use it in ceremony to pray for the upcoming buffalo hunts.

They would hold ceremony and paint the pole and give thanks after successful summer hunts.

Powwow and Several Powwow Dances

Powwows are a very popular event that happen through Indian Country across North America. A lot of this celebration can be attributed to the Omaha and Ponca people.

In particular the Grass Dance and the Men’s Traditional dance come from direct roots of the Hethushka societies in the southern Plains.

Hethushka Society

The Hethushka had a religious dance called the war dance that came with their own songs and singers. The dancers wore roaches, scalps from enemies, and feather belts and bustles.

Over time the dance became non religious and evolved with the use of Eagle Feathers and sweetgrass.

The dance gained popularity and spread throughout the prairies and evolved into the men’s fancy dance and as the dance went south it came into what we now know as the Men’s Southern Traditional Dance.

The men’s Southern Traditional don’t make use of the bustle, it was said during this time the U.S government made them turn in their bustles because they believed that the use of dead bird feathers could spread disease.

When the Lakota saw the dance they had a name for it and called it the Omaha Dance.

As it spread more throughout the plains, the men’s grass emphasized the shirt that the grass dancers adorned as a war shirt.

The shirt is now made with the use of yarn or ribbon hanging from the shirt. Before the ribbon and the yarn, what was used was weasels that hung from the war shirt.

There would be two versions of this grass dancer. One with a small bustle and other without. The dancer without the bustle would evolve into what is present day grass dancing while the bustled grass dancer would evolve into what is present day Men’s Traditional dancing.

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Today, the tribe has about 5,000 members with approximately 3,000 residing on the Omaha Reservation at Macy, Nebraska.

There is a Powwow that is celebrated in Macy, Nebraska on the Omaha Reservation each year.

You can visit the Omaha Tribe and people by attending a Powwow that they host.

https://youtu.be/G32WFbUUnVg

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