Louis F. Burns, who descends from the Little Bear/Strike Axe band of Little Osages, is a member of the well-known Tinker family. He holds a B. S. degree in education and an M. S. degree in history from Kansas State University, Emporia. He also did work toward a doctorate at the University of Southern California. His interest in Osage history has been life-long, and his scholarship spans fifty years. His publications include numerous articles and ten books, including Treaties, Constitution, and Laws of the Osage Nation (reprint ed., 1967); Turn of the Wheel (1980); The Osage Annuity Rolls of 1878, 3 vols., (1980–81); Osage Indian Bands and Clans (1984); Osage Indian Customs and Myths (1984); Osage Mission Baptisms, Marriages, and Interments, 1820-1886 (1986); A History of the Osage People (1989); and Symbolic and Decorative Art of the Osage People (1994). The collection relates to Burns’s research for, and writing of, the last five works.