Otoe tribe
Encyclopedia
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
people. The Otoe language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan family and closely related to that of the related Iowa
Iowa tribe
The Iowa , also known as the Báxoje, are a Native American Siouan people. Today they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska....
and Missouri
Missouri tribe
The Missouria or Missouri are a Native American tribe that originated in the Great Lakes region of United States before European contact. The tribe belongs to the Chiwere division of the Siouan language family, together with the Iowa and Otoe...
tribes.
History
The Otoe were once part of the SiouanSiouan languages
The Western Siouan languages, also called Siouan proper or simply Siouan, are a Native American language family of North America, and the second largest indigenous language family in North America, after Algonquian...
tribes of the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
region, a group commonly known as the Winnebago
Ho-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Winnebago, are a tribe of Native Americans, native to what is now Wisconsin and Illinois. There are two federally recognized Ho-Chunk tribes, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska....
. At some point, a large group split off and began to migrate to the South and West. This group eventually split again, coalescing into at least three distinct tribes: the Ioway
Iowa tribe
The Iowa , also known as the Báxoje, are a Native American Siouan people. Today they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska....
, the Missouria
Missouri tribe
The Missouria or Missouri are a Native American tribe that originated in the Great Lakes region of United States before European contact. The tribe belongs to the Chiwere division of the Siouan language family, together with the Iowa and Otoe...
and the Otoe. The latter settled in the lower Nemaha
Nemaha
Nemaha is the name of several places in the United States, including:* Nemaha, Iowa* Nemaha, Nebraska* Nemaha County, Kansas* Nemaha County, Nebraska* Nemaha Township, Gage County, Nebraska...
River valley. They adopted the horse culture
Horse culture
The term "Horse culture" is used to define a tribal group or community whose day to day life revolves around the herding and breeding of horses...
and semi-nomadic lifestyle of the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
, making the American bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
central to their diet and culture.
European contact
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
by the United States, the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
headed up the Missouri River to explore the new territory. The Otoe were the first tribe they encountered. They met at a place on the west bank of the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
that would become known as the Council Bluff.
Like other Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
tribes, the Otoe periodically left their villages to hunt for buffalo. Between 1817 and 1841, the Otoe lived around the mouth of the Platte River
Platte River
The Platte River is a major river in the state of Nebraska and is about long. Measured to its farthest source via its tributary the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which in turn is a tributary of the Mississippi River which flows to...
in present-day Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
. During this time, the remaining families of the Missouria rejoined them. They gathered with others to trade for European goods.
In the 1830s, the tribe was noted to have problems with alcohol
American Indian alcoholism
American Indians have historically had extreme difficulty with the use of alcohol. At times, American Indians have made paupers of themselves to obtain alcohol. Problems continue among contemporary Indians with 12% of the deaths among American Indians and Alaska Natives being alcohol related...
, which was widely dispensed by traders. Some Otoe would trade vital supplies for alcohol, to the point of becoming destitute. As their dependence on alcohol grew, the men no longer hunted, but resorted to looting vacant Pawnee
Pawnee
Pawnee people are a Caddoan-speaking Native American tribe. They are federally recognized as the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma....
villages while the people were out hunting. Christian missionaries built a mission
Moses Merrill Mission
The Moses Merrill Mission, also known as the Oto Mission, was located about eight miles west of Bellevue, Nebraska. It was built and occupied by Moses and Eliza Wilcox Merrill, the first missionaries resident in Nebraska. The first building was part of facilities built in 1835 when the United...
there.
In 1854 the Otoe-Missouria ceded most of their lands south of the Platte River in eastern Nebraska to the U.S. by treaty. They retained the Oto Reservation along the Big Blue River
Big Blue River (Kansas)
The Big Blue River is the largest tributary of the Kansas River. The river flows for approximately from central Nebraska into Kansas, where it intersects with the Kansas River east of Manhattan. It was given its name by the Kansa tribe of Native Americans, who lived at its mouth from 1780 to...
on the present Kansas-Nebraska border. They struggled to adapt to reservation life.
Move to Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
, where they believed they could better perpetuate their traditional tribal life outside the influence of the whites. The Quaker band favored remaining on the Big Blue River land. They were willing to sell the western half of the reservation to whites to gain income for a tribal annuity
Annuity (finance theory)
The term annuity is used in finance theory to refer to any terminating stream of fixed payments over a specified period of time. This usage is most commonly seen in discussions of finance, usually in connection with the valuation of the stream of payments, taking into account time value of money...
.
By the spring of 1880, about half the tribe had left the reservation and taken up residence with the Sac and Fox Nation
Sac and Fox Nation
The Sac and Fox Nation is the largest of three federally recognized tribes of Sac and Meskwaki Native Americans. They are located in Oklahoma and are predominantly Sac....
in Indian Territory. By the next year, in response to dwindling prospects of self-sufficiency and continued pressure from white settlers, the remaining Otoe members in Nebraska sold the Big Blue reservation. They migrated to Oklahoma.
With the Otoe-Missouria already there, they purchased a new reservation in the Cherokee Outlet
Cherokee Outlet
The Cherokee Outlet, often mistakenly referred to as the Cherokee Strip, was located in what is now the state of Oklahoma, in the United States. It was a sixty-mile wide strip of land south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border between the 96th and 100th meridians. It was about 225 miles long and in 1891...
in the Indian Territory. This is in present-day Noble
Noble County, Oklahoma
Noble County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 11,561. Its county seat is Perry.-21st century:In 2010, the Keystone-Cushing Pipeline was constructed north to south through Noble County....
and Pawnee
Pawnee County, Oklahoma
Pawnee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 16,612. Its county seat is Pawnee.-History:The Osage Tribe used the area that contains present day Pawnee County as buffalo hunting grounds...
counties, Oklahoma. Today the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians
Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians
The Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians is a single, federally recognized tribe, located in Oklahoma. The tribe is made up of Otoe and Missouria Indians. Traditionally they spoke the Chiwere language, part of the Souian language family.-Government:...
is federally recognized. It is based in Red Rock, Oklahoma
Red Rock, Oklahoma
Red Rock is a town in Noble County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 293 at the 2000 census...
.
Notable Otoe
- Chono Ca PeChono Ca PeChono Ca Pe was a Native American chief of the Otoe tribe. He was a member of the O'Fallon delegation of 1821.-Source:*...
- Eagle of DelightEagle of DelightEagle of Delight, also called Hayne Hudjihini in Otoe , was one of the five wives of Chief Shaumonekusse of the Otoe tribe in the first quarter of the 19th century...
- ShaumonekusseShaumonekusseChief Shaumonekusse was a leader of the Otoe Native American tribe in the early 19th century. It was one of the Great Plains tribes and closely related to the Ioway and Missouria....
- Anna Lee WaltersAnna Lee WaltersAnna Lee Walters is an award-winning Pawnee/Otoe-Missouria author from Oklahoma.-Career:Walters works at the Diné College in Arizona, where she directs the college press. She lives in Tsaile, Arizona with her husband Harry Walters...
External links
- Ioway-Otoe Language, Ioway Cultural Institute; Baxoje, the Ioway Nation, on NativeWeb
- Otoe-Missouria Genealogy, Database of members and descendants from reservation, Native Website