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- For other uses, see Omaha (disambiguation).
The Omaha tribe is a Native American tribe that currently reside in northeastern Nebraska, United States. During the late 1700's and and early 1800's, they were briefly the most powerful indians on the Great Plains. The tribe was the first to master equestrianism, and developed an extensive trade network with early white explorers to the region. Never known to take up arms against the U.S., members of the tribe assisted the U.S. during the American Civil War.
Language
The Omaha speak a Siouan language which is very similar to that spoken by the Ponca, who were once a part of the Omaha before splitting off into a separate tribe in the mid 1700's.
History
The Omaha tribe began as a larger woodland tribe comprised of both the Omaha and Quapaw tribes. This original tribe inhabited the area near the Ohio and Wabash rivers around the year 1700.
As the tribe migrated west it split into what became the Omaha tribe and the Quapaw tribe. The Quapaw settled in what is now Arkansas and the Omaha tribe, known as "those going against the wind or current" settled near the Missouri River in what is now northwestern Iowa. Conflict with the Sioux and the splitting off of part of the tribe into the Ponca, forced the Omaha tribe to retreat to an area around Bow Creek in northeastern Nebraska in 1775, settling near present day Homer, Nebraska.
French fur trappers found the Omaha on the eastern side of the Missouri River in the mid-1700s. The Omaha were believed to have ranged from the Cheyenne River in South Dakota to the Platte River in Nebraska. Lewis and Clark found the tribe on the western side of the Missouri south of present-day Sioux City, Iowa in 1804.
Chief Blackbird was the leader of the Omaha from the late 1770's until his death during a smallpox epidemic in 1800. Under his leadership, the tribe bacame the most powerful in the region. Chief Blackbird established trade with the Spanish and French and used trade as a security measure to protect his people. The Omaha became the first tribe to master equestrianism on the Great Plains, which gave them a temporary superiority over the Sioux and other larger tribes as far as hunting and movement. Aware they traditionally had a lack of a large population to protect themselves from neighboring tribes, Chief Blackbird believed that fostering good relations with white explorers and trading were the keys to their survival. The village of Tonwantongo was home to Chief Blackbird and another 1,100 people around the year 1795. The Spanish built a fort nearby and traded regularly with the Omaha during this period. In 1800, a smallpox epidemic killed Chief Blackbird and at least 400 more residents in Tonwantongo. When Lewis and Clark visited Tonwantongo in 1804, most of the inhabitants were gone on a buffalo hunt and they ended up meeting with the Oto indians instead, however they were led to Chief Blackbird's gravesite before they continued on their expedition west.
Omaha villages were established and lasted from 8 to 15 years. Eventually, disease and Sioux aggression forced the tribe to move south. Villages were established near what is now Bellevue, Nebraska and along Papillion Creek between 1819 and 1856. In 1856, the Omaha sold their land near the Platte River and agreed to move to their present reservation to the north in Thurston County, Nebraska. By the 1870's the buffalo was fast disappearing from the plains and the Omaha had to increasingly rely upon the United States Government and its new culture.
The Omaha never took up arms against the U.S., and several members of the tribe fought for the Union during the American Civil War.
Culture
In pre-settlement times, the Omaha had a very intricately developed social structure that was closely tied to the people's concept of an inseparable union between sky and earth. This union was viewed as critical to perpetuation of all living forms and pervaded Omaha culture. The tribe was divided into two moieties, Sky and Earth people. Sky people were responsible for the tribe's spiritual needs and Earth people for the tribe's physical welfare. Each moiety was comprised of five clans.
Earth Lodges
Omaha beliefs were symbolized in their dwelling structures. During most of the year Omaha Indians lived in earth lodges, ingenious structures with a timber frame and a thick soil covering. At the center of the lodge was a fireplace that recalled their creation myth. The earthlodge entrance faced east, to catch the rising sun and remind the people of their origin and migration upriver. The circular layout of tribal villages reflected the tribe's beliefs. Sky people lived in the north half of the village, the area that symbolized the heavens. Earth people lived in the south half which represented the earth. Within each half of the village, individual clans were carefully located based on their member's tribal duties and relationship to other clans. Earth lodges were as large as 60 feet in diameter and might hold several families, even their horses.
As the tribe migrated westward from the Ohio River region, the woodland custom of bark lodges was replaced with tipis (borrowed from the Sioux) and earth lodges (borrowed from the Pawnee). Tipis were used primarily during buffalo hunts and when relocating from one village area to another.
External links
Native American tribes | Siouan languages | Thurston County, Nebraska
"Omaha (tribe)"