Book Synopsis
By 1875, the Osages had experienced the first nearly total failure in their annual buffalo hunts in the Great Plains. Already by 1842, they had begun traveling farther to locate diminishing herds. When on hunts, they faced threats by hostile Comanches, Sioux, and Cheyennes. In light of these devastating circumstances, the Osages were forced to prepare for the future by planting gardens and field crops and acquiring a future as planters and cattle grazers. By the 1890s, the petroleum discoveries on their land and the joint admission of Indian and Oklahoma territories as the nation's forty-sixth state ushered in allotment and individual land ownership of their reservation. Legislative action also permitted the sale of their land to cattle barons eager to buy surplus land. The Indians retained their mineral rights. The recent trend has seen the tribal government reacquiring former Indian allotments and repatriating their assets.