Osage Customs

The Osage tribe was the predominant power in central Missouri when the first trappers and explorers arrived on the scene in the early part of the 18th century. Tall, handsome warriors by all accounts, they were fierce in battle and always ready to defend themselves against their foes. Allied to the Missouri and Otoe tribes they held most others in contempt. They maintained ties to the French and later the Americans for trading purposes but seldom hesitated to lift the scalp of a trader they felt was attempting to swindle them.
An interesting custom, first noted by early explorers, in a village adjacent to Fort Osage was the habit of forcing certain men to live as squaws. It seems that once a young man was allowed to join a war party, should he show the least sign of cowardess or a reluctance to engage the enemy, he was ostracized from the ranks of warriors for life.
The unfortunate soul would be required to dress as a woman, work with the other women and do the tasks required of women for the rest of his life. He might be religated to such things as fetching water and firewood, gardening, tanning hides and such. But he would never again be allowed to join in the hunt, address the council or participate in a war party.
It is little wonder the Osage were considered such formidable adversaries.