Omaha (tribe)
The Omaha tribe is a federally recognized Indigenous nation primarily located in Nebraska and Iowa, with a population of over 5,000 enrolled members. Historically, the Omaha lived in the eastern forests before migrating to the Missouri River region around 1500, where they adapted to a mixed lifestyle of agriculture and buffalo hunting. They cultivated crops such as corn, beans, and squash while also engaging in seasonal hunts on the Plains, utilizing horses which they adopted in the mid-18th century.
Throughout their history, the Omaha maintained complex relationships with neighboring tribes, including the Sioux, Pawnee, and Ponca, often navigating conflicts and alliances to protect their interests. Unlike many other Indigenous groups, the Omaha did not engage in warfare against the United States, instead opting for treaties that ultimately led to a concentrated reservation in Nebraska.
In contemporary times, the Omaha tribe has focused on cultural preservation and community development. They have successfully reclaimed significant cultural artifacts and are actively working to revitalize their language and traditions. The tribe engages in various economic ventures, including gaming, and provides essential social services to its members, reflecting their commitment to improving the quality of life within their community while honoring their heritage.
Omaha (tribe)
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Plains
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Siouan
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Nebraska, Iowa
- POPULATION SIZE: Over 5,000 enrolled members (Nebraska Indian Community College); 4,526 Omaha Reservation (2020 Decennial Census)
The Omaha moved from the eastern forests to the Missouri River between Iowa and Nebraska shortly before their first contact with European Americans. They became part-time buffalo (bison) hunters but also clung to their Woodland agricultural practices. The Sioux and Pawnee were their most consistent enemies, and the Ponca were their closest relatives and allies. Their relationships with Whites were often strained, but they were never at war with the colonial powers or the United States and became important players in the fur trade.
Due to the policies of the US federal government, the Omaha population became concentrated in an official reservation located mainly in Nebraska. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the Omaha successfully reclaimed their most sacred symbols from the museums in which they were placed in the late nineteenth century. They maintain the status of a federally recognized Indigenous nation and continue to hold powwows and other traditions as part of a vibrant culture.
Early History and Traditional Lifestyle
The Omaha lived in the forests of eastern North America with four related Indigenous peoples until around 1500, at which time they moved west to the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The Omaha became established on the Missouri near present-day Omaha, Nebraska, probably pushing the Arikara north in the process.
They continued to grow corn, beans, squash, and other vegetables in the river’s flood plain but also moved into the Plains twice a year (spring and autumn) to hunt buffalo. Buffalo provided many of the Omaha’s needs: meat; hides for robes, clothing, and tepee covers; shoulder blades for hoes; and more. The Omaha lived in earth lodges in their villages along the river, but in tepees while hunting buffalo. Dogs pulling travois carried their belongings in migrations across the Plains until the Omaha obtained horses in the middle of the eighteenth century. They were one of the earliest Indigenous peoples in the region to adapt their culture to use horses.
The Omaha hunted over most of Nebraska. There, they encountered Sioux or Pawnee hunting parties, with whom they often fought over hunting rights. Each of those nations occasionally attacked the Omaha's earth lodge villages as well. The Ponca were usually allied with the Omaha against the Sioux and Pawnee. Occasionally, the Ponca joined the Sioux against the Omaha, or Pawnee and Omaha hunted together, reversing the more common relationships.
The social and spiritual life of the Omaha was more or less typical of Plains Indigenous Americans. Men hunted; butchered; made and decorated their shields, bows, and arrows; and fought to defend the nation. Women cooked, preserved meat and other foods for future use, gardened, made and decorated clothes and tepee covers, and raised the tepee at a new campsite and took it down in preparation for a move. All members participated in building the earth lodges.
To the Omaha, all aspects of nature were sacred and part of a vast network of natural interactions, with which they interacted through elaborate rituals and symbols. They did not develop the Sun Dance, which nearly every other Plains nation practiced, but had other dances and ceremonies. A sacred pole and white buffalo robe were the Omaha’s most important spiritual symbols. Each of the two main divisions of the nation, the earth people and sky people, had a sacred pipe.
The vision quest, in which a young man fasted in the wilderness hoping for a spiritual experience to give him special power, was a part of growing up for most Omaha boys. Men belonged to warrior societies, some of which were made up of men who had similar vision quest experiences. For most societies, however, eligibility depended on age, bravery, and service. At one time, Omaha chiefs were determined by hereditary lineages, but this changed to the more typical Plains system of choosing chiefs according to the criteria above.
Transition and Contemporary Life
Unlike many other Indigenous peoples, the Omaha never went to war with the United States. They agreed to a series of treaties, eventually leaving them with a small reservation in Nebraska and Iowa. Their transition to the agricultural context of reservation life was probably easier than that of other nations from the Plains culture area because they were already part-time farmers before the accompanying restrictions were imposed. They shared many of the problems of Indigenous Americans throughout the country, however—lack of education, poverty, and loss of indigenous culture.
In the last half of the twentieth century, the Omaha initiated several efforts to overcome these problems, continuing into the twenty-first century. They regained possession of their sacred pole and sacred white buffalo robe and have taken steps to preserve the Omaha language. They have sued the United States to recover a small portion of their land. These and other efforts indicate the determination of the Omaha to maintain their culture and improve conditions for nation members. In the twenty-first century, most Omaha members reside on the Omaha Reservation in northwestern Nebraska and parts of western Iowa. The federally recognized sovereign Indigenous nation also owns several official Indigenous-owned businesses within its reservation to provide employment and income for the community. It is a significant player in the Nebraska gaming industry. The Omaha offers various social services to its members, including child and family services, education, and healthcare.
Bibliography
Boughter, Judith A. Betraying the Omaha Nation, 1790–1916. U of Oklahoma P, 1998.
Campbell, Paulette W. "Ancestral Bones: Reinterpreting the Past of the Omaha." Humanities, vol. 23, no. 6, 2002.
"Omaha Reservation, NE--IA - Census Bureau Profile." Census Data, data.census.gov/profile/Omaha‗Reservation,‗NE--IA?g=2500000US2550. Accessed 9 Nov. 2024.
Omaha Tribe. www.omahatribe.com. Accessed 9 Nov. 2024.
"Omaha Tribe of NE and IA History." Nebraska Indian Community College, www.thenicc.edu/about/history/omaha-tribe-of-ne-and-ia.php. Accessed 9 Nov. 2024.
"Omaha Tribe of Nebraska." Nebraska Education on Location, 21 July 2014, nebraskaeducationonlocation.org/native-tribes/omaha-tribe-nebraska. Accessed 9 Nov. 2024.
Ridington, Robin, and Dennis Hastings. Blessing for a Long Time: The Sacred Pole of the Omaha Tribe. U of Nebraska P, 2000.
Scherer, Mark R. Imperfect Victories: The Legal Tenacity of the Omaha Tribe, 1945–1995. U of Nebraska P, 2009.