The Osage: An Ethnohistorical Study of Hegemony on the Prairie-Plains [Hardcover]

Willard H. Rollings (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1992

The Osage Indians were a powerful group of Native Americans who lived along the prairies and plains of present-day Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The Osage: An Ethnohistorical Study of Hegemony on the Prairie-Plains, now available in paper, shows how the Osage formed and maintained political, economic, and social control over a large portion of the central United States for more than 150 years.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Rollings's skillful reexamination of the ethnohistorical record, including information revealed by Osage oral traditions and material culture, provides a better understanding of the complexity and sophistication of these people."-- Choice

"The Osage presents a detailed examination of changes in Osage society during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. As such, the book is a solid contribution to the scholarship of culture contact and its impact on Native American communities."--Western Historical Quarterly

"This ethnohistorical study contributes much to our understanding of the Osage people during the 150 years they dominated the prairie-plains region. It will be of particular interest to students of American Indian history and culture, of the American West, and of Oklahoma and Missouri history."-- Journal of American History

"Interweaving historical accounts, cultural anthropology, animal ecology and the intrigues of the fur trade and diplomatic history, Rollings's The Osage is an inviting book that can easily be read by both the layperson and the specialist."--Missouri Historical Review

"Rollings delivers a solid work that blends cultural anthropology and historical analysis, leavened with a good measure of archaeology and Osage oral history, to explain how the Osage Indians came to dominate a huge area generally bounded by the Missouri, Mississippi, and Red rivers and the Great Plains. . . . Highly recommended."--Louisiana History

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Willard H. Rollings is Associate Professor of History at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is also the author of The Comanche.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Missouri Pr; First Edition edition (December 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826208487
• ISBN-13: 978-0826208484
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,234,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Book, May 28, 2006

By 

hazel_gump "hazel_gump" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Osage: An Ethnohistorical Study of Hegemony on the Prairie-Plains (Paperback)

Meticulously researched and easy to read study of the rise and fall of the Osage tribe from the 16th through the 18th centuries. This book explains on both a human and a global level the economic and political processess at work in the prairies and southern plains during this period of history.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Critical addtion to one's library on the Osage Nation, August 31, 2010

By 

S. Hibdon (show me state) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Osage: An Ethnohistorical Study of Hegemony on the Prairie-Plains (Paperback)

Rollins obviously did complete research on the Osage Nation & is able to communicate this information in an easily readible format. Maps compliment content & of all books I've read on the Osage Nation, this is the best. Rollins walks the reader through time, in a sequential manner, from when trappers first arrived in the Osage peoples territory to the 1840s, when their way of life & culture were overwhelmed & destroyed by the white man's "arrival" in the area.

If you desire just one, but most complete book on the Osage Nation, this is it!

3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars [e-mail], July 13, 2004

By 

Carl W. Roberts (Holts Summit, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Osage: An Ethnohistorical Study of Hegemony on the Prairie-Plains (Hardcover)

A very scholarly written book. An excellent reference source for those researching the Osage Indian. However, the Author or publisher goofed on one of the References/Source cited: He cites " Wiggers, Robert "Osage Culture Change Inferred from Contact and Trade with the Caddo and Pawnee" an unpublished PH.D Dissertation, University of Missouri 1985. The Author of this Dissertation is Robert Wiegers, Professor of History, Central Methodist College, Fayette, MO. I am a former student of his and have a copy of the Dissertation. This is probably a typographical error, but it would confuse the researcher.