Osage Women and Empire

"In Osage Women and Empire, Tai Edwards seeks to refocus the history of Osage power and decline to fully include the role women played in the tribe's religious and political life. Histories of the Osage have almost entirely emphasized the lives of men, but throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries, women constituted the majority of the Osage population and both women and men viewed female activities as central to tribal existence. Osage religious beliefs, which saw men and women as necessary pairs, affected how Osage men and women experienced and adapted to colonization, as these complementary gender roles manifested in virtually every aspect of their lives. Edwards argues that Osage women were critical actors during this period and that gender complementarity remained a significant feature of Osage life well into the reservation period."