Osage

[Justin McBride]

> >Also, I have seen in a couple of places a word like 'nialus^ka' or
> something to that effect (forgive me if I messed that up, I am having
> difficulty recalling the word) used as the "Osage word for  Osage,"
>
> A Nialus^ka (forMrs. Rowe Mialus^la) is a water monster in Kaw.
>
> >The popular story around these parts is that
> 'Osage' is a corruption of the words for "middle water"

Well, I must have pulled that word out of the wrong corner of my brain.  I
just went to the Osage Nation website (http://www.osagetribe.com/ if you are
interested) to see what they had.  The word I was searching for is in fact
'NiuKonska,' at least according to the website.  Their orthography is
seemingly inconsistent, so I am not exactly certain what it is supposed to
mean.  I catch 'ni' for water and the 'u' locative, but other than that, I
am at a loss--I assume 'ska' is not clear or white, but I have no special
reason for believing this.   They translate it as "the little ones from the
middle waters."  Perhaps this is a romantic sort of title, or perhaps
invocative of another, more primary term for the tribe.  However, it does
build on John's recollection of the Osages term of identification as "the
little ones."  Interesting, to say the least.

Jm