OSAGE OTHOGRAPHY

[Jimm GoodTracks]

There is such a great deal of excitement and anticipation for the 
Comparative Grammar Workshop, I will apologize for this interruption of the 
mundane grassroots community information here.

Sunday evening, our family returned from the Osage Iroshka Dances at 
Pawhuska.  While there, I received a pamplet "Osage Government Reform 
Project", which outlined Public Law 108-431, The Osage Reform Act of Dec. 3, 
2004.  In short, it allows the Osage to choose their own form of government, 
set standards for membership, etc.  It seems, previously, only headright 
heirs had a vote in tribal business.

On the front of the leaflet was an Osage Language insciption and an English 
gloss:
"A new day's coming, let's go into it together."
However, it was the Osage script that caught my attention as I attempted to 
make out the words in Wazhazhe.  The orthography had what appeared to be 
Greek letters.  I noted an inverted "V" (lamda), an odd looking "p/b" (phi), 
an inverted "U" and an "a" that reminded me of those Christian fish symbols 
seen on individual cars and trucks around town.  Some smaller inverted "v" 
apparently was for a nasal.

I have no scanner to show here the exact script, but it looked something 
like this, keeping in mind the four symbols as described above:
HVvBV  Hu-a (fish symb)  THV-HV
ZHO-KU-La(fish)  Av-KV-TSE  Av-KU-Tha (fish).

I ashed Ryan Red Corn, who will be studing linguists at KU next year, just 
what sounds did those symbols represent.  He said he had taken a few class 
in Pawhuska under the Elder Mogree Look Out, Head Committeman and 
Grandfather to the Drum Keeper, C.Rumsey.  He told that there was confussion 
from the students over the sounds, so Mogree decided to clearify the sounds 
with this new set of symbols.  Carol Quintero is probably aware of these 
individual othographies, which may even be different in all of the three 
Osage communities, and so, she'll be able to help with this.

I was able to also get Mogree to say the sounds and he corrected the last 
word to be "Av-KV-Tha (fish)".
I made a note of the following:

Hanba hua thaha    (lit:  Day coming when)
Zhukinla angatsi ankatha/o   (lit:  Together we go  we go forth)

In a related matter of LaFlesche's dictionary which is now in reprint at the 
Tribal Museum, is there some guidelines as to how to determine where his 
native Omaha influenced the citations, and how one may read the correct 
Osage form back into those mis-citations?
Jimm