OSAGE OTHOGRAPHY

[R. Rankin]

I'd heard the Osages intended to go with some non-Roman 
alphabet symbols.  I hope it clarifies things for them.

Bob


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jimm GoodTracks" <goodtracks at gbronline.com>
To: <siouan at lists.colorado.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2005 11:43 PM
Subject: OSAGE OTHOGRAPHY


> 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
>
>