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The Otoe--An Introduction

© Lisa Perkins

Ask anyone who Gerenimo or Sitting Bull was, and chances are you will get a fairly knowledgeable answer. Both are legendary members of legendary tribes, portrayed frequently in movies and written about in many books. Both are written for all time in our history books. But how many people could tell you who Shaumonekusse was and what part he played in history?

Shaumonekusse was a half-chief of the Otoe tribe of North American Indians. "So what?" you ask. "Who are the Otoe and what do they have to with anything?"

The Otoe are a small tribe of Indians who now live in Oklahoma. They formed after splitting from the Sioux. The Sioux, who were originally part of the Winnebago, or Ho-Chunk nation, started out in the lower Ohio and Mississippi valleys. For reasons unknown, sometime in the 1400's they moved northward to Minnesota. Around 1640 there was an inner-tribal dispute, causing them to split, forming the bands known as the Dakota and Sioux. Eventually they migrated as far South as the Great Plains. As the tribes moved South, many of the members of the tribe split off, forming their own bands, such as the Omaha, Ponca, and Iowa. What was left of the original tribe was located on the South side of the Platte River, not far from the mouth. This is close to where the Otoe band was formed.

Legend has it that a son of one of the members of the tribe seduced the daughter of another member. A quarrel ensued and the two fathers split off from the Sioux tribe. The father of the seduced daughter formed the Missouria tribe. The father of the son formed the Otoe, or lechers.

Quote form "The North American Indians" "In life and manners the Oto compare closely with the other tribes of the western praries, with all of whom the buffalo was the determining factor. Material existence was regulated by the buffalo, and as they lived, so they worshiped." "The Oto have several societies for both men and women. Of these but two are of first importance: "Che or "Aluqa" (Buffalo) and "Dostanye" or "Mankanys" (Otter). These two societies are of such importance that they should rightly be considered as part of the political organization. The main object of each society is to promote men of worth."

Eventually, the Otoe re-joined the Missouria, forming the present-day tribe of the Otoe-Missouria living near Red Rock, Oklahoma. Unfortunately, they were demorilized by alcohol, starved from lack of food, depleted by smallpox, and forced to move due to the white man's take-over. These were the main reasons for the Otoe re-joining the Missouria.