Osages celebrated signing the Osage Nation Ranch into trust with a bison harvest on Nov. 9 and a meal on Nov. 10.
The group event brought the Osage community together and gave many of the attendees a chance to have a new experience.
Bison have been significant for not just Osages, but many Native American tribes for hundreds of years. Tribes used every part of the bison for food, shelter, clothing, tools, jewelry and in ceremonies. Bison were almost hunted to extinction in the 19th and 20th centuries during westward expansion, but the populations have since recovered.
Berbon Hamilton, Project Manager for Osage LLC, and Osage filmmaker Ryan RedCorn, helped plan the event. Multiple families were invited to help prepare and cook the meals for both days.
The bison chosen to feed attendees for the celebration was about three to four years old. The bison was selected early Saturday morning by a team.
“There were two bulls in a 20-acre pin separated from the herd,” Hamilton said. “The conservation specialist from Osage Nation Department of Natural Resources said they remain calm in pairs. He and another conservation specialist were able to separate the pair and the bison ran through the chute onto the trailer. The other one went back to the herd.”
After the bison was placed in the trailer, it was killed.
Hamilton invited his friend Jason Stevens to help with the harvest. Stevens has been involved in big game hunting for years.
“Berbon and I grew up together, we’ve known each other a long time,” Stevens said. “He jokes with me that I’m a big game hunter; I’ve been all over the country and the world and hunted some big species of animals.
“He [Hamilton] let me know he wanted it to be efficient, no suffering,” he said. “Our main goal was trying to preserve some of the Osage traditions, which I feel like we did. We were trying to put the bison down as quickly and humanely as possible.”
After the bison was killed it was taken to Wakon Iron Hall. A tractor helped unload the carcass and it was then hung up above a children’s wading pool. The pool helped catch the blood as it drained out of the incisions.
The first step the team of butchers had to do was behead the bison. After the bison was beheaded, the genitals were removed.
Next, an incision was made from the inside of the back legs to the sternum, and the intestines and inside organs were taken out of the body cavity and placed in the pool.
After the butchers finished the gutting, the hide was skinned off the bison. Skinning the hide off was tedious and was the longest part of the harvest.
The final parts of the harvest included removing the front legs, the ribs, backbone and the hind legs.
As parts of the bison were cut, they were taken into Wakon Iron to be prepared for cutting.
According to the National Park Service, before European contact, Osages hunted bison twice a year, once in the summer and once in the fall. According to the late Osage author Louis Burns, the last major bison hunt was in 1881.
During the harvest, another important component was burning cedar in front of the bison being harvested.
“Cedar was burned to purify a space by attracting good spirits and removing negative influences,” Hamilton said. “Tobacco was placed on the ground as an offering to honor the Bison we were about to harvest.”
RedCorn brought a team of videographers to document the process.
“I just knew I wanted to document it,” RedCorn said. “I’ve been trying to document that for a while and finally got the chance.”
This was the first bison harvest RedCorn has attended. He was able to reflect on a return to Osage traditions.
“I think it’s pretty powerful,” he said. “It wasn’t just us that lost that; it was everybody. We’re not going to get it right the first time; things take time to reacquire, and you just have to be kind with yourself. If it’s something Osage people want to bring back into their lives, then they will take the steps to do that.”
He also hopes the Nation will continue to have bison harvests.
“Hopefully it’s something we keep doing,” he said. “I know it’s something we haven’t done in a long time, and it’s something I haven’t seen in my lifetime.”
One of the most important things while preparing and cooking food is making sure that those that prepare it have a good mindset while doing it.
“The food tasted really good,” RedCorn said. “The people that were there had a good heart and a good mind while they were doing it, so I think that contributed to how enjoyable it was.”
Osages come together to eat during cultural events.
“As a people, we get together and eat,” RedCorn said. “That’s something that we do. This is something that is right in line with that, and this is something our people have done for a long time.
Because food is such an important aspect of Osage culture, it becomes a middle ground to create bonds with one another.
“The food, it’s like the median where you transfer and strengthen those relationships,” RedCorn said.
Next generation
The younger generation of Osages were able to learn a new tradition with hands-on experience.
Joel Robinson, an Osage tribal member, was invited by RedCorn to attend the harvest. Joel and his girlfriend, Faith Coffman, both traveled from Louisville, Ky., for the event.
“It’s a traditional practice that we haven’t been able to do as a result of not having our own herd,” he said. “Now that we do have our own herd, we are able to start that practice again.”
Robinson shared some of his emotions he felt throughout the harvest.
“There was definitely some sadness because it was a young bison,” he said. “But also, that thankfulness for the life-sustaining meat and resources that they’ve always provided our people.”
After the bison was fully butchered, Robinson was assigned to work with a group that were taking care of the bison intestines.
“We were just laying out intestines and flushing them out,” he said. “Sometimes they got backed up and burst. The small intestines we did in segments. The large intestine, we laid it all out like a snake, and whenever it got super backed up, we’d cut it, flush it, and put it in the bin. And we repeated it until it was clear.”
It was a bonding experience for Robinson and the team he worked with, and he will remember it for the rest of his life. Not with just helping butcher a portion of the bison, but the togetherness it brought.
“The community aspect of it was huge,” he said. “Seeing all the Osages and the guys from Kansas coming together to process the bison, and get it ready Sunday morning for the feast.”
Mia Jones also reflected on her first bison harvest.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity of being able to participate in that event,” she said. “It was a great time with friends and family. I learned a new skill, and if I need to butcher a bison, I can.”
While it was emotional, she knew the bison was being used for a good cause.
“Some parts were sad and intense,” she said. “But every part of that bison is getting used and was prayed over, and that’s how it’s supposed to be done.”
While the bison harvest promotes Osage culture and community, there is a takeaway from it all. Hamilton said it brings together a collective experience, as well as intergenerational learning.
“By participating in a bison feast, communities can strengthen their connection to their cultural heritage,” he said. “Promote environmental sustainability and foster a sense of belonging. It’s a powerful way to honor the past, celebrate the present, and inspire future generations.”
The bison harvest and feast solidifies the way natural resources can provide food and Osage identity.
“Food is an important part of our culture,” RedCorn said. “It’s part of our identity as a people.”
