Dedicated Osage language educators and researchers Stephanie Rapp of the Grayhorse District and Cameron Pratt of the Hominy District have joined forces with two linguists from the University of Oklahoma to write the first Osage language textbook, “Osage Language and Lifeways.”
With reviews in from Janis Carpenter, principal teacher of the Osage Nation Language Department, and Osage elder Archie Mason, the book’s release is nearing the completion of a six-years-long process with positive reception from the Osage community.
When Pratt shared the book’s pre-order link on Facebook, dozens of commenters responded, sharing messages of anticipation for the book’s release in April 2025.
Osage language teacher Dana Daylight commented, “Congratulations! I’m so happy and proud for you! What a great accomplishment and legacy to leave for your children and our people.”
“Wonderful!!!” wrote Crystal Standing Bear, a longtime student of the Osage language.
The book is an expression of a love for the Osage language that has spanned a lifetime for both Pratt and Rapp.
As Rapp writes in the book’s opening pages, “Growing up in the 60’s and attending our dances and dinners, I was fortunate to hear the Osage language spoken by those that heard and learned the language from first language speakers. I did not know or understand what was being said by our elders, but I did know that I wanted to learn and someday speak. Like most people I did not realize how precious our language was and what it might mean to lose it.”
Archie Mason, a Grayhorse elder who has served on the Osage Nation’s Congress, and who is an educator and executive minister at All Tribes Indian Baptist Church, reflected that the work “Osage Language and Lifeways”represents was not happening thirty or forty years ago.
“It’s encouraging that our young people are going forward and getting those degrees and using those academic skills to do and develop those kinds of things that thirty, forty years ago wasn’t there,” Mason said. “I know it. I was part of it, and it just wasn’t there.”
The book has an academic foundation in linguistics not only because of linguist co-authors Marcia Haag and Dylan Herrick, but also because Pratt has a degree in linguistics from the University of Oklahoma.
He also holds a Master of Education in educational leadership from Kansas State University and he worked at the Osage Nation’s Language Department for more than 10 years. He now teaches Osage language at the Nation’s private school, Daposka Ahnkodapi.
Pratt met Rapp when he was taking language classes at the White Hair Memorial. “At the beginning of this book project,” he wrote in acknowledgments, “I knew I was going to need someone who possessed a deeper knowledge of the language … I knew 𐓏𐓣𐓳𐓣́𐓨𐓣 was a person with this knowledge, and I knew she was a hard worker who had a passion for learning and teaching. Most important, she possessed a kind, gentle, and patient nature. Knowing all that, I asked her to join me in this endeavor. She has been a crucial contributor to this book, working tirelessly, and helping push it forward.”
Their goal, ultimately, is to help revitalize 𐓏𐓘𐓻𐓘́𐓻𐓟 𐓣́𐓟, said Pratt.
“We’ve come to the point now where we can teach fluency—levels of fluency. Don’t you know people that can talk Osage? That’s a level of fluency. Are they fluent speakers? They are fluent speakers to a certain level of fluency … You just progress,” he said.
“Learning the language as an Osage has a healing effect, and that is one purpose of the book,” he added.
Osage Nation Language Department Director Braxton Redeagle said that he is looking forward to reading the book and potentially providing a review.
Redeagle’s response is one that Pratt hoped for, as he sees the work as something others can build on.
“Other people can build off it. They can refute it. They can take it further,” Pratt said.
Redeagle also said he believes the book will benefit Osage language learners, a response that reflects an attitude of cooperation which Mason is supporting.
“We’ve got Osages to do this. There’s more yet to be done in terms of the language,” said Mason. “I think this is encouraging: Osages laying the groundwork for those in the future … It’s all yet to be done.”
While there is more to be done, as the book’s authors also emphasize, the textbook is a strong start to help a learner get their footing in the language.
“A much-needed text for Osage language teachers and students,” Carpenter writes in her blurb.
“Osage Language and Lifeways” is geared toward beginning students and developing speakers who are looking to deepen their understanding of grammar.
As Siouan language expert Jill D. Greer describes the book in a blurb, it is “student-friendly.”
Each chapter begins with culturally relevant dialogues demonstrating language which learners might use in scenarios such as visiting with a friend or communicating with family members about plans for cultural events such as dances and giveaways.
It is meaningful that the book is published at an academic press, Pratt noted, because the information was reviewed by other linguistic professionals who are “professionals of these types of languages. It provides … credibility. … [and] it is a record of our personal scholarship … a way to share all the work and it was kind of like a contribution back to the Osage people.”
Mason also reflected the University of Oklahoma Press is a fitting publisher because they are open to and supportive of publications focused on Indigenous people with authenticity, where other presses may not be.
In developing the book, the authors referenced sources including Francis La Flesche, James Dorsey and Carolyn Quintero, amongst others. “We stood on their shoulders,” said Pratt. “It’s advancing the scholarship.”
The textbook will support college-level study of Osage language.
Pratt explained the purpose of the book is not for personal gain, but to give back to the people. “I don’t know any linguists that are wealthy,” he commented.
As Rapp notes, language work can be a sacrifice. “I would spend my evenings studying and researching the Osage language. I recall one evening, as I was working on the language, my husband came into the room and asked, ‘Is this going to be a book someday?’ One of my former teachers who has also studied as I have said to me, ‘We have good and understanding spouses because so much of what could be family time is taken up by our language.’”
Learning one’s ancestral Indigenous language and culture can take time away from participating in English language and dominant culture activities, a dynamic that Pratt explains in Francis Fourcou’s documentary, “A Bridge Over the Ocean.”As a result, making meaningful strides in language revitalization can be difficult.
“What is in this book is fairly basic, there is way more to cover that couldn’t be done all in one book,” Pratt said. “There could be a series to come out of this book, potentially. There’s topics in the book that could be gone to more in depth. I think that’s just about every topic [in the book], actually.”
For the time being, the authors are awaiting the book’s release, and with it, learners making good use of it.
In the future, they hope those studying now will also make their own contributions to the language.
“They can do what I did,” Pratt said. “They can just start—if they’re brave enough to put themselves out there and get published, make materials. That’s all I know,” he said. “This is a contribution.”
Osage Language and Lifeways is available for pre-order in hardcover and paperback at https://www.oupress.com/9780806195629/osage-language-and-lifeways/. After the cost of the book is paid, proceeds go to the Osage Nation Foundation. The authors will not receive any money.
