• Teaching and Influencing:
  • to teach is to influence
  • to influence is to teach

   

• Learning by Doing is a Buffalo Bull Clan of the Big Hills District tradition.
  • In the Buffalo Bull Clan, we still teach by actual experience instead of the abstract methods taught by the Western World where one is simply taught content and then owns some kind of knowledge.
  • We teach that in order to learn, you must actually experience to know anything real.
  • While some things in life are easily learned in one experience, many others of life's lessons require a lifetime of experience to really know.

   

• Learning by Play is just one method of learning by doing.
  • Play is a very powerful way of learning by doing.
  • Play and fun also serves as a balance to relieve the stress so many others choose to relieve with more dangerous methods.
  •  Our Buffalo Bull Traditions often include play and humor as a way to get the attention of another who is doing something bad in hopes that it will be corrected.
  • None of us really have the power to control or change the actions of others, except by our own examples and in humor.
  • Winter Stories are used to teach many lessons, here they are used first to bring to light what is seen and experienced in hope of effecting a change for the better of the whole tribe.
  • Secondly Winter Stories are used here to relieves the stress of those of us who see clearly these Osage activities yet can do nothing other than experience the results of these bad actions.

   

• The authentic History of these actions lies in the Traditional Osage Stories regarding "The Isolated Earth People" from the pre-history of the Osage Tribe along with The United States Federal Governments Assimilation Policy and The Osage Reign of Terror.

 

• These ways date back to the pre-historic Isolated Earth People (see: "Isolated Earth People" and "A Move to A New Country" J.J. Mathews book, The Osages)

 

• These traditions were long ago extinguished by the traditions and expample of the Osage "Society of Little Old Men."

 

• Pre-historic traditions re-emerged as Western influence increased among the Osage, putting the weaker Osages at greatest risk.
  • Osage families were weakened by vast United States Federal Government Policies, designed specifically to destroy the tribal memory of the Osage People.
    • Boarding Schools
      • taught Osages to view their Ancestors as savages
    • The Osage Religion was banned by Federal Law
    • Christian Churches controlled the Osage
      •  These religions taught that Osage Religion was evil.
  • In full turn, weakened families and family members weakened the bands, clans, and of course, the Osage Tribe as a whole.

   

• Today, through the United States Federal Government Assimilation Policy, successfully assimilated Osage Indians by following the examples of our assimilators, find these Isolated Earth People traditions more attractive than the traditions of our Osage Ancestors.
  • As tribal memory washes away from the tribe, the "old ways" are mocked by more and more Osage People today, just as we have been taught by our White examplers.
  • This is successful assimilation of Osage People into White culture.
    •  . . . unless the few Osages today - who remain able to remember our Osage Ancestors, example and know their "old ways" as good ways - and - are able to influence by their example - those Osages who are rapidly assimilating into their White examples -  Osage People will very soon vanish into the foot notes of the White Man's History.