THE ANCESTORS OF PEOPLE
Reading edition
Osage
There are people who come from under the water. They lived in the water weeds that hang down, all green, into the water. They have leaves upon their stems. Now the water people lived in shells. The shells were their houses and kept the water out.
There were other animals who lived under the earth. Cougar lived under the earth, and bear, and buffalo. These creatures came up out of the ground. Then the shell people came up to the earth also; and the sky people came down. So all these three peoples lived together. They are the fathers of the people who live on the earth today.
Woman’s Costume
(Omaha)
Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution
An Elderly Omaha Beau
Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution