Society and culture
Oto women grew corn (maize), beans, squash, and melons. Men hunted deer, raccoons, turkeys, and rabbits. Food was stored underground. Once a year Oto hunters ventured out to the Great Plains to hunt buffalo (bison). Through contact with Plains Indians, the Oto learned to build tepees while on the hunt.
When not on hunting expeditions the Oto lived in villages made up of about 50 earth lodges. These dwellings were constructed from a frame of wooden poles covered with mud. The villagers were divided into ten clans, each represented by several families. Clans were responsible for organizing certain religious ceremonies.
History
The Oto were part of a large group of Great Lakes people who broke away from the Winnebago in the distant past and moved west. One group settled down and became the Iowa. The Missouri were next to split off. The Oto continued into what is now Nebraska.
In 1673 the French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet encountered the tribe. The Oto also met the U.S. explorers of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804. The Oto welcomed the arrival of the French and the Americans in their lands. Through trade with these newcomers the Oto obtained metal pots, guns, and other non-Indian goods.
The outsiders also brought diseases such as smallpox, however. Many Oto died during smallpox epidemics. Their population was further reduced through warfare with other tribes, including the Sioux, the Fox, and the Pawnee. For protection, the Oto rejoined their Missouri kin in 1829.
Looking to take over the territory of the Oto and the Missouri, the United States government pressured the tribes to sign several treaties in the early 19th century. By 1854 the Indians were left with only small patch of land along the Big Blue River in what is now Nebraska. In the 1880s the federal government compelled them to leave their homeland altogether. The Indians then moved to a reservation in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). There they became officially known as the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma.
About 1,800 Otoe-Missouria Indians lived in the United States in the late 20th century. Their tribal headquarters is located in Noble County, Oklahoma. Tribe members meet regularly for religious ceremonies and host the Otoe-Missouria Powwow every July.