The Otoe-Missouria Flag Song

As the title suggests, the focus of this paper is upon a single important song within the OtoeMissouria tribe. This is a preliminary sketch, or a truly working paper as the KU publication series denotes. In subject and approach, it has been inspired by the venerable tradition of collecting, preserving, and analyzing Native American texts begun with 19 th century BAE ethnographers such as James Owen Dorsey, encouraged by Franz Boas and his Americanist students, and celebrated by more recent scholars of verbal art as Hymes, Tedlock, Sherzer, and Basso. The particular esthetic principles used in the text will link it clearly to other tribal songs, and to the performance context as well. I will also raise issues of cultural change and continuity in the context of language shift, and finally, I argue that this Flag Song compellingly demonstrates the value of maintaining a heritage language within endangered and obsolescent language communities. 1