2025 Osage Ornament

This year’s commemorative ornament originates from a saddle blanket design that once belonged to Everett Henry Prue [Allottee #1714]. This stunning work of art was donated to the Osage Nation Museum permanent collection. During the 1600s European explorers who were in Osage territory began trading items like wool cloth, silk material and ribbons. These trade goods were quickly incorporated into designs and styles for clothing, blankets, and other useful items.  Indeed, fine silk material and ribbons continue to be the building blocks for Osage dance clothes.  For Osages, the treasured ONM Collection that houses masterworks of Osage painting, fingerweaving, ribbonwork, featherwork, is no passive space, but rather a space for reflection, understanding, and inspiration. Indeed, these cherished items are conveyers of knowledge that have been handed down to us from our ancestors, generation by generation. In like manner, a new collectible ornament is designed to commemorate an aspect of Osage culture and history so that a grand tradition and collection can be passed from one generation to the next. All proceeds from the sale of this ornament benefit the charitable mission of the Osage Nation Foundation.