The Omaha tribe was first discovered in the 1600‘s near the Missouri river in present northwestern Iowa. The tribe covered land on both sides of the Missouri river from the mouth of the Platte river as far north as the Little bow river in Cedar County located in Iowa. Their territory extended from Yankton South Dakota south to Rulo Nebraska and up to Cedar county Iowa, an area of 35,600,000 acres. They had villages at Homer and several other locations up and down the Missouri river. Omaha means “upriver people”.
The Omaha tribe lived in earth lodges and tipis. In the fall and winter months during hunting season they lived in their tipis. Their tipis were made from cedar poles and buffalo skins. In spring and summer they lived in earth lodges. The Omaha Indians learned how to make earth lodges from the Pawnee tribe. Earth lodges were made of tree bark and were made by both women and men. The earth lodges were 20 to 60 inches in diameter and had a dome shaped roof with an opening at the top to let light in and to smoke let off by the fireplace out.
The Omaha Indians were farmers and planters. When it was time to plant crops the men cleared the fields while the women did the farming. The women planted mushrooms, artichokes, milkweed, corn, squash, melons and ground nuts. The hunting was the men’s job. They hunted buffalo, deer, bear, squirrel, rabbits, birds such as doves, duck, and turkey. They also fished in lakes and streams.
When the Omaha’s were first discovered they got around by walking everywhere on foot. They started to use dogs to carry their things by hooking a Travois to the dog. A Travois is two poles attached to the back of the dog, the Indians continued to walk on foot. The indians soon