Our Osage Hills: Toward an Osage Ecology and Tribalography of the Early Twentieth Century

by Michael Snyder, John Joseph Mathews, Michael Snyder (Editor), Russ Tall Chief (Foreword by), Harvey Payne (Foreword by)

Overview

This revealing book presents a selection of lost articles from “Our 'sage Hills,” a newspaper column by the renowned 'sage writer, naturalist, and historian, John Joseph Mathews. Signed only with the initials “J.J.M.,” Mathews’s column featured regularly in the Pawhuska Daily Journal-Capital during the early 1930s. While Mathews is best known for his novel Sundown (1934), the pieces gathered in this volume reveal him to be a compelling essayist. Marked by wit and erudition, Mathews’s column not only evokes the unique beauty of the 'sage prairie, but also takes on urgent political issues, such as ecological conservation and 'sage sovereignty. In Our 'sage Hills, Michael Snyder interweaves Mathews’s writings with original essays that illuminate their relevant historical and cultural contexts. The result isan 'sage-centric chronicle of the Great Depression, a time of environmental and economic crisis for the 'sage Nation and country as a whole. Drawing on new historical and biographical research, Snyder’s commentaries highlight the larger stakes of Mathews’s reflections on nature and culture and situate them within a fascinating story about 'sage, Native American, and American life in the early twentieth century. In treating topics that range from sports, art, film, and literature to the realities and legacies of violence against the 'sages, Snyder conveys the broad spectrum of 'sage familial, social, and cultural history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611463033
Publisher:	University Press Copublishing Division
Publication date:	03/10/2022
Pages:	344
Sales rank:	266,462
Product dimensions:	6.05(w) x 8.65(h) x 0.82(d)

About the Author

Michael Snyder is assistant teaching professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma.

John Joseph Mathews (1894-1979) was the preeminent 'sage author, naturalist, and historian of the twentieth century.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Russ Tall Chief
Foreword by Harvey Payne
Introduction by Michael Snyder
PART I – SCENE SETTING
PART II – BIRDS OF THE OSAGE
PART III – CULTURE AND POLITICS
PART IV —ROMANCE OF THE OSAGE
PART V—AFRICAN AMERICANS
PART VI—AUTUMN
PART VII – MAN IN NATURE
PART VIII—OSAGE WOMEN AND OTHERS
PART IX—CONSERVATION
PART X—CRITIQUE OF SETTLER COLONIALISM
PART XI— MURDER

Editorial Reviews

An important contribution to our understanding of the writer, the era, and, most significantly, the place: the Osage hills of Oklahoma. Michael Snyder has uncovered lost gems of John Joseph Mathew's work and offers them in extraordinary bites, accompanied by his own interstitial essays that illuminate backstory and sociohistorical context. Coupled with his biography John Joseph Mathews: Life of an Osage Writer, this book affirms Snyder's place as a significant scholar of Mathews' work.

John Joseph Mathews observed and immersed himself in the natural world, documenting, honoring, and defending it. In Our Osage Hills, Michael Snyder revisits Mathews's early lost writings, contributing his own valuable perspective and historical context. From where we stand now, we would do well to pay attention.

Michael Snyder has done an excellent job of collecting and providing context for Mathews' pieces. This is an important book about an important literary figure.

Michael Snyder is to be praised for his profound literary archeological work in unearthing and contextualizing previously unknown writings by John Joseph Mathews. Snyder's short essays and commentaries punctuate Mathews's texts, reminding readers that Mathews was a nature-writer and philosopher as well as a chronicler of the Osages who is to be reckoned with.

This monograph is an important contribution to the field of American Indian Studies because it brings attention to the writings of John Joseph Mathews. Alongside his fellow Indigenous intellectuals, McNickle and Deloria, all three represent the scholarly and literary achievements that create a deeper understanding of "tribalography," and the collective experiences of Indigenous peoples can be traced through their writings.

From the Publisher

John Joseph Mathews observed and immersed himself in the natural world, documenting, honoring, and defending it. In Our 'sage Hills, Michael Snyder revisits Mathews's early lost writings, contributing his own valuable perspective and historical context. From where we stand now, we would do well to pay attention.

Laura Mathews Edwards

An important contribution to our understanding of the writer, the era, and, most significantly, the place: the 'sage hills of Oklahoma. Michael Snyder has uncovered lost gems of John Joseph Mathew’s work and offers them in extraordinary bites, accompanied by his own interstitial essays that illuminate backstory and sociohistorical context. Coupled with his biography John Joseph Mathews: Life of an 'sage Writer, this book affirms Snyder’s place as a significant scholar of Mathews’ work.

Rilla Askew

Michael Snyder is to be praised for his profound literary archeological work in unearthing and contextualizing previously unknown writings by John Joseph Mathews. Snyder’s short essays and commentaries punctuate Mathews’s texts, reminding readers that Mathews was a nature-writer and philosopher as well as a chronicler of the 'sages who is to be reckoned with.

Lionel Larré

This monograph is an important contribution to the field of American Indian Studies because it brings attention to the writings of John Joseph Mathews. Alongside his fellow Indigenous intellectuals, McNickle and Deloria, all three represent the scholarly and literary achievements that create a deeper understanding of “tribalography,” and the collective experiences of Indigenous peoples can be traced through their writings.

Transmotion

Michael Snyder has done an excellent job of collecting and providing context for Mathews’ pieces. This is an important book about an important literary figure.

Alan Velie

Michael Snyder is to be praised for his profound literary archeological work in unearthing and contextualizing previously unknown writings by John Joseph Mathews. Snyder’s short essays and commentaries punctuate Mathews’s texts, reminding readers that Mathews was a nature-writer and philosopher as well as a chronicler of the 'sages who is to be reckoned with.

Lionel Larré