Intertribalism in the Ozarks, 1800-1865

Abstract

The Ozark Mountains occupy a large area within the state boundaries of southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, and northeastern Oklahoma as well as the southeasternmost tip of Kansas. Missouri and Arkansas make up the bulk of the Ozarks, while Oklahoma and Kansas straddle their outer rim. Rivers such as the Mississippi, Missouri, White, Neosho, and Arkansas encircle the region. Tributaries and springs from the Osage, Gasconade, and Niangua create an expanse of navigable waterways into the interior. The Missouri portion of the Ozarks is referred to as the highlands, whereas the southerly portions are deemed the lowlands. These terms geographically divide the region but have little to do with the topography. The lowlands contain a chain of mountains called the Boston Mountains, and to the north the Ozark Mountains are segmented by grasslands. From 1800 to 1865 the Ozarks region was in constant fl ux, as migrations of different and distinct nationalities transformed the area. Previous migrations into the Ozarks date back to the Osage, who arrived in the early 1600s from the Great Lakes. The Osage Nation came to dominate the vast area’s economy, trade, and community, although in Arkansas the Quapaw controlled the southern border of the Ozarks. The French extended their settlements into St. Louis and along the fringes of the mighty Mississippi and accelerated their trading empire into the West. St. Louis remained prominent as an epicenter of trade, linking the mighty Missouri with the great Mississippi River. Eventually, Spain took control of the French trade until the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Afterward the United States became the fi fth great empire to push its borders westward into the Ozarks.