author
Francis La Flesche
1857–1932
Remembered as the first professional Native American ethnologist, he brought Omaha and Osage traditions into print with unusual depth and care. His work also left a rare firsthand picture of Native life, education, and cultural change in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
2 Audiobooks
The Osage tribe, two versions of the child-naming rite (1928 N 43 / 1925-1926 (pages 23-164))
by Francis La Flesche
The Middle Five: Indian Boys at School
by Francis La Flesche
About the author
Born on the Omaha Reservation in Nebraska in December 1857, he was the son of Omaha chief Joseph La Flesche. He grew up within Omaha community life while also attending mission school, an experience that later shaped his memoir The Middle Five: Indian Boys at School.
He became known for groundbreaking work as a researcher, writer, and ethnologist, and is widely described as the first professional Native American ethnologist. Working with anthropologist Alice C. Fletcher and later with the Smithsonian's Bureau of American Ethnology, he helped document Omaha and Osage history, ceremony, music, and language in books and studies that remain important references.
Beyond scholarship, he is also remembered as a careful cultural interpreter during a time of intense pressure on Native communities. His writing stands out for combining lived experience with close observation, making his work valuable both as historical record and as literature.