The Wahzhazhe migrated west of the Mississippi River centuries ago and became the dominant power in Missouri and Arkansas. Later, the French mispronounced their name, and they became known as the Osage. With the influx of people after the Louisiana Purchase, a succession of treaties beginning in 1808 drove the Osage off their land. The government instructed them to cede their land and provide for their families by farming rather than hunting. By 1825, their only holding was a small strip of land in southeastern Kansas.