Firewood plays a central role in the all-night ceremonies of the Big Moon Peyote Religion among the Osage community in northeastern Oklahoma. The selection and preparation of wood for the ritual fire involves botanical knowledge, ceremonial experience, and aesthetic preferences to meet specific criteria. Beyond its practical function, firewood carries sacred properties that extend spiritual benefits and strengthen social relationships within the broader Osage community. The article describes how these practices incorporate traditional knowledge and cultural values.
The Native American Church State of Oklahoma (NAC-OK), an intertribal organization chartered in 1918 to protect members' First Amendment right to use peyote as a holy sacrament, collaborated with the Sam Noble Museum on an interpretive exhibition for its 2018 centennial. The project used a shared authority methodology, integrating community-driven content with the museum's standard exhibition development processes. This approach allowed the museum to produce the exhibition through its established workflow while prioritizing community interpretation and design.