最新杏吧原创

PAWHUSKA, Okla. 鈥� On a recent afternoon here in the heart of Osage Nation, Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear鈥檚 office was as wide open as the prairie.

Stepping out from behind his desk, he extended a friendly handshake and visited for nearly two hours without appointment. Like his tribal ancestors, he seems taller than he is, but he鈥檚 not nomadic like they were.

A certificate for being an accomplished lawyer adorned the wall. A binder, thick with documents for what would be the first Indian casino in Missouri and a boost for his struggling tribe, hunkered on a shelf.

As a gift, he offered a hardcover copy of the nonfiction book, 鈥淜illers of the Flower Moon.鈥� In an award-winning movie, Hollywood told the story about murderous whites targeting Osage families flush with newfound oil wealth in the 1920s.

鈥淲e had all this money 鈥� once,鈥� said Chief Standing Bear, 71.

And legendary power.

Before being forced to resettle multiple times, the Osage commanded close attention from the likes of the French, Spanish and U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. The tribe once stood firmly in the way of westward expansion. Their native homeland not only covered the strategic confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, but also what is now 最新杏吧原创 and the rest of the Show-Me State, as well as northern Arkansas and swaths of Kansas and Oklahoma.

鈥淲e could put 10,000 warriors in the field,鈥� the chief said. 鈥淎nd that was only a portion of our population at that time when we were in Missouri.鈥�

But even the fierce Osage couldn鈥檛 stop what was coming. Endless waves of white settlers desperate to survive and spread their way of life in a land new to them. Other displaced and hungry tribes. Smallpox. Measles. Typhus.

In a series of treaties, the Osage ceded the last of their Missouri lands in 1825. They were forced into what is now a patch of southeastern Kansas, only to move to their current location 鈥� 1.5 million acres in northeastern Oklahoma 鈥� in the 1870s following more pressure from white settlers. By then, their population had fallen some 90% from its peak.

Today, Osage Nation is a federally recognized tribe of about 25,000 members, but many of them have scattered.

鈥淲e want to bring them back home, and that takes money,鈥� Chief Standing Bear said.

In the middle of his third term as chief, he said many resources have already been spent for a new health clinic and senior housing, revamping the visitor center and running a ranch that offers discounted meat prices to tribal members.

He said more money is needed to continue to offer and expand scholarships and financial assistance to all tribal members for health care and funerals that last four days. He said educational programs that preserve the Osage way of life that was nearly wiped out must also be protected and bolstered with modern technologies such as bringing internet to remote locations of the reservation.

鈥淲e have songs,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have traditions that are thousands of years old and it鈥檚 a fight to keep them going.鈥�

He鈥檚 been looking for help and opportunities to reconnect with Missouri, but the tribe has been hit with a few notable setbacks from its ancestral lands.

In September 2021, national news hit that an anonymous buyer, paying $2.2 million, had outbid Osage Nation for Picture Cave. Some scholars believe the secluded cave 鈥� loaded with paintings from the distant past in Warren County near the Missouri River 鈥� is the sacred 鈥渨omb of the universe鈥� that tells the creation story of Osage ancestors. Three years later, the buyer and their intentions are still unknown to the public.

One month after the publicized sale, Osage Nation announced that it had applied to the U.S. Department of Interior for a pathway to build a tribal casino in Missouri at Lake of the Ozarks. If approved, the federal government would transfer 28 acres of land the tribe purchased at the corner of Bagnell Dam Boulevard and Highway 54 in the tourist town of Lake Ozark into federal trust with tribal sovereignty.

The project, touted as a $60 million gaming, entertainment and cultural venue, would be exempt from most Missouri laws and regulations, while funding social programs for the tribe.

Osage Nation currently has seven casinos in Oklahoma, ranging from a tin-sided building in tiny Hominy to a sprawling hotel and live entertainment complex in Tulsa that鈥檚 scheduled to host The Temptations and Randy Travis. The proposed Lake Ozark project, if approved, would be the tribe鈥檚 first casino in another state and a coup in a competitive industry.

Clearly, a lot of money is at stake that comes with opportunities and market implications that reach far beyond mid-Missouri. In 2023, the National Indian Gaming Commission reported that 527 gaming operations, made up of 245 tribes in 29 states, generated $41.9 billion in gross revenue, a record high.

Now, a second casino plan that competes with the Osage Nation project has surfaced by the lake and is gaining momentum. Casino giant Bally鈥檚 and Eldon-based real estate developer Gary Prewitt bankrolled the effort to build a casino on a site adjacent to the Osage River, below Bagnell Dam.

A change in the state constitution is necessary to get that project underway because the state鈥檚 current fleet of 13 casinos is limited to sites along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, areas once dominated by the Osage. On Nov. 5, Missouri voters will be asked if they support Amendment 5 that would expand the number of casinos to 14 to accommodate the proposal. It would still need approval from the Missouri Gaming Commission once enacted.

Chief Standing Bear thinks the competing proposal is another slight against the Osage. For starters, the name of the project is registered under Osage River Gaming and Convention.

鈥淚 wish they wouldn鈥檛 call it that,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat makes people think it鈥檚 us. We have our own path that we established.鈥�

He said the location chosen is also insensitive. He said some of the last Osage village sites in Missouri were flooded to create Lake of the Ozarks, which is part of what drew Osage Nation鈥檚 interest in opening its tribal casino there 鈥� near Osage Beach.

鈥淚 am not quite sure what they are doing,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey have never talked to me, and I am the chief. That鈥檚 offensive. I mean, people gotta show respect to each other.鈥�

On Tuesday, Osage River Gaming and Convention representatives released renderings for possible high-rise casino options for their project. Phone calls to the Prewitt family were referred to two veteran political operatives, John Hancock and Ed Rhode.

On Wednesday, Hancock defended the name and location.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the Osage River,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where the thing actually is. I mean, we aren鈥檛 trying to fool anybody.鈥�

Regardless, he said, their casino campaign this week changed names to 鈥淵es on 5鈥� so it鈥檚 more descriptive of what they are asking people to vote for. Hancock said local officials publicly support their casino project. As for Chief Standing Bear, he said: 鈥淲e would be more than willing to sit down with Osage Nation. The fact that Osage Nation spent $300,000 to defeat our signature-gathering effort isn鈥檛 helpful for such dialogue.鈥�

State records show a committee opposed to the casino, Missourians for Truth in Petitioning, raised more than $380,000 through July 15, all of it from Strategic Capitol Consulting. That firm, which is headed by Steve Tilley, the former Missouri House speaker, was retained by Osage Nation to represent its interests.

While the competing proposal moves forward, and readies for a statewide vote, the Osage Nation鈥檚 binder of applications for a tribal casino in Missouri gets heavier on the chief鈥檚 bookshelf.

鈥淲e are following all the environmental rules and painstakingly preparing our petition to the governor and to federal officials to have it allowed to do limited gaming,鈥� he said.

He said the project isn鈥檛 about money.

鈥淭his whole situation is about our culture, and our language and our history,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 keep it, we are no different than a Rotary Club or any other group.鈥�

The Osage brand

Today, the tribe says there are 720 Osage living in Missouri. A drive throughout the state speaks to their former relevancy.

Scores of places and businesses are named after the Osage 鈥� anything from Osage 24 Self Storage, Sac Osage Electric Cooperative and Osage Trails to Osage Ag, Osage Backhoe Madness and Osage County.

But it鈥檚 School of the Osage that particularly catches Chief Standing Bear鈥檚 attention for a possible opportunity.

It鈥檚 the name of the school district where Osage Nation is facing local opposition against building an Indian casino on land near Lake of the Ozarks that the tribe occupied before American settlers. The district, which calls itself the 鈥淗ome of the Indians,鈥� uses an illustration of a chief in headdress as its logo.

鈥淲e want to go into the School of the Osage there, in Osage Beach, and talk to the superintendent and bring our people up there to teach those children about Osages, so it really will be the School of the Osage,鈥� said Chief Standing Bear.

It would be one of many efforts to invest in the community beyond building and running a casino.

鈥淚 really feel like I can contribute,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 relish the opportunity to explain our histories and our culture.鈥�

He envisions bringing in weekend dances and live bison as tourist attractions at a new visitor center there.

鈥淲ouldn鈥檛 that be cool?鈥� he said. 鈥淚 tell you the kids would come by to see it. We wouldn鈥檛 charge admission.鈥�

But officials in Lake Ozark rejected a resolution endorsing the Osage Nation鈥檚 casino project last summer. Mayor Dennis Newberry cast the board of aldermen鈥檚 4-3 tiebreaker.

鈥淭he Osage Nation has never provided us with any kind of meaningful information,鈥� Newberry, 53, said Tuesday by telephone. 鈥淛ust the rendering of the building. There is a lot more to it.鈥�

And a lot of speculation.

鈥淭hey could open up grocery stores,鈥� the mayor said. 鈥淭hey could open up all kinds of retail that don鈥檛 pay taxes.鈥�

Asked about possible cultural sensitivities, given the history of the tribe and the prominence of all-things-Osage in the area, the mayor said he鈥檚 not opposed to the Osage Nation in principle.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not responsible for an elected official to take a position on something they have limited to no knowledge of,鈥� he said, adding: 鈥淭hey鈥檝e had conversations with our police chief about donating money. But what does that have to do with how your project will affect our city?鈥�

鈥榃e can whip anybody鈥�

On a recent visit to Osage Nation, the hotel rooms at a redone casino in Pawhuska were clean. A large painting of a bison hung above the bed. Historic photos of the tribe hung in the hallways.

There were a lot of open spaces, both in the parking lot and on the game floor, which was mainly stocked with electronic slot machines.

鈥淢y wife probably left $500 here,鈥� said Bob Cote, 63, visiting from Minnesota.

He didn鈥檛 view it as a loss, but rather entertainment.

鈥淚t鈥檚 in my budget,鈥� said the retired construction manager. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to lose money you can鈥檛 afford. You aren鈥檛 a gambler that way.鈥�

Osage Nation says it paid out $166 million in winnings the past year at all its casinos. There are many other tribal casinos to choose from across Oklahoma, one of 29 states that allow them.

As an attorney, Chief Standing Bear was involved with gaming for years. He said he initially wanted to open four new casinos is Missouri 鈥� in Cuba, Kimberling City, Hannibal, and Lake of the Ozarks. For now, the 28 acres at Lake of the Ozarks is the focus.

鈥淵ou can only do so much in 28 acres,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat includes parking, casino, hotel, restaurants, the road driving up to it.鈥�

While local officials may not be convinced, he said, the application must show how the tribe is going to pay and provide for things like power, water, sewer and increased traffic.

鈥淭hose are all studies done by consultants,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd we put it all together. We say we are here to enhance the community, and we have to prove it. They鈥檙e the Show-Me State, right? We gotta show everything.鈥�

He said Osage Nation will make charitable donations to the local area.

鈥淲e will guarantee,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can enter into a compact with the state, which is on top of the Deed of Trust. We can lock an annual percentage, provided it鈥檚 called charitable donations, and it鈥檚 not pooled with the state facilities. Every three years, we could review it to see if there needs to be an increase. We can write language like that.鈥�

While he obviously supports the Osage Nation proposal, he said perhaps two competing casinos at Lake of the Ozarks could be beneficial to consumers. He said Osage Nation continues to be a tested competitor in Oklahoma.

鈥淥ur winning ticket is to show we can offer better odds, better player experiences and we can be better hosts to the gaming guests,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can do that. We can whip anybody in Missouri on that 鈥� anybody in Missouri.鈥�

He鈥檚 confident the U.S. Department of the Interior will approve their application within a year if everyone gets on board.

鈥淵ou know why?鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause we are following every rule that we can that鈥檚 required, and our intentions are good. And it鈥檚 going to help our neighbors as well as us.鈥�

He said the Osage are often left in a position to remind people of the suffering their tribe experienced in Missouri.

鈥淧eople say, 鈥榃hat can we owe you for all the terrible things that we did to you,鈥欌�� said Chief Standing Bear. 鈥淲ell, support our programs. Support our language. Support our culture. You need to support that casino. That鈥檚 what the money is going for.鈥�