WEBVTT - Bonus Episode: The Celebration

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, it's Rachel. It's been a while, but we have

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<v Speaker 1>a quick update for you. Last month, I hopped on

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<v Speaker 1>a plane from Houston to Tulsa and drove the hour

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<v Speaker 1>north to Pohsca. It was my first time on the

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<v Speaker 1>Osage Reservation in more than a year. I went back

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<v Speaker 1>to cover an important development. In this story. We told

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<v Speaker 1>you a lot about how US policies were to strip

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<v Speaker 1>O Sage land and money away from families in the

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<v Speaker 1>Osage Nation itself. We also told you about how Osage

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<v Speaker 1>leaders are trying to buy some of that back, and

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<v Speaker 1>last month, the Osage Nation did something big, bringing a

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<v Speaker 1>part of this history full circle. Government officials and journalists

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<v Speaker 1>were in town, including Alison Edrea, my reporting partner for

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<v Speaker 1>this podcast. We all gathered in a big room at

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<v Speaker 1>the new O Sage Casino in Pahsca. There was a

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<v Speaker 1>podium at the front next to a table with some

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<v Speaker 1>official documents on it. Chief Jeffrey's standing there can please

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<v Speaker 1>come up. You might remember Chief standing there from earlier episodes.

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<v Speaker 1>He's the elected leader of the Osage Nation and the

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<v Speaker 1>person who made the call to go all in to

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<v Speaker 1>win the more than forty thousand acres billionaire Ted Turner

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<v Speaker 1>was selling. But that acquisition was just step one, because the.

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<v Speaker 2>Title is going to be changed from Osage Nation to

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<v Speaker 2>the United States of America in trust for the Osage Nation,

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<v Speaker 2>that's what is on these states.

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<v Speaker 1>This was step two, transferring the land to the federal government,

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<v Speaker 1>so that the US would hold the title to the land,

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<v Speaker 1>but on behalf of the Osage Nation. In other words,

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<v Speaker 1>to establish that fiduciary duty, the highest responsibility in the

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<v Speaker 1>US legal system, a way to protect the land from

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<v Speaker 1>being sold or lost or stolen. This had been years

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<v Speaker 1>in the making. The osh Nation had applied to have

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<v Speaker 1>the land put in trust back in twenty sixteen, then

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<v Speaker 1>withdrew that application, did a bunch of work, and resubmitted

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<v Speaker 1>it in twenty twenty three. Putting land in trust, even

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<v Speaker 1>a couple acres is a long bureaucratic process, so for

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<v Speaker 1>a massive chunk like this ranch, at times it seemed

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<v Speaker 1>like it might not even happen at all. You might

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<v Speaker 1>remember that one issue was all the oil drilling that

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<v Speaker 1>had taken place on the land. There was a concern

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<v Speaker 1>that the BIA, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, might not

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<v Speaker 1>accept the liability that came with that damage, even though

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<v Speaker 1>it was the US that had overseen the oil production.

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<v Speaker 1>Chief Standing Bear said he explained all this to Frank Lucas,

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<v Speaker 1>the US Congressman from Oklahoma.

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<v Speaker 2>We told him the situation and he goes, oh, let

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<v Speaker 2>me get this straight. Bia. He's a big tallent. He goes,

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<v Speaker 2>BIA says, he can't put it in trust, as all

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<v Speaker 2>its environmental damage. But all's environmental damage happened when they

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<v Speaker 2>were in charge and make sure everything was not damas. Yes, sir,

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<v Speaker 2>and he goes, let them make sense. Then I go,

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<v Speaker 2>that's what we think.

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<v Speaker 1>So after Chief Standing Bear finished speaking, a new person

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<v Speaker 1>came on stage, a regional director for the BIA ed

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<v Speaker 1>E Streeter. They were in pretty close contact over the

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<v Speaker 1>last several years working on this. There were a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of technical details that needed to be hammered out, but

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<v Speaker 1>he said it was the right thing for the government

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<v Speaker 1>to do.

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<v Speaker 3>Placing land and trust is critical to travel, sovereignty, self

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<v Speaker 3>determination and preservation of the history and culture, economic development,

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<v Speaker 3>and the well being and tribal citizens. The process also

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<v Speaker 3>helped write the wrongs of past policies such as a

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<v Speaker 3>lot men as Chief talked about, which removed me as

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<v Speaker 3>the makers of lands for travel, ownership and federal protection.

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<v Speaker 1>Federal policy any more than a century. After the nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>oh six Act that divided up this land, the title

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<v Speaker 1>to more than forty thousand acres was officially transferred from

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<v Speaker 1>the o Sage Nation to the US government. It's trustee

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<v Speaker 1>and perpetuity.

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<v Speaker 2>So congratulations, you are own forty three thousand acres all

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<v Speaker 2>forty two thousand sum of federal trust land and it

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<v Speaker 2>is owned by Alden.

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<v Speaker 1>After the event, Alison and I caught up outside with r. J. Walker,

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<v Speaker 1>the assistant Principal Chief who drove the bid to Kansas

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<v Speaker 1>with Raymond Redcorn, the bid that won the Osage Nation

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<v Speaker 1>this land nine years ago.

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<v Speaker 4>One of my biggest desires as an Osage as as

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<v Speaker 4>an elected official, is to purchase our land back. And

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<v Speaker 4>the simple reality is that they're not making any more land.

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<v Speaker 4>And we sat in one little spot in this world,

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<v Speaker 4>and it's the Osage Nation, the Osa Reservation, and we're

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<v Speaker 4>taking it back little by little. In this case, it

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<v Speaker 4>was a big bite.

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<v Speaker 1>By all accounts, this was a celebration, but r J said,

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<v Speaker 1>this relationship with the US government is still kind of

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<v Speaker 1>tense at times. There's a lot of history here of

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<v Speaker 1>how the US facilitated this landlass to begin with, how

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<v Speaker 1>it breached its trust duty, something we covered extensively.

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<v Speaker 4>It's just a little bit awkward to me to sign

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<v Speaker 4>over something that is the Osage Nation and now it

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<v Speaker 4>is owned by the United States of America.

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<v Speaker 1>This came up a lot during my reporting for the

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<v Speaker 1>first eight episodes of this podcast, how complicated the trust

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<v Speaker 1>relationship is and how difficult it can be for the

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<v Speaker 1>Osage Nation to put its faith in a government that

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<v Speaker 1>has allowed and even facilitated some of the worst chapters

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<v Speaker 1>in its long history. I think back to my conversation

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<v Speaker 1>with Genie Dennison, the Osage citizen and associate professor of

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<v Speaker 1>American Indian Studies at the University of Washington. She explained

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<v Speaker 1>how the trust relationship was a tool away for the

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<v Speaker 1>Osage Nation to use the US legal system to its

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<v Speaker 1>advantage and keep the state out of the Osage Nation.

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<v Speaker 4>This is a historic deal and its interest forever on

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<v Speaker 4>behalf of the Osage Nation and the United States of

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<v Speaker 4>America now has a responsibility that it is taken care

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<v Speaker 4>of and we are taken care of and it can

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<v Speaker 4>never be sold.

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<v Speaker 1>As I was leaving Oklahoma, I was struck by how

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<v Speaker 1>much had changed since I started reporting this story. During

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<v Speaker 1>my first visit here, I'd met Jim Gray, the former chief,

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<v Speaker 1>to ask him about head rights and how so many

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<v Speaker 1>non Osages got them. I remember Jim telling me all

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<v Speaker 1>about the territory the Osage once had centuries ago, how

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<v Speaker 1>they bought all of what's now Osage County above the

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<v Speaker 1>ground and below, and how the government carved it up

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<v Speaker 1>into smaller chunks. On my way out of town, I

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<v Speaker 1>met up with Jim again, this time at a diner.

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<v Speaker 1>In a lot of ways, this was an effort that

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<v Speaker 1>really started back in the early two thousands when Jim

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<v Speaker 1>was chief and the Osage Nation reformed its entire government,

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<v Speaker 1>setting itself up to do something huge like buy back

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<v Speaker 1>tens of thousands of acres of land.

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<v Speaker 5>We lost our land, a lot of it over the centuries,

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<v Speaker 5>and this is an attempt to get some of it back,

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<v Speaker 5>but not just get it back and stay under the

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<v Speaker 5>jurisdiction of the state and the taxation policies of the state.

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<v Speaker 5>This gives it back in the best way you can

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<v Speaker 5>get it back. The United States government protected on your

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<v Speaker 5>behalf from encouragion by local municipal government, or say government,

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<v Speaker 5>that's as good as it gets in this business.

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<v Speaker 1>Everyone I talked to this last trip said the same thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Land prices are high. Putting assets back in trust is hard.

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<v Speaker 1>But the Osage nation isn't done. Oce Age leaders want

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<v Speaker 1>more land and they're working to put themselves in a

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<v Speaker 1>financial position to buy it. Acquiring this land, putting it

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<v Speaker 1>back into trust, It's far from the end. It's another beginning.

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<v Speaker 1>This episode was reported and hosted by me Rachel Adams,

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<v Speaker 1>heard with additional reporting from Alison Edita. It was produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Victor Eveyas and edited by Margaret Sutherland and Jeff

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<v Speaker 1>Grocottlomberg's head of podcasts is Sage Bowman. Additional thanks to

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<v Speaker 1>Davis Land, Jackie Kestler, Ariel Brown, and Shane Brown.