Chiefs and sovereignty

Osages are fortunate for the solid Tribal structure that was formed centuries ago. That foundation of leadership became the organizational structure of Osage Nation providing ownership and protection of the Mineral Estate. Those things are the result of Osage elders of the past having an understanding of the concept of sovereignty.

Today’s tribal structure is not perfect, we know that. However, considering the pressures those Old Osages endured you must admit it is a very good thing that we have going for us. There is no question that those tribal principles and beliefs evolved from our ancient Clans.

We have had many capable leaders. One of those capable leaders was James Bigheart who has been credited by many with being one of the principal leaders of the movement to retain the oil reserves in common, to be shared equally by all of those allotted under the 1906 Act.

There was also Chief Ni Ka Wa Zhi Tun Ka, born in 1840. He was a traditional leader under the old Clan ways. Ni Ka Wa Zhi Tun Ka and was appointed Principal Chief under the 1906 Allotment Act.

Chief Peter Bigheart then became the first elected Principal Chief elected under the 1906 Act.  He was elected in 1908.    

Another traditional leader was Chief Fred Lookout. He was born at the end of the Civil War on the Osage Reservation in Kansas and he knew the Osage Clans. He would become a religious leader as a Road Man of the Native American Church. As a child he walked to the new Reservation in Oklahoma Territory. He was a traditional leader as well an elected Principal Chief under the 1906 Act

Those leaders were present when the 1881 Constitution of the Osage Nation was adopted.  As Principal Chief each of those leaders understood and fulfilled the role of a diplomat by interacting with leaders of oil companies and governments without being outsmarted.    

Chief Lookout maintained a good relationship with Frank Phillips, of Phillips Petroleum, W. G. Skelly, of Skelly Oil, and E. W. Marland, of Conoco.

He served his first term of Principal Chief from 1912 to 1914. He again served from 1916 to 1918, and during the Oil Boom of the 1924 until 1949 when he died. A total of 29 years.

By adhering to the historic Osage idea of shared ownership, those traditional leaders stood up to enormous pressure that allowed the People to retain the Mineral Estate.

At the heart of that struggle to retain the Mineral Estate, was the struggle to retain our sovereignty as a People. That was an amazing accomplishment. They each met the challenge of leadership when called on. They stood up for what they believed to be right. 

Those old Osages were educated statesmen. Their education came from the teachings of the Clans that evolved after centuries of the study of how mankind is a part of the Earth and the Sky, giving them a broad World View.