Osage Nation ends White Hair Memorial partnership amid mounting repair costs

Photo Courtesy: KOSU

Written By: Allison Herrera

(OSAGE RESERVATION) The fall of 2024 marked a new beginning for the White Hair Memorial, the former home of Lillie “Maggie” Morrell Burkhart, a full blooded Osage woman who died in 1967. Mrs. Morrell Burkhart willed her home to the Oklahoma Historical Society so they could keep it as a shrine to her ancestor, Chief White Hair.

Read this story on Osage News here.

After being closed for two and a half months, the home was going to be operated by the Osage Nation with the funds from Mrs. Morrell Burkhart’s trust, which is managed by the Oklahoma Historical Society.

Osage Nation hired Johnna Johnson to manage the day-to-day operations and welcome visitors.

However, the home was opened with none of Mrs. Morrell Burkhart’s Osage clothing collection, which included ribbon work, Osage broadcloth, roaches and other precious items. The items were taken to Oklahoma City when the site closed temporarily during the summer of 2024.

The house also needed repairs. Before it opened in December, the White Hair Memorial, which sits between Hominy and Fairfax, sustained water damage due to a leak in the air conditioning condensation line, causing water damage in the kitchen and hallway. 

Nearly one year after the Osage Nation entered into an agreement with the Oklahoma Historical Society, the Nation has decided not to renew the contract. A letter was sent to the OHS earlier this month.

ON Cultural, Language and Education Secretary Vann Bighorse said the condition of the house is unacceptable. He said the collaboration and the speed at which repairs are made are moving too slowly.

For Bighorse, it’s an issue of perception.

“I just don’t want Osage constituents having the perception that the Osage Nation, since we are under a service agreement, that we are a part of the condition and the way that home looks,” Bighorse said.

The house needs a new foundation and flooring due to extensive termite damage. The siding is coming off the front part of the house and new windows need to be installed.

According to Bighorse, the cost to make repairs would be more than $250,000. Money that, if taken from Mrs. Morrell Burkhart’s trust, would significantly lessen the amount left in it.

In an email to Osage News, the Oklahoma Historical Society acknowledged the need for extensive repairs and the termite damage to the floor joists under the houses.

“We don’t have a current estimate on the repairs. The exterior projects will exceed the state’s $100,000 limit and must go through OMES, which is where it is now,” said Jessica Brogdon, OHS communications manager.

The OHS said the priority list of repairs includes the windows, foundation, and wood around the windows in order to stabilize the building envelope, which includes the exterior walls, foundations, roof, windows and doors.

Bighorse said Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear was excited about forming a partnership with OHS to manage the White Hair due to its history and cultural ties to the Nation. Ultimately, Standing Bear agreed that the house needs too much work. Because the Nation doesn’t own the property, they’re unwilling to put Nation funds into helping with repairs.

“We look forward to working with OHS in the future, where there is more cooperation on maintenance of the property,” said Standing Bear.

Start from Scratch

Lillie Maggie Morrell Burkhart died on Sept. 2, 1967. Her will clearly stated that she wished for her home to be left to the care of the OHS. In the one-page document, Mrs. Morrell Burkhart stated that she wished her home to be kept as a shrine to Chief White Hair, as she was the last living member of the White Hair clan. She also directed that any upkeep of the home was to be paid for by her income, which was 2 ½ headrights and the rent from the balance of her land. The will was contested and finally settled in 1984.

One former OHS employee who asked to remain anonymous said the White Hair Memorial is being mismanaged by the Historical Society. The former employee told Osage News that they have known about the termite damage for years, but never acted. They were working on a list of repairs and a scope of work with OHS personnel who handles construction and properties.

They told Osage News, the perception is that OHS doesn’t care about White Hair.

Bighorse told Osage News he felt like no information was being shared about when Mrs. Morrell Burkhart’s Osage clothing collection would be returned and when repairs on the house would be made. He said it felt like a “mystery game.”

In an email to Osage News, Brogdon said, “There is no timeline for when any collections will be returned to the site. There are about 1,000 items, and our team of two people is sifting through paperwork to identify and match up old records with artifacts.” Anything belonging to White Hair, Brogdon said, would be returned to the site once the building was reopened.

According to the service contract between the Osage Nation and the Oklahoma Historical Society, the OHS is responsible for “continue risk management coverage on the property’s building, continue to make routine maintenance inspections and to the extent possible, financially, assist with emergency repairs to the property, using limited maintenance funds from the Burkhart trust, provide routine maintenance on the property, such as mowing and pest spray.” The Historical Society provided $74,000, according to the agreement, to help pay salaries and benefits to an employee. In the agreement, the Nation is responsible for maintaining regular hours, hiring of the staff, attending quarterly meetings to give updates on the property, and is supposed to adhere to all rules and OHS policies.

“You’re just going to have to start from scratch,” said Bighorse, about the repairs and the home.

Site Hours Unknown

During the summer months, Osage News went by the home several times during regular operating  hours, but the gate and the house were closed. It wasn’t clear why White Hair was closed. Bighorse said that if the Nation were to staff the place again, there would be a bona fide curator hired to run the site.

Bighorse said he hopes the Nation and the OHS can work together again and manage the White Hair Memorial. 

But for now, the future of the site is unknown. The Osage Nation will hand over the keys at the end of September.

“If the Osage Nation was to take it over again, it’d be a totally different thing,” Bighorse said.