The Osage Nation broke ground on the new Fairfax Visitor’s Center on Feb. 24.
Members of the Fairfax community gathered for the event. Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear, Assistant Principal Chief RJ Walker and the Fairfax WahZhaZhe Early Learning Academy were some of those in attendance.
The Fairfax Visitor’s Center will be the train depot used in the film, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and is located on Main Street across the street from Rock’s Grill & Pizzeria. When the visitor’s center opens, it will operate similarly to the Visitor’s Center in Pawhuska.
“The Visitor’s Center represents a welcoming space for visitors to the Osage Nation where folks can learn about our history and our culture and current events that are taking place throughout the nation,” said Russ Tallchief with Wahzhazhe Communications. “The Visitor’s Center will offer information on the Osage Nation, information on services and it’ll promote and sell Osage-owned products.”
Some of the products sold at the visitor’s center include Pendleton blankets, shawls and T-shirts. It will also promote Osage artists and businesses and carry Osage-owned and made products.
The purpose of the visitor’s center is to bring everyone together and to create a meeting place to learn about the history of the Nation and the Grayhorse district. The Nation will use the space to share history on their terms.
“This is not just for visitors that are passing through,” Tallchief said. “This is a place for everyone to gather. Now, utilizing the train depot from the set of the film ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ the Osage Nation is going to create a space for sharing our history from our own perspective. And there are many folks that have been involved in this project, and we’ve been in the planning for a few years now.”
Chief Standing Bear stressed the importance of the community working together and recognizing this as a boost to the local economy. He used the visitor’s center in Pawhuska as an example of helping create an economic boost for the community.
There are plans to eventually add a museum annex to the Fairfax Visitor’s Center, but it has not been approved or funded by Congress.
The visitor’s center will not only serve as a place to buy Osage products but it will also promote the history of the Grayhorse district – as well as delve further into the history of “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
“We found in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., letters from Mollie to Ernest Burkhart in prison, actually very touching letters,” Standing Bear said. “But it was shocking some of the information that’s in there. Then we saw the indictments, criminal indictments of some of the wrongdoers. Then there are all the transcripts of the trial. And the national archives has said, we will work with you to get high-resolution copies and that can be on display here.”
While the visitor’s center was in the works for a couple of years, Congress finally agreed to fund the project.
Casey Johnson, the Nation’s Secretary of Development, said he had to go through several hurdles to receive the funding to get the train depot.
“I went through my tribal development guys and they gave me a pretty high estimate, about $1.6 million,” he said. “I talked to Speaker [Pam Shaw] and Congress wasn’t going to go for it at that cost. So I told her, well we could just get it put up and just have a building sitting here. May not be able to go in or anything like that. So we settled on $850,000.”
Johnson is hoping the visitor’s center will be completed in the next year. There are still a few phases the project has to go through before it is completely finished.
“Hopefully in 12 months we’ll be able to come in here and we’ll be doing a ribbon cutting,” he said.
Second Speaker Otto Hamilton was also excited about the project.
“I’d just like to say I’m excited for two things,” he said. “Excited for the Osage to build again, and I’m excited for the Osage to take the opportunity and change the narrative out there, whatever it is, the Osage need to step forward and take charge of that here.”
