Osage News Screenshot/ON Historic Preservation Office website
The Osage Nation will now have a list of its own Register of Historic Places.
On Aug. 11, Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear issued Executive Order No. 21-02, which gave authority to the Nation’s Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Dr. Andrea Hunter, the authority to establish and publish an Osage Nation Register of Historic Places, in accordance with the policies of the Osage Nation Cultural Preservation Act.
Hunter said her office is still in the beginning stages of establishing the register and she looks forward to moving forward on the initiative this coming year.
Other tribal nations have established their own registries of historic places. The Cherokee Nation established its own registry in 2019 by legislative act. According to their law, their registry is a way for the Cherokee Nation to “play a role in protecting Cherokee historical sites, it is essential that the Cherokee Nation expand its cultural resource preservation activities for future generations.”
In 2011, the Seminole Tribe of Florida also established a registry of historic places. According to their Tribal Historic Preservation Office website, the Seminole Tribe established their registry “to preserve exceptionally significant Seminole sites that do not meet the National Register of Historic Places criteria by creating criteria specific to the culture, history and beliefs of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.”
The National Register of Historic Places is an official U.S. government list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preserving for their historical significance. They are deemed significant in accordance to their value in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering or culture. The list is maintained by the Secretary of the Interior under the authority of the National Historic Preservation Act.
For more information about the Osage Nation Historic Preservation Office, visit their website at https://www.osageculture.com/culture/historic-preservation-office
By
Shannon Shaw Duty
Original Publish Date: 2021-09-29 00:00:00
