This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Twenty-five BIA offices across the country, which is over 27% of all BIA locations, will be shut down by late summer or early fall this year – including the Osage Agency in Pawhuska, which is set to close in September.
According to a Feb. 28 press release from U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) titled, “Trump, Musk Plan to Shutter Interior Offices Nationwide, Devastating Local Economies and Abandoning Tribes,” this is the latest attempt from the Department of Government Efficiency to reduce government spending.
More specifically, the General Services Administration is terminating leases that provide for the BIA offices.
The four BIA offices set to close in Oklahoma are the Osage Agency, the Pawnee Agency, and the BIA offices in Watonga and Seminole. The Geological Survey office in Oklahoma City is also set to close.
The full list can be found here.
Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear acknowledged hearing about the closures.
“I have been notified that a large number of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) properties across the country are on a termination list. Within that list is a building called the Osage Agency Park, also known as the Osage Agency,” said Standing Bear in the release.
Standing Bear said he received a phone call from a person who works at the Osage Agency who wanted to know what it meant for their employment within the BIA. The Nation knew the lease was set to end in November and that Casey Johnson, the Nation’s Secretary of Development had been working on an alternate plan to house those employees.
Standing Bear said he and his office have been anticipating the closures and will work to mitigate the damage and alleviate any anxiety or fear from future cuts.
Osage News reached out to Standing Bear about the notice but at press time had not been given comment. Osage News also reached out to BIA Regional Director Eddie Streater and acting Osage Agency Superintendent Cammi Canady for comment, but did not receive a response by press time.
Former Osage Agency Superintendent Adam Trumbly, who was laid off last month told Osage News he planned on appealing his termination and that a closure of the Osage Agency would likely have serious consequences for Osage constituents who have mobility issues or lack the transportation to travel to the Muskogee office to handle their affairs.
He said the closures blindsided him along with his termination and he said there seems to be no plan in place as to who or how services were going to be met for Osages who rely on the office.
“The impact on Bureau of Indian Affairs offices will be especially devastating,” wrote Ranking Member Huffman in the release.
“These offices are already underfunded, understaffed, and stretched beyond capacity, struggling to meet the needs of Tribal communities who face systemic barriers to federal resources. Closing these offices will further erode services like public safety, economic development, education, and housing assistance—services that Tribal Nations rely on for their well-being and self-determination.”
