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White Hair Memorial under new management

The Oklahoma Historical Society and the Osage Nation agreed to operate the White Memorial in partnership. The long-term goal may be the transfer of Lillie Morrell Burkhart’s trust to the Osage Nation and out of the hands of the Oklahoma Historical Society

Changes are coming for the White Hair Memorial, the former home of Lillie Morrell Burkhart.

In a recent meeting at the Oklahoma Historical Society’s Burkhart Trust, which oversees the management of her estate, Trait Thompson, the Historical Society’s executive director outlined a new partnership between the Osage Nation to run Mrs. Morrell Burkhart’s former home.

The Osage Nation will hire staff and run the White Hair Memorial with funds from the Burkhart Trust. The Nation will receive $74,000 annually from the account, which will cover staffing costs.

OHS will cover all other maintenance costs, including the property upkeep and repairs. The agreement between the two will be reviewed annually and White Hair will be housed under the Nation’s language and culture staff.

Vann Bighorse and others from the department will be hiring personnel and operating it.

The White Hair Memorial has been closed since the end of June after the departure of its director Tara Damron, who was a longtime Oklahoma Historical Society employee.

Thompson told trustees during the meeting that discussions about an agreement between OHS and the Nation began after they received news that Damron was leaving, which was in late May.

“We felt like it would be in the best interest of the site to ensure that we had an Osage presence at the site moving forward,” Thompson said during the meeting.

Lillie Morrell Burkhart, known for her generosity and love of Osage traditions and culture, left part of her estate to the Oklahoma Historical Society in trust for the benefit of Osage generations to come. Courtesy Photo/KOSU

In an email sent to Osage News, Thompson said the state agency cannot transfer the White Hair Memorial to the Osage Nation and explained that, “A court would have to decide if the trusteeship could be transferred. The site, the headrights, and 440 acres of land belong to the Burkhart Trust,” Thompson wrote.

The meeting was attended by Osage citizens Billie Ponca, Lillie Morrell Burkhart’s great-niece, Carol Klein, another great niece, Traci Phillips, a Morrell descendant, Vann Bighorse, the Osage Nation’s secretary of language and culture and Scott BigHorse, ON Congressman.

Thompson clarified to the trustees present that nothing will change with the administration of the trust – OHS will continue to manage it as they have since 1984.

What would change is that OHS would enter into a yearly contract to pay the Nation to cover the staffing at the site and any of the day-to-day operational expenses like computers, equipment, printers, and any other costs of taking care of the site.

Thompson said the OHS worked with the Oklahoma Attorney General on the agreement as well as the Nation’s Attorney General’s office.

“We think that this is in the best interest of the White Hair site and the Burkhart Trust moving forward into the foreseeable future,” Thompson said.  

The new agreement was unanimously agreed upon by the board, which consists of nine members, five of which were present.

Trustees were told the agreement was expected to be signed by OHS and the Nation soon and that the Nation will determine when the site will reopen.

During the question and answer session, Billie Ponca asked about the role of an Osage County District Court judge in overseeing the trust – something that was outlined in a 1983 court document that determined heirship and ordered the final distribution of her property and money.

“My main concern is the judge … There still needs to be a judge that knows what’s going on with the White Hair. Because if not, that’s breaking the trust,” Ponca said.

The court document states as follows:

“… said real estate and the income from said Osage Indian Headrights and all the rest, residue and remainder of the property and estate belonging to said decedent at the time of her death … should pass and be conveyed upon the Oklahoma Historical Society, less any and all expense of a caretaker for the said property, IN TRUST, for benefit of Osage Indians and public, to be used to maintain decedent’s house as a shrine-to Chief Whitehair, and all income derived therefrom be expended within Osage County under the supervision of the District Court of Osage County, Oklahoma.”

As of Sept. 15, the White Hair Memorial has about $900,000 cash on hand.

In a separate interview with Osage News, Thompson confirmed that a judge from Osage County hasn’t been involved with the property for a long time and that he couldn’t speak to that part of the agreement.

“We didn’t get the approval of the judge for this because we don’t really feel that we needed to get any approval for this,” Thompson said. “This isn’t changing anything regarding the basis of the trust itself, it’s not really changing anything regarding the mission that was set up.”

Former longtime White Hair Memorial director Billie Ponca is also Lillie Morrell Burkhart’s great-niece. Courtesy Photo/KOSU

Ponca is concerned that if the trust is broken she thinks that the Daughters of the American Revolution, who was named as another possible successor should the OHS not want to take on the trust, could get involved. Then there are the remaining family members like herself and Carol Klein.

“We want to see it left the way that it is. That preserves the culture and the history of the Osage and pays tribute to our descendants,” Ponca said at the meeting.

Thompson said Ponca and other descendants are entitled to their concerns about a judge, but he feels that the OHS has lived up to the responsibility of the trust.

ON Attorney General Clint Patterson said he’s not sure if the Nation can legally take over the trust, but the Nation running the facility is a good beginning.

“I think it’s a good step forward to allow us to choose our own personnel out there and it recognizes, you know, the Nation’s historical and cultural significance over there at the White Hair Memorial,” Patterson said. 

Thompson said turning over the trust to the Osage Nation is something he is still interested in pursuing, but that it’s going to take a lot of work and is a long-term process involving the courts and going through Mrs. Morrell’s legal documents.

“I don’t know if this is the best solution, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction in my opinion,” said Patterson.

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Allison Herrera
Allison Herrerahttps://osagenews.org
Title: Freelance Reporter
Languages spoken: English

Allison Herrera is a radio and print journalist who's worked for PRX's The World, Colorado Public Radio as the climate and environment editor and as a freelance reporter for High Country News’ Indigenous Affairs Desk. Herrera recently worked on Bloomberg and iHeart Media's In Trust with Rachel Adams-Heard, an investigative podcast about Osage Headrights. She currently works for KOSU as their Indigenous Affairs Reporter. Herrera’s Native ties are from her Xolon Salinan tribal heritage. In her free time, she likes buying fancy earrings, running and spending time with her daughter.
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