Ranch is 43,000
acres currently used for bison ranching and conservation
|
Bison
enjoy a sunny winter morning on conservation lands near Pawhuska.
|
PAWHUSKA, Okla. (January 29, 2016) The Office of the Chiefs
has announced progress towards the purchase of Ted Turners
43,000-acre Bluestem Ranch.
The bidding process for the Bluestem Ranch is completed.
The Osage Nation is bound by a confidentiality agreement with the
Turner Group through the broker regarding the details of the transaction.
Until additional steps are completed, the Executive branch will
have no additional comment on the transaction. We are extremely
pleased to reverse 200 years of loss of our lands, said Assistant
Principal Chief Raymond Red Corn in an official statement from the
Executive Branch.
The purchase was presented to the Fourth Osage Nation Congress
last week during the Tenth Special Session. Eleven of the twelve
members of Congress voted in favor of the purchase. To view the
enacted legislation, ONCA 16-24, go to www.dropbox.com/s/r982jr0s2l6sx86/ONCA%2016-24%20ENACTED.pdf?dl=0.
On Jan. 21, Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear
wrote a letter to Ted Turner on behalf of the Nation about the land.
He stated, These plains are part of the Osage Peoples
original homelands
At last we have the ability and opportunity
to once again own this much land in one place.
Standing Bear also shared with Turner the devastating effects
of land allotment, Until 1906 we owned nearly 1.5 million-acres
in one contiguous parcel of what is now Osage County
we now
only own 5 percent of our original land in scattered parcels.
According to Turner Enterprises, Inc., the ranch is managed
for bison grazing, which has proven to be very conducive to quality
wildlife management. Bluestem primary species are whitetail deer,
wild turkey, and bobwhite quail. Waterfowl hunting and fishing are
also popular.
Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear and Assistant Principal
Chief Raymond Red Corn will provide more updates for the Osage people
and the public as continued progress is made.
For more information about the Osage Nation Executive Branch
visit www.osagenation-nsn.gov/who-we-are/executive-branch.
For more information about the Fourth Osage Congress and the Tenth
Special Session go to www.osagenation-nsn.gov/who-we-are/congress-legislative-branch.
|