Our history extends back a millennia and is woven into a contemporary fabric of rich tribal culture, oil money and cowboys. We enjoy a vibrant tradition of artisans and intellectuals as well as a bittersweet past filled with sudden wealth, loss and tragedy. Take time to visit the many historical sites, museums and attractions we have to offer.
The Osage Prairie Coalition for Tourism encompasses an area that includes the Osage Indian Reservation, southeast Kansas and north central Oklahoma. Among the coalition member’s there is a shared history, a unifying love for the prairie expanse, a passion for small town life remarkably balanced with an acknowledged respect for intellectual pursuit through world class museums, literature and the fine arts. Our plains landscape is cherished by descendants of the larger than life Osage Indians. Soft moccasin soles still caress the earth in rhythm to the tribal drum-beat. Proud Indian women wear the strikingly beautiful ribbon-work skirts and softly swing the fringed shawls that are worn around their shoulders. Smoke drifts lazily up from the campfire. Wealthy oilmen consider the underground oil reserves as some of the finest in the world. Buffalo herds lazily graze across the lush Tall Grass Prairie Preserve. Cowboys gallop on horses as they herd cattle and practice the old style open range grazing.
We invite the world to visit us. Whether a domestic or international tourist, the experience may be tailored to spend several days and choose from a visit to Sedan, Kansas the home of TV personality Bill Kurtis and world-renown clown Emmett Kelly, to stroll down the world’s longest Yellow Brick Road or experience the early morning chill of bird-watching on the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve. It may be the thrill of a bass tournament, a biker rally or a day immersed in the exquisite art of the Gilcrease Museum. Visitors may seek out the Osage Tribal Agency and pore over pictures and artifacts collected from recent times to the ancient past.
We share a desire for commercial viability, to encourage a sustainable, best practice approach that respects and protects both culture and environment through a synergetic collaboration of like-minded entities. In these modern days, with equally modern challenges, there is a clear motive to increase the economic value of our communities through a carefully planned tourism initiative. The Osage Nation recognizes that we offer, within a fifty mile radius of the Osage Tribal Agency, a unique opportunity to step back in time to a thrilling yesteryear filled with western flavor and the pang of loss and tragedy. We recognize this as a very attractive and marketable resource. People throughout the world hearken to the call of earlier, more peaceful, simple times. The challenge is to be both innovative and competitive. We have put together our best resources and collaborated to recognize the marketability of the Osage Prairie. We blend together this presentation of the Osage Plains, the eclectic, charming jewel of the prairie as a tourism destination with a world-class flair.
The Osage Tribal Museum
The Osage Tribal Museum is the oldest, continually operated tribal museum in North America. Click the link above to visit the museum page.
Pawhuska hosts a variety of attractions including the Immaculate Conception Church also known as the Cathedral of the Osage. Glorious stained glass windows depicting living tribal members were handcrafted in Germany after receiving special permission from the Vatican in 1919
A turn of the century schoolhouse and monument of America's first Boyscout Troop are just a few of the exhibits housed at the Osage County Historical Museum housed in the old Santa Fe Railroad Depot.
The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve is located north Of Pawhuska with over 37,000 acres of the only protected ecosystem of this kind and is the home to over 3,000 buffalo roaming freely much as it was when the Osage Tribe settled here in 1872. The headquarters is the historic Barnard Bunkhouse where Ben Johnson entertained the "Duke" John Wayne.
The Osage Tribal Council Chambers houses murals depicting Osage history. The north wall shows the "Osage Creation Story" while the south wall depicts current history and features many contemporary Osages.
The Million Dollar Elm Memorial is a tribute to the grand elm that provided shade for many oil lease sales. March 2, 1922, Skelly Oil and Phillips Petroleum Companies jointly bid over a million dollars for the first time ever on a 160-acre tract. Oil barons such as Frank Phillips, Harry Sinclair, and Jean Paul Getty sat under the shade of the Million Dollar Elm.
The Osage Agency Campus houses beautiful native sandstone buildings.
The superintendent's home has been residence to 30 Osage Agency Superintendent's and is listed on the National Register of Historical Places.
Pawhuska City Hall was the first Osage Tribal Council House built in 1894. The bell tower was used to call councilmen to meetings.
Step back in time at Woolaroc, founded in 1925 by Frank Phillips, this rustic ranch retreat will take you back to the wild west with its' museum, art gallery, wildlife preserve and mountain man camp.
Hominy is the City of Murals depicting Indian folklore located on various buildings throughout town.
Whitehair Memorial is located midway between Hominy and Fairfax on Hwy. 20. Whitehair is the rural home of original allottee Lillie Morrell Burkhart. Mrs. Burkhart's home has an extensive collection of cultural and documentary items. Whitehair Memorial is administered by the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Chief Lookout Memorial is located approximately 3 miles north and east of Pawhuska and is the burial site for Chief Lookout and his wife Julia. A 10 foot granite marker is located atop this mountain with a 360 degree panoramic view of Pawhuska, Bird Creek Valley, and Osage County.