New Osage Dance Arbor facility dedicated for Pawhuska Indian Village

Dedication ceremonies for a new Osage Dance Arbor in Pawhuska Indian Village were held last week.

Osage Nation officials and other citizens gathered Thursday morning at the Wakon Iron Community Center Chapel before proceeding to the arbor construction site, which is located nearby. Groundwork had recently been completed for the project and the steel support posts for the arbor structure were set into place on Wednesday.

Tribal members participated in the historic event by contributing beads that were strung together and then buried in arbor’s concrete footings that were being poured as part of Thursday’s dedication.

Funding for the Pawhuska arbor was approved last year by the Osage Nation Congress. The previous arbor structure was recently removed to make way for the new construction — which will give Pawhuska a facility comparable to those at the other Osage Village sites in Hominy and at Gray Horse near Fairfax.

Arrangements for the arbor ceremony were made by the Pawhuska Five Man Board, a committee of tribal members who are elected from the community to oversee operations at the federally-designated Indian Village.