Competing casino projects rekindle age-old fight for Osage land in Missouri

Saturday, September 28, 2024 1:09 PM
  • Jesse Bogan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On a recent afternoon here in the heart of Osage Nation, Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear’s office was as wide open as the prairie.

Stepping out from behind his desk, he extended a friendly handshake and visited for nearly two hours without appointment. Like his tribal ancestors, he seems taller than he is, but he’s not nomadic like they were.

A certificate for being an accomplished lawyer adorned the wall. A binder, thick with documents for what would be the first Indian casino in Missouri and a boost for his struggling tribe, hunkered on a shelf.

As a gift, he offered a hardcover copy of the nonfiction book, “Killers of the Flower Moon.”