Osage Nation Visitors Center reopens

Osage Nation officials on April 17 celebrated the reopening of the tribal Visitors Center after a major renovation and expansion project.

The Visitors Center is located at 602 East Main Street, on the southwest corner of Main Street and Lynn Avenue. It is just across Lynn Avenue from the city veterans memorial and the head of an ON walking trail.  

The ON broke ground on the improvements in early May of 2023, which means the work was completed in less than a year, even with an unanticipated two-week delay at the end. A reopening ceremony was initially scheduled for April 3 but had to be canceled after a sewer line collapse. The city of Pawhuska and the ON collaborated on the sewer line repair.

The morning of April 17 was mild and sunny, perfect weather in which to have a ribbon cutting in the new patio area on the west side of the Visitors Center.

“I’ve never seen the view of Pawhuska from this way,” ON Congresswoman Jodie Revard said, looking westward from the patio toward downtown. She observed that the Visitors Center would give the Osage people a venue in which to share information about themselves.

“This is where we start to tell our story,” Ms. Revard said. She was the sponsor of legislation that provided funding for the renovation and expansion.

Brian “Da Chef” Lookout catered a buffet offering on the patio that he described as “a ton of delicious grub” in a Facebook post.

Addie Hudgins, director of the Visitors Center, expressed thanks for the support of ON leaders and relief that the moment of reopening the center had arrived.

“I don’t know how many times I heard, ‘Next Friday, next Friday, next Friday,’” Ms. Hudgins recalled with a smile. “But here we are.”

The renovated, expanded Visitors Center includes a coffee shop that will be serving Osage-owned Ekowah Coffee. The center also includes a boutique that will be featuring art, jewelry, clothing and other items created by Osage artists and entrepreneurs.

Principal architect Cory Miller and his wife, Cherise Lookout Miller, did the building design. Mr. Miller explained in a press release regarding the reopening that cultural considerations were important.

“Being of the community, we were in a keen position to relate to the needs expressed during programming and incorporate Osage design elements subtly and cohesively that will complement the works of Osage artists on display,” he said.

The Visitors Center is to be open 7:30 a.m. through 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. It will be closed Saturday and Sunday. The center is Americans with Disabilities Act accessible. Call the center at 918-287-0005, or follow it on Facebook.