Cast-off State Parks Thrive Under Tribal Control, But Not Without Some Struggle

Year

Rick Geisler, manager of Wah-Sha-She Park in Osage County, stands on the shore of Hula Lake. When budget cuts led the Oklahoma tourism department to find new homes for seven state parks in 2011, two of them went to Native American tribes. Both are open and doing well, but each has faced its own difficulties in the transition.

Of the seven former state parks, only Wah-Sha-She Park near Pawhuska closed during its transfer to new management. From fall 2011 until spring 2012, no one could enjoy the unique Hula Lake sunsets from the park’s rocky shoreline, or camp at the handful of sites in this remote patch of well-maintained land carved into the wilderness in northern Osage County...

Resource Type
Citation

Editor. "Cast-off State Parks Thrive Under Tribal Control, But Not Without Some Struggle." Public Radio Tulsa. April 10, 2014. Article. (http://publicradiotulsa.org/post/cast-state-parks-thrive-under-tribal-co..., accessed March 17, 2023)

Related Resources

Thumbnail

Jim Gray, former Principal Chief of the Osage Nation, provides an overview of how the Osage Nation completely overhauled its constitution and system of governance, sharing the strategies that Osage used to educate and engage its citizens in order to ensure that their new government reflected the…

Thumbnail

In this informative intervew with NNI's Ian Record, James R. Gray, former Principal Chief of the Osage Nation, details his nation's effort to design a new constitution and government from the ground up, and provides an overview of the thorough education and consultation process the nation developed…

Image
Food Sovereignty: How Osage People Will Grow Fresh Foods Locally

Growing fresh and local foods for Osage people is now a revived approach to food sovereignty for the Osage Nation so efforts to find the most successful methods are being looked into by leadership and community members. On Feb. 7, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture along with the Oklahoma State…