Ne-kah-wah-she-tun-kah was an Osage chief who served as the Principal Chief of the Osage Nation from 1922 until his death on August 3, 1923. "Chief Nick" also served as principal chief for an earlier term and seven terms on the tribal council. He never learned English, but was one of the most respected chiefs of the Osage.
He was born either in present-day Osage County, Oklahoma on a bend of the Arkansas River near Ponca City, or Big Hill Creek east of Independence, Kansas. He became chief of the Big Hill clan around 1868.
Wah-ghre-lum-pah (âÂÂJuly 24, 1924) was Chief Nick's younger wife. Wah-ghre-lum-pah, a child when she married the chief, had lived in the chief's home until of age. He had also married her older sister, as well. Ne-kah-wah-she-tun-kah had children by both wives.
He was a signatory to the 1868 and then the revised 1870 Drum Creek Treaty, along with his brother Joseph Pawnee-no-pashe, who was the Governor of the Great and Little Osage Nation of Indians at the time. The brothers both traveled to Washington, D.C., representing the Osage people, at different timesâ Ne-kah-wah-she-tun-kah did so in 1888 and 1901, while "Governor Joe" had done so in 1874.
Ne-kah-wah-she-tun-kah became the hereditary chief of the Big Hill band after obtaining scalps as proof of his ability to lead. Other stories of scalping enemy tribes surfaced after his death, including one about Cherokee horse thieves near Claremore, Oklahoma.
When elected to his final term of principal chief in 1922, the newspaper noted the fact that he was the last hereditary tribal chief of the Osage Nation. His longtime interpreter, Charles Evanhoe, told the newspaper after his death that Ne-kah-wah-she-tun-kah would not take bribes, but rather supported his people's right to prosper individually and severally. He was also well-known for his staunch complaint against the U.S. Government's meddling in their financial affairs: they treated the Osage Indians like children by withholding their money and managing it. As for his warring nature, it was subdued from early on as he negotiated with the U.S. government on numerous occasions and wrote laws for the new nation. He was, however, implicated in a retributional raid on Cheyenne Indians, potentially killing them and taking scalps to avenge women of the Hard Rope clan.
When Ne-kah-wah-she-tun-kah died, he was given a full Osage traditional burial, causing a considerable controversy. His favorite horse was slaughtered, and the scalp of a former chief of the Wichita, Esadowa, was included in his tomb. The controversy over the scalp, already 50 years old, had led to the banning of scalp hunting and reparations paid to the Wichita. (See the legend of the Wichita chief scalp, below.) The procession of Chief Nick was reportedly very strict on details, including the placement of the opening of the coffin to ensure it faced East, with many news reports describing an incident where the coffin had to be removed, rotated, and replaced in the tomb.
The granite tomb and statue of his likeness is on the National Register of Historic Places for Osage County, Oklahoma. The burial would be the last traditional Osage burial.
The Smithsonian describes the statue:
After his death he was succeeded by Paul Red Eagle.
Prior to Western assimilation, Osage mourning rituals could last upwards of a year after a relative's death. However, the time required could be shortened if a mourner's relative ran a quest to obtain a scalp from an enemy tribe. A warrior fulfilling the scalp bounty would strip naked and paint himself black, fearlessly attacking an innocent enemy.
By the late 19th century, this custom had long since become rare and of little importance to the Osage. Because the custom had nearly ended, the story of the last scalp bounty became a touchstone of forgotten Osage beliefs.
In May 1873, the principal chief of the Wichita Indians, Esadowa, was slain by a marauding Osage scalp-hunting band. His body was found decapitated, and the head was found about away with the scalp removed. The Osage informed Indian agents that the group responsible is called a "mourning party," and "they must have a certain number of scalps before they can stop marauding."
A June 1873 newspaper had this explanation of the ritual:
The following is a synopsis of an article published in 1875 about the Osage-Wichita feud over the death of Chief Esadowa, "An Osage Murder Trial," from Aboriginal Fragments, W.W. Reach. Published in the Bucks County Gazette on September 9, 1875. The events happened in the summer 1873.
Colonel Gould Hyde Norton of the Kansas Cavalry, a founder and merchant of Arkansas City, Kansas visited the Osage on several occasions in 1872 to '73 for trading in buffalo hides and other goods. In 1873, he helped them write the paperwork for a treaty with the Pawnee. Norton reported in 1874 that the killer was likely Wasashe Watiankah (Norton says this means "The Darling Osage") of the Big Hills band, with Ah-humkemi (the half-breed known as Bill Conner) of the Sentinel or Little Osages as his assistant. Col. Norton and other contemporary accounts state that the Wichitas collected $1,500 for the killing of Chief Esadowa. Col. G.H. Norton had previously reported on the scalping of a Pawnee warrior by Bill Conner (Osage name Ah-hun-ke-mi) of the Big Hill band that occurred in February 1873. The scalp dance after the Pawnee's killing had included several days of elaborate rituals and the severed hand of the warrior.
In his telling of events, Col. Norton says the Black Dogs, envious of the other bands with a new scalp, sent out a scalp party in June (news reports say that it happened on May 31, 1873) to raid cattlemen on their drive. The mourning party of about twelve Osages returned with the scalp of a man named Ed Chambers, a white cattle drover who was out on the Ellsworth trail with Earle and Trailer working Tucker's herd. Two of Chambers's companions survived the ordeal by driving off the Osage with guns.
Newspapers in 1903 and onward reported on the legendary scalping of the Wichita chief, which became part of Osage Nation lore. The Osage warrior named as Wah-sah-she-wah-tian-kah had promised to give a scalp of an enemy to an uncle in mourning. He and eight companions including Bill Conner went to the mouth of Turkey Creek on the Cimarron River in 1874 [sic], seeking an enemy to scalp. Finding a Wichita chief named A-sa-wah [i.e., Esadowa] hunting bison alone, he approached on horseback, armed with a gun, with his companions forming a distraction. The victim, attempting at first to prevent the Osage from spoiling his hunt, and then realizing his intentions, was unable to flee from Wah-sah-she-wah-tian-kah, who shot him in the back.
Wah-sah-she-wah-tian-kah and companions decapitated the chief, scalped him, and returned to the Osage reservation with the scalp, but this immediately started an investigation that would likely lead to war between the two tribes. The two had not previously been at war.
The Wichita defused the situation by preventing Wah-sah-she-wah-tian-kah from standing trial for murder in U.S courts. Deputy U.S. marshals from Fort Smith had come to arrest and imprison him, which would surely end in a hanging. Early reports indicated a desire to enlist the Arapahoes and Cheyennes in the war against the much larger and stronger Osage. The Osage leadership, for their part, desired to have the marauders punished, while the Osage Agency and Agent Gibson began investigating the situation to begin determining damages inflicted.
The Wichita instead exacted reparations of money and merchandise, listed as "blankets, moccasins, callicoes, and groceries." In the 20th century retelling of the events, the amount of money involved was reportedly $2,500 or $4800., while earlier reports were lower. This appeasement of the Wichita kept Wah-sah-she-wah-tian-kah alive and unpunished as an individual. It also ended the threat of war between the two tribes, both of which were becoming civilized and leaving their former warlike culture behind.
After the reparations were paid, the Osage and Wichita smoked a peace pipe. A truce was established at Bird Creek, Oklahoma, and the tribes decreed that they would end funeral scalping. Although the legend would say that this was the last funeral scalping by an Osage, earlier evidence (e.g. by Col. Norton and other reports of the killing of cattleman Ed Chambers) and further rumors persisted that it was not.
Other stories in the 1920s surfaced, with the former wife of Augustus "Ogeese" Captaine saying that it was the half-breed Bill Connor who killed the chief. Jane's recollection was the Connor became a renegade, avoiding the Osage Agency at Pawhuska. This conflicts with the stories published by Col. Norton in 1873-74; he witnessed Bill Conner with the scalp of a Pawnee in February, which was several months before the Wichita chief was killed in May. Two separate accounts say that Bill Conner was, however, an accomplice of the Osage man who killed the Wichita Chief.
The scalp of Chief Esadowa reappeared 50 years later, being put in Ne-kah-wah-she-tun-kah's tomb during the traditional Osage ceremony. It is unknown why Chief Ne-kah-wah-she-tun-kah and his burial ceremony became involved with this scalp, however, dancing around a bag of scalps at a funeral was a former practice of the Osage that officially ended in 1873 due to the taking of this exact scalp. He was the brother of the governor who led the negotiations in the aftermath; he was also connected to the Osage Nation as its principal leader. A tribute to the last hereditary chief of the Osage stated that he "clung steadfastly to the old traditions," carried his scalping knife to the grave, and had a favorite story about Osages battling Cherokees in Oklahoma, returning with many scalps.