Pre-1800s

• The Wahzhazhe (Osage) people, part of the Dhegiha branch of the Siouan language family, thrive in the lands of the Ohio Valley before migrating westward to present-day Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma.

• Known for their diplomacy, military prowess, and spiritual traditions, the Osage Nation commands a vast territory stretching over 100,000 square miles.

1808

• The first treaty between the Osage and the U.S. government is signed, ceding vast tracts of ancestral land and beginning a century of forced displacement and cultural upheaval.

1872

• The Osage Nation purchases reservation land in Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma) with proceeds from earlier land sales—making them unique among Native nations in owning their reservation outright. This act—buying rather than accepting an allotment—grants them a rare legal protection: full ownership of their reservation, including the mineral rights beneath the soil.

1890

• S.J.’s great-grandfather Hasread Javine is born—part of a generation raised in the shadow of dispossession, but on the cusp of profound change.

1890s

• Oil is discovered beneath Osage land. The mineral rights, held in trust and allotted to Osage citizens in headrights, will later become both a source of wealth and tragedy.

Early 1900s

• Joseph Javine, eldest brother of Hasread, attends the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania—one of the most notorious “assimilation” schools in the country.

• At Carlisle, Joseph becomes a contributing writer to The Carlisle Arrow, the school’s official publication—an act of self-expression within an institution built to silence.

1910s–1920s

• Osage citizens become some of the wealthiest people in the world due to oil royalties. This era is marked by both cultural renaissance and the violent greed of outsiders—culminating in the Osage Reign of Terror.

1921–1925

• The murder of Mollie Burkhart’s family and others exposes systemic corruption in Osage County. The FBI is called in to investigate, leading to the trial of William Hale—a story now immortalized in Killers of the Flower Moon.

Mid–1900s

• Despite ongoing prejudice, many Osage individuals pursue higher education, tribal leadership, and legal reform. Stories like Joseph’s echo in the paths of modern tribal advocates and educators.

Today

• The descendants of Peter and Cecelia continue to honor their heritage—preserving the stories, surviving the silence, and reclaiming the narrative.