In Trust
In Trust
A hundred and fifty years ago, the Osage Nation bought a stretch of prairie the size of Delaware, in what's now Oklahoma. The Osage owned the land and everything beneath it. Today, much of present-day Osage County has left Osage hands. In some cases, appropriation was swift and brutal: Dozens of Osages were murdered for their share of lucrative mineral rights to this oil-rich land, a period often …Social links:
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Bonus Episode: The Celebration
In this special bonus episode of In Trust, the Osage Nation puts nearly 42,000 acres of land back into trust with the US government. The move caps a nearly decade-long saga and protects the land from being sold, stolen or lost.
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Listen Now: Beak Capitalism from Odd Lots
In this limited series, Odd Lots explains some of the thorniest issues facing the US economy through the medium of … chicken. Chicken occupies a unique position in the US diet, but issues facing the poultry industry illustrate wider points about the development of the US economy and the decisions b…
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The Return to Osage County
A little over a year from the first episode of In Trust has passed. Hosts Rachel Adams-Heard and Allison Herrera return to Osage County to discuss the reporting and story with members of the community. We’ll share highlights from the panel, moderated by Shannon Shaw Duty of the Osage News, and talk…
30:20
Introducing: Elon, Inc.
At Bloomberg, we’re always talking about the biggest business stories, and no one is bigger than Elon Musk. In this new chat weekly show, host David Papadopoulos and a panel of guests including Businessweek’s Max Chafkin, Tesla reporter Dana Hull, Big Tech editor Sarah Frier, and more, will break …
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The ‘Oklahoma!’ Haze
There was one portrait of Oklahoma’s history that towered over all others. One with sweeping prairies and singing and dancing cowboys. The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! became synonymous with America’s westward expansion. It also left out a key part of the state’s history and people.
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The Moonscape
Since “In Trust” aired, we’ve heard more stories about how Native wealth was exploited. Not far from Osage County, citizens of the Quapaw Nation tell eerily similar accounts of unexplained deaths and mismanaged mineral resources. Lead and zinc mining around Picher, Oklahoma, provided bullets for tw…
30:52
The Pivot
A century has passed since a lot of the transactions that helped the three Drummond brothers amass tens of thousands of acres of Osage land. Now, with the Osage Nation seeking self-determination and Gentner Drummond running for state office, the fates of Osage and Drummond descendants continue to c…
35:44
The Ranch Bid
Hundreds of allotments left Osage hands, swiftly at first, and then over decades. Not long ago, the Osage Nation had just 30 days to try to get a big chunk of this land back, when a prized ranch was put on the block by billionaire Ted Turner. See archival documents, photos and more from the episode…
47:52
The Middlewoman
She was hailed by the local press as a hero of Oklahoma’s drive for statehood, which divided communal Native lands into individual parcels that could be leased or sold. A few years later, she was assembling tracts of Osage lands that she flipped to ranchers including Jack Drummond. But Anna Marx La…
46:44
The Association
Charles Wah-hre-she was an influential Osage religious leader. He died in Oklahoma City of a gallbladder illness, according to his 1923 death certificate. But for decades, Wah-hre-she’s family has heard a different story of his death. A descendant searches for answers, and tries to understand how a…
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