The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

State News

Discussion

June 15, 2009

Missouri: Osage tribe may buy St. Louis ancestral mound

The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS — The last couple of hundred years have been cruel to Sugar Loaf Mound. Quarrying nearly destroyed it in the 1800s; construction of Interstate 55 further scarred it in the 1960s. Now, as preservationists strive to save the city’s sole surviving Indian mound, they’ve found a natural ally: the descendants of its ancient builders, the Osage tribe of Oklahoma.

Sugar Loaf, between the highway and the Mississippi River about 4 miles south of the Gateway Arch, is all that remains of a network of Indian earthworks that gave St. Louis the nickname “Mound City.” Last fall, an elderly couple who own the 900-square-foot house on top of the mound put the property up for sale. There are two other houses at the base of the mound.

Under a plan that tribal officials say has the support of Osage Chief Jim Gray, the tribe would buy the mound, demolish the homes and develop the property as an interpretive site.

The Osage Nation Congress, based in Pawhuska, Okla., adjourned Wednesday without taking up a bill that authorizes the purchase. Though lawmakers aren’t scheduled to convene again until September, Gray could call a special session as early as next month to decide whether the tribe should buy Sugar Loaf.

The Osage didn’t build Sugar Loaf, but the tribe believes its ancestors include a mound-building people that disappeared long before the arrival of Europeans in North America. That society built massive earthworks throughout the Midwest, the best-known examples being those at the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Collinsville, Ill.

Andrea Hunter, the director of the tribe’s historic preservation office, said that archaeological evidence bolsters the tribe’s claim — passed on through the Osage oral tradition — that the tribe’s forefathers built the mounds. Hunter said the tribe has secured an option to buy the property, and that she’s hopeful the Osage Congress will approve the purchase.

Linda LaZelle, staff director at the Osage Nation Congress, said legislators “have been flooded with letters in support of the acquisition.” They include entreaties from archaeologists, preservationists and politicians including U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis; St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and south side Aldermen Kenneth Ortmann, 9th Ward, and Craig Schmid, 20th Ward.

David Fisher, the executive director of the Great Rivers Greenway District, and Laura Cohen, director of the Confluence Partnership, wrote in separate letters to the Osage Congress that the groups would like to make Sugar Loaf a centerpiece of a new riverfront trail in south St. Louis. Cohen wrote that a Mounds Heritage Trail might link Sugar Loaf to Cahokia and other Indian sites in the region.

Leigh Maibes is the real estate agent representing Walter and Eileen Strosnider, the property’s elderly owners who have moved to California to be closer to relatives. Maibes said that one potential buyer has secured an option through Aug. 5 to buy it at an agreed price, but she wouldn’t disclose the price or confirm that the Osage hold the option. She said the Strosniders will only sell to a buyer interested in preserving the mound.

Maibes said the property, at 4420 Ohio Street, is listed for $350,000 — down $50,000 from the original asking price.

The mound — but not the 1928 house on top of it — was listed in 1984 on the National Register of Historic Places.

Archaeologists have excavated little of the mound, so they’re not entirely sure how old it is. John Kelly, an archaeology professor at Washington University, has said he suspects the structure is likely a 2,000-year-old burial mound — not a signal mound, as some have suggested over the years.

Text Only
State News
  • Lions climb into share of MIAA men's basketball lead

    Without taking the floor, Missouri Southern has climbed into a first-place tie in the MIAA men’s basketball race.

    February 22, 2012

  • 2.6 magnitude earthquake recorded in Oklahoma

    The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded a 2.6 magnitude earthquake near Wellston in central Oklahoma.
    No injuries or damage is reported.

    January 19, 2011

  • Audit: $108,000 taken from Missouri Veterans Commission JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A former employee of the state auditor’s office embezzled nearly $108,000 while working as an accountant for the Missouri Veterans Commission, the state auditor alleged Monday.

    Stacy Griffin-Lowery was fired by the Veterans Commission in March 2008 and pleaded guilty three months later to a misdemeanor theft charge. She repaid the state $17,665, the auditor’s office said.

    But Missouri Auditor Susan Montee on Monday accused Griffin-Lowery of swiping an additional $90,192 by getting reimbursed for cash advances and purchases made on her personal credit card.

    April 12, 2010

  • Race in Kansas’ 2nd District could heat up for GOP incumbent TOPEKA, Kan. — A conservative Kansas legislator said Monday he will announce in a few weeks whether he will challenge freshman U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins in the Republican primary.

    State Sen. Dennis Pyle’s actions in recent months suggest the Hiawatha farmer, who’s served in the Legislature since 2001, is running against Jenkins in the Aug. 2 primary. He set up a campaign organization in November and has a Web site featuring a brief video of him on his farm, asking viewers for support.

    April 12, 2010

  • Oklahoma tea party leaders, lawmakers envision militia OKLAHOMA CITY — Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders and some conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they would like to create a new volunteer militia to help defend against what they believe are improper federal infringements on state sovereignty.

    Tea party movement leaders say they’ve discussed the idea with several supportive lawmakers and hope to get legislation next year to recognize a new volunteer force

    April 12, 2010

  • Missouri: Senate panel cuts $500 million from proposed budget JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Senate committee declared Thursday that it has sliced more than $500 million from Missouri’s proposed budget for next year — meeting a target set by Gov. Jay Nixon to bring it in balance.

    April 8, 2010

  • Kansas: Wichita-area casino in doubt after governor’s decision TOPEKA, Kan. — A proposed casino south of Wichita was in doubt Thursday after Gov. Mark Parkinson refused to grant its developers a regulatory reprieve. Partners in the $225 million Chisholm Creek project wanted to delay a state board’s decision on their plans.

    April 8, 2010

  • Oklahoma: Groups oppose education spending initiative OKLAHOMA CITY — A coalition of business and labor groups said Thursday it will work to defeat a ballot initiative to dramatically increase spending on public education that coalition members said would devastate the budgets of many other state services and possibly force tax increases.

    April 8, 2010

  • Missouri: Gov. Nixon affirms support for tuition freeze COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has no plans to sit idly while lawmakers consider whether to preserve a tuition freeze deal he assembled before the state’s dire financial status was fully known.

    April 7, 2010

  • Kansas: Agency uses YouTube to illustrate road woes TOPEKA, Kan. — It’s one thing to hear about potholes and state budgets. It’s another to see how the two are connected. That’s part of the thinking behind a new video presentation on YouTube this week from the Kansas Department of Transportation.

    April 7, 2010