Osage Hills: A Two-Spirit landmark

 - by Brian Eckberg
   Two-Spirit Columnist
   All Nations Two-Spirit Society

Between Pawhuska and Bartlesville, a sanctuary of forests, bluffs and running waters still holds lasting memories for Two-Spirit people across our continent. This sanctuary is Osage Hills State Park in northeast Oklahoma.

As I began my IndigiQueer education at gatherings all over Turtle Island (North America), one of the first questions I’d get after saying I am from Tulsa was, “Did you ever attend the Osage Hills gatherings?”  Two-Spirit relatives from California, New Mexico, Montana and Connecticut were all familiar with a local state park near my home. What happened there?

Miko Thomas (Chickasaw) of San Francisco, whose drag name is Landa Lakes, first attended the Osage Hills Two-Spirit Gathering in 2004. “At the time, there were only the International and Osage Hills, which were regular gatherings. It was before even Montana started. They were a great mix of ceremonies and good times.”

After speaking with some of our Two-Spirit elders, it became clear that something groundbreaking and unique happened there every year.

“In 1995, Tommy Chesbro with the Indian Health Care Resource Center of Tulsa (IHC) started the first Two-Spirit retreat at Camp Takatoka near Chouteau (Oklahoma),” says Waako-John Hawk Ferris Co-Cke’ (Osage), who goes by the shorthand name of John Hawk Co-Cke and whose pronouns are she/her. “So much of those early gatherings were about community and HIV prevention.” 

By 1998, John had joined the staff of IHC and began organizing the retreats, parades and local Two-Spirit group outings. The annual gathering moved to Osage Hills in 1999.

What John didn’t realize back then, and I am only realizing now, was that these gatherings represented one of the very first annual events for modern Two-Spirit people. It was a springtime tradition that John continued for 18 years. During that time, IndigiQueer relatives traveled from all over the US and Canada to attend. When I attended my first Gathering Of Nations pow-wow in Albuquerque, Hudson Tibbetts (Eastern Cherokee) approached me and asked, “Do you know John Hawk Co-Cke’?” I responded, “Yes, what an incredible elder, right?”

Hudson is one of the founders of Indigenous Pride LA, Los Angeles’s only Pride organization and annual event. For them, Osage Hills was a sacred place of discovery.

“Osage Hills gatherings were such a beacon of light. We were so eager to get together with other Two-Spirit people and share our knowledge and experiences,” says Joey Criddle (Jicarilla Apache) of Fayetteville, Arkansas. “Those connections are still alive and strong today. It was a place where many of us found out who we were and where we fit in our cultures. I think that is why people still talk about them. It was an amazing learning time for us.”

For John Hawk Co-Cke, the gatherings became a rebirth for her, as well as others. “I was craving my culture. And we wanted to share it with everyone.” Over the years, John would receive many names through tribes that she was adopted into: “Holy Lady Who Travels” is her Osage name, “Southern Thunder” is her Blackfeet name and “Big Black Bear Makes The Tracks” is her Cheyenne name.

One of John’s proudest moments was when she became a Pipe Keeper. According to John, the pipe was bestowed by a Cheyenne/Arapaho medicine man named Leland Siemens, who said that the original wooden carving dated back to the early 1800s. “I do not own this pipe,” says John. “I am only the keeper. This sacred Two-Spirit pipe will be passed onto another one day, as it should.” 

Sage Runsabove (Absentee Shawnee) remembers her only Osage Hills gathering in 2016, which was the last to be held. “Seeing elders in person, which I recognized from watching Two-Spirit gatherings on video, was incredible. I could not wait to shake their hands. It felt like I was meeting stars!”

One of those “stars” Sage referred to was the revered Two-Spirit elder “Auntie” Steven Barrios (Pikunii Blackfeet). “Osage Hills was where John Hawk Co-Cke’ danced me into the circle,” says Auntie Steven. “It was through John that I learned so much about our Two-Spirit history.” Auntie Steven Barrios would go on to co-found the Montana Two-Spirit Society, which is one of the largest 2S organizations today.

John Hawk Co-Cke’ stopped organizing the gatherings after 2016, saying, “While it brought a lot of people together, I needed to take more care of myself.” John stepped away from organizing the local Tulsa Two-Spirit Society in 2022, at which time it became the All Nations Two-Spirit Society (ANTSS). She continues to speak to groups and remains connected to ANTSS. “It’s all about what seed are you gonna plant. Many of our people needed to be empowered. We found our purpose in those gatherings.” 

As the co-founder of ANTSS, I believe our organization is the next generation of what began at Osage Hills. It is our turn to lead festivals and gatherings each year and grow the circle. And as John will remind us, we do not own these. We are only the keepers. And one day, Creator willing, they will be passed on to another.

Wado!

For more info, visit www.antss.co.