Osage Nation plans to build hotel, casino at Lake of the Ozarks in ancestral Missouri
The Osage Nation announced plans to build a new entertainment district, complete with a hotel and casino, at the Lake of the Ozarks.
The Osage Nation in a news release Friday said the tribe plans to invest about $60 million into the project, which will also include restaurants, entertainment, long-term parking and infrastructure and land improvements.
The tribe, which has its headquarters in Oklahoma, called the project “one of the most substantial economic development initiatives for the region in years,” according to the release.
“We have established very good relationships with several communities in Missouri and seek to have a presence back in our homeland,” Osage Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear said in the announcement.
Missouri is the ancestral homeland of the Osage Nation. At one point, the tribe had as many as 200,000 members across what is now Missouri, according to the Osage Nation.
The Osage News, the tribe’s newspaper, reported that the Osage Nation purchased 28 acres of land in June near Lake Ozark, a town situated against a northeast section of the lake.
Osage Casinos CEO Byron Bighorse told the Osage News that the tribe is still working on applying for the land trust, which could take several months.
Sen. Justin Brown, a Republican from Rolla, called the announcement a “tremendous opportunity” for the region and state.
“I look forward to working with the Osage Nation, community leaders, and my colleagues in the Legislature to make this a reality and welcome the Nation home,” he said in the news release.
Lake of the Ozarks Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Heather Brown, Missouri Hotel and Lodging Association Board President Trey Propes and Sen. Mike Bernskoetter, of Jefferson City, also expressed support for the project in the news release.
This story was originally published October 31, 2021 at 9:27 AM.
