did not need a lease from the Osage. “We don’t disturb the mineral
estate,” a representative of the project told the press.
On July 10, 2015, at dawn, a chief and two dozen members of
the Osage Nation gathered beneath the windmills for a prayer to
Wah’Kon-Tah. As the first sunlight burned through the thin, blue
mist and radiated off the blades, a prayer leader said that the
Osage were a “humble people, asking for your help.”
Not long after, a court sided with Enel, saying that though the
government’s interpretation of the Allotment Act would no doubt
benefit the Osage, the “defendants have not marketed or sold
minerals or otherwise engaged in mineral development. As a
result, they are not required to obtain a lease.” Plans were already
under way for a second wind farm in the county.