Gray Horse Cemetery - Gray Horse, Oklahoma, USA
Posted by: 
Max and 99
N 36° 33.103 W 096° 38.402
14S E 711224 N 4047736
Gray Horse Cemetery is now closed to the general public. Trespassers will be federally prosecuted, so only visit from outside the gate.
Waymark Code: WM159GQ
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 11/14/2021
Views: 1
This Indian cemetery on the Osage Reservation is now closed to the public due to instances of vandalism. You can see most of the cemetery, and appreciate the decorative and unique headstones from outside the south gate. According to wikipedia, this unincorporated town was named for Gray Horse (Ko-wah-hos-tsa), an Osage medicine man. Gray Horse is about 5 miles ESE of Fairfax, on RR 5451. The cemetery is on the north side of 5451, east of the Round House and abandoned WPA built Gray Horse School. The cemetery is well maintained and taken care of, despite the recent vandalism.
News story: (
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From okhistory.org: (
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GRAY HORSE
The Osage Indian ceremonial town of Gray Horse (Grayhorse, Greyhorse) is situated in Osage County (the former Osage Indian Reservation), eight miles south and fourteen miles west of Pawhuska on County Road E0320. The settlement's first trade store was constructed in 1884 and was used as a U.S. government subagency and for Osage tribal meetings.
The Big Hill band of Osage, who rarely traveled to Pawhuska, asked that a trading post be established near them. John Florer, a Pawhuska trader, sent his brother-in-law, Ed Finney, to select an appropriate site for the post. Finney chose a location near present Gray Horse Creek and was welcomed by the Big Hills. The land belonged to Ka-wa-ko-dsa (Gray Horse) and was given to Finney so that he could build the trading post. The place was named in honor of Ka-wa-ko-dsa.
In the mid-1880s the Osage at Gray Horse received the i'n-lon-schka dance, traditions, and drum from the Ponca Indians. In 1908 the Osage built a round house in which they could hold their ceremonial dances, and they later constructed a Native American Church building. In February 1963 a prairie fire destroyed both structures. In spring 1964 a pavilion was built to replace the round house. Small arbors were erected for the clans and for visiting Indians who took part in the yearly celebrations.
There are presently few homes at Gray Horse. Some houses or camps are used only during special events, as when the i'n-lon-schka dance is held each June. Many noted Osage leaders are buried in the Gray Horse cemetery. Gray Horse had a U.S. Post Office from 1890 to 1932, several businesses, and a public school (with a Works Progress Administration–built schoolhouse) through 1963.