'We're Tired Of This': Osage Nation Chief Welcomes Wind Farm Court Ruling

Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear welcomed a recent court ruling that could lead to the removal of a wind farm built in Western Osage County.

A federal judge ruled against Enel Energy after a decade of litigation over the construction of the 84 turbines that make up the Osage Wind Farm.

Related: Federal Judge Orders Removal Of Wind Farm In Osage County

“We're tired of this. We've been tired of this,” said Standing Bear. “My father's generation was tired of it, my grandfather and great grandparents. You can't just sit there and gripe about it - you've got to stand up, and that's what our Minerals Council did.”

The Osage Minerals Council is the body that oversees the mineral estate owned by the Nation for the benefit of headright owners, of which the Chief is one. The exploitation and murder of headright owners over oil is the subject of the film “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

The wind turbines near Burbank stand on private land but were built using rock dug up on site, which tapped into minerals owned by the tribe but without the required permit.

Though a judge has ordered the removal of the turbines, a trial over damages could start this fall.

“And the questions are going to be: is it just the value of the rock, or as the Osage and Court found of great interest, what is the value of intruding on our sovereign property that we've kept and fought for and kept all these years?" Standing Bear said.

The energy company that built the Osage Wind farm hasn't commented since the court decision in late December.

An industry association also refused to comment on the decision.

Standing Bear said while it's possible there could be a still unknown, negotiated settlement offered, his position hasn't changed on what needs to happen next: “My legislature, the Osage Congress, has not yet spoken on that, neither has the Minerals Council, but as Chief, I can tell you, my view is - they've got to come down. I would like to see damages to us for what we consider not only the cost of the rock but the cost of the trespass. It's been cruel disregard for our rights, and it's got to stop. And if they get off on minimal damages, others will come in and do the same thing.”