Former Osage Principal Chief Jim Gray dies at 64
Youngest leader in modern Nation history remembered as a media pioneer and champion of government reform
Jim Gray, the former Principal Chief of the Osage Nation who orchestrated the tribe's historic shift from a federal allotment system to a sovereign constitutional government, died Thursday night. He was 64.
Gray passed away on Feb. 12, 2026, at his home in Skiatook, Oklahoma, according to family sources.
Serving two terms as Principal Chief from 2002 to 2010, Gray was the youngest elected leader in the Nation’s modern history. His administration is defined by the massive government reform initiative that led to the 2006 Constitution. This victory replaced the "headright" governing system imposed by the 1906 Osage Allotment Act—which restricted voting to shareholders of the mineral estate—with a tripartite government that enfranchised all Osage citizens over age 18.
"Under the former system, only headright holders could vote... through reform, each citizen gained an equal voice," his family said in a statement as reported by the Osage News.
Born James Roan Gray on June 11, 1961, in Pawhuska, he spent his youth in Arvada, Colorado, before returning to Oklahoma. He was a graduate of Northeastern State University.
Before entering politics, Gray was a prominent figure in Indigenous media as the publisher and co-owner of the Native American Times (formerly the Oklahoma Indian Times). He remained a vocal advocate for media representation throughout his life, serving on boards for the Native American Rights Fund and the Council of Energy Resource Tribes.
Gray was a direct descendant of Henry Roan, an Osage citizen whose murder was central to the "Reign of Terror" depicted in David Grann’s book and Martin Scorsese’s film Killers of the Flower Moon. In recent years, Gray served as a cultural consultant, to help accurately portray the Osage perspective to global audiences.
He is survived by his wife, Olivia “Libbi” Gray; sons Henry and James; daughters Naomi, Annette, Mary Hammer, Sarah Ramirez-Hernandez and Olivia Ramirez; sisters Jacqueline Butler and Margo Gray; and seven grandchildren.
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