James Bigheart

James Bigheart (Osage romanized Pun-Kah-Wi-Tah-An-Kah; – October 5, 1908), also known as Big Jim, was an Osage politician who served as principal chief of the Osage Nation.

Early life James Bigheart was born Pun-Kah-Wi-Tah-An-Kah in 1838 to Nun-tsa-tum-kah and Wah-hui-shah near St. Paul, Kansas. Bigheart converted to Catholicism, was educated at the Osage Mission's post, and was fluent in multiple languages. He enlisted in the 9th Kansas Cavalry Regiment of the Union Army in Iola, Kansas on January 19, 1862. He left the army as a first lieutenant on March 22, 1865.

Legacy The town of Bigheart, Oklahoma, was named after James, until it was renamed to Barnsdall in 1921. In 1989, the Chief James Bigheart Memorial Bridge was dedicated on Oklahoma State Highway 11. In 2016, the Osage Nation dedicated a statue to Bigheart at Law Building on the Osage campus in Pawhuska.