The Ottawa Indian Cemetery in Ottawa County, Oklahoma has served as the primary burial ground of the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma since 1870 and remains one of the most significant places in the tribal homeland. The cemetery was established when Chief John Wilson, who had led the tribe’s effort to secure a new reservation in Indian Territory after removal from Kansas, died unexpectedly on the journey south. His family carried his body to the newly selected cemetery site, and he became the first to be interred. Every Ottawa chief since removal has been buried here.

The cemetery has long been intertwined with Ottawa religious and community life. The Ottawa Indian Baptist Church was established adjacent to the cemetery site, and a Quaker Friends Church was later established. The cemetery also played a crucial role during the years following allotment and termination. By the early twentieth century, the cemetery stood as the tribe’s only communally held land. In 1959, when the tribe reorganized as a state-chartered corporation following termination, one the stated foundational purposes of the new organization was the maintenance of the cemetery.

Tribal leaders and citizens restored and improved the grounds throughout the twentieth century, adding fenced boundaries, shelter structures, and eventually distinctive white granite markers honoring the graves of Ottawa chiefs. In the 1980s, the tribe reacquired adjoining land and established Adawe Park, home of the Ottawa Labor Day Powwow. For the Ottawa people, the cemetery is not simply a burial ground, but a sacred landmark where past, present, and future meet.