Celebrate the Rematriation of Sugarloaf Mound
Date: Friday, September 19, 2025
Time: 10:00am–12:00pm
Location: St. Louis City Hall, 1200 Market St, St. Louis, MO 63103
We welcome you to join us this Friday, September 19th at 10am at St. Louis City Hall as The City of St. Louis will formally recognize the rematriation of Sugarloaf Mound to the Osage Nation with a Board of Aldermen Resolution. This historic moment stands as the first official acknowledgement by the city of a sovereign Tribal Nation with ancestral ties to the land. At the invitation of Counterpublic, the resolution is co-sponsored by current 8th ward Alderwoman Jami Cox-Antwi and President of the Board of Aldermen Megan E. Green. Working with Counterpublic starting in 2021, Mayor Cara Spencer advocated for the rematriation during her time as Alderwoman of the 8th ward for the City of St. Louis and continues to support this effort as Mayor.
Located on the bluffs of the Mississippi River, Sugarloaf Mound—the last remaining Mississippian mound in St. Louis—once was part of 200-plus mounds in the area that gave the city its name, “Mound City.” A three-tiered mound, Sugarloaf has until recently been divided into three discrete properties with 20th-century homes built atop, each occupied by a different homeowner. After purchasing the property at the summit in 2009 and beginning restoration in 2017, the Osage Nation began partnering with Counterpublic—alongside curator Risa Puleo and Indigenous artist collective, New Red Order—in 2021 with the intention to rematriate the remaining two tiers.
In November 2024, Counterpublic announced the planned transfer of the mound’s second tier with homeowner Joan Heckenberg. In June 2025, following four years of negotiations, Counterpublic secured an agreement with the Kappa Psi fraternity to purchase the final property and return to the Osage.
With this transfer, the entirety of Sugarloaf Mound is now owned by the Osage Nation. Future steps will involve demolition of the houses and stabilization of the mound. Eventually, the Osage Nation plans to create an Interpretive Center at Sugarloaf Mound, aligning with the Osage Nation Historic Preservation Office’s Sugarloaf Mound Preservation Plan, to ensure the history and legacy of the site remain central to the region’s future.
