Raymond Red Corn Jr.

Raymond Red Corn Jr. was born in 1911 to parents Raymond Sr. and Bertha Kathryn Red Corn. Growing up in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, Raymond was involved in Osage traditional dancing and was considered one of the best of his age, often accompanied by his father’s drumming and singing. He even toured Europe with his Boy Scout troop as one of ten Native boys, each representing a different Tribal Nation, performing dances for regional and international groups.

When Raymond Jr. was just 17 years old, on a visit to his father and step-mother, Raymond Sr. gave him a warning to not eat anything within the house. Just a few months later, Raymond Wesley Red Corn Sr. was dead. While not officially counted by the FBI as one of the victims of the Osage Reign of Terror, his family strongly believes Raymond Red Corn Sr. to be one of many uninvestigated deaths of that time.

Shortly following his father’s death in 1931, Raymond moved to Chillicothe, Missouri, his mother’s childhood home, to attend Chillicothe Business College. In 1934 he pursued training at the Baptist Bible Institute in New Orleans, Louisiana, and then went back to Chillicothe for a short period of time in 1940, before returning to Oklahoma with his wife, Waltena. In 1950 Raymond was ordained and became the Reverend Raymond Red Corn, working in the Osage Baptist Church.

During this time, Raymond was known to be artistically active. He painted portraits and landscapes, winning a first-place prize at the Osage County Fair in 1936. His art was exhibited at several local and regional events over the years, including at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Raymond was also well known for his gifted singing voice and often sang at events in the Pawhuska community.

In 1973, Waltena and Raymond opened a fry bread mix company called Red Corn Native Foods in Pawhuska; the company remains in the Red Corn family and is still selling fry bread mix as of 2024.

Raymond Red Corn Jr. passed in 2003 at the age of 94, leaving a long and incredible legacy in his wake. Raymond lived through a dangerous time for the Osage people while simultaneously embracing tradition and creating art. His descendants seem to agree: It is not the Reign of Terror that defines the Osage, but their strength as a community to persevere through and beyond it.