Update #131

The views, opinions and commentary in this update are those of Congressman Red Corn. They are his alone, and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the Osage Nation Congress.

Yesterday the Minerals Council met and voted 4-3 to donate $50,000 to the plaintiffs in Jech v. U.S, a lawsuit that seeks to reinstate, at minimum, Section 90 of the Code of Federal Regulations.  This section governs how Osage elections are conducted, and was waived by the BIA to allow for the government reformation process to proceed.

According to documents obtained from the Minerals Council secretary, The S-510 account has well over one-half million dollars in it (see attached documents). The bulk of monies in this fund are believed to have been derived from lease payments on a tract of land in Kansas that, when bequeathed, was intended “for the benefit of Osage annuitants”. Why this money has not been distributed to shareholders is unknown, but it is apparently under the full control of the Minerals Council who has now “donated” $50,000 from it to a lawsuit by individuals against the U.S. Government.

Rather than give an exhaustive narrative, I have attached several pertinent documents, including Osage Tribal Council resolutions authorizing all Osages to vote, regardless of whether or not they were shareholders. Mr. Whitehorn voted yes on all the amendments, and all votes by the 31st Council were unanimous.

Interestingly, Mr. Whitehorn ran for Principal Chief in the 2006 election under the new constitution. Mr. Whitehorn is a plaintiff in the suit, as is Cora Jean Jech, the lead plaintiff. Mrs. Jech was also a candidate in the 2006 Election in the race for a seat on Congress. Both ran under election laws that were in direct conflict with Section 90 of the CFR’s at the time.

Lest anyone mistake how the actions of the Minerals Council are being interpreted by some shareholders, I’ll repeat here a statement made to me by Sarah Bigheart, the President of the Osage Shareholders Association, made immediately after the Minerals Council “Special Session”.

“We are going to get rid of this Constitution, and then we are going to get rid of the Congress”

The “we” mentioned by Ms. Bigheart will not include Principal Chief Red Eagle, if his written statement released in the past hour is any indication of the Executive branch position on the issue. The release consisted of two paragraphs as follows:

From Chief Red Eagle:

“I took an oath and I am obligated to support and uphold the Constitution of the Osage Nation. While there may be debate over the need to amend our Constitution, that will be a decision made by the Osage people through the proper process.”

“I have agreed to reaffirm the responsibilities of the Minerals Council under the Constitution and I continue to support greater independence of the Minerals Council.  However, the Osage Nation is not a party to the ‘Jech case’. The Nation does not support plaintiff’s position and neither does it provide any financial support to the plaintiff. I prefer a more cooperative process for solving differences.”

As the Jech lawsuit file is quite large, I am not sending it as an attachment, but will send it on request.  This entire event is still developing, and I will try to report on a regular basis. The Osage News has already posted one story on the subject, and it can be viewed at:

http://osagenews.org/2010/09/minerals-council-votes-to-help-fund-lawsuit-that-could-abolish-osage-constitution/

As always, please share your opinions and thoughts with me at your convenience.

With respect,

Raymond Red Corn
Osage Nation Congress
918-287-7400
[email protected]
[email protected]