TULSA, Okla. (April 2, 2010) – The Osage Nation officially filed Friday to seek rehearing by U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals following the court’s decision last month to rule in favor of the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
The Osage Nation contends it has a federally recognized reservation which makes its tribal members living and working within the boundaries of the reservation, under federal law, exempt from paying state income taxes. The Oklahoma Tax Commission says the reservation was disestablished, but failed to identify clear language in any act of Congress which supports that claim. “The Tenth Circuit panel improperly inferred Congressional intent to disestablish and terminate the boundaries of the Osage Indian Reservation despite any statutory language indicating that,” Osage Nation Chief Jim Gray said. “This is unprecedented since neither the Supreme Court nor the Tenth Circuit has ever found diminishment of an Indian reservation without affirmative language of that intent within the body of the statute.” According to Osage Nation legal counsel, the US Supreme Court has consistently held that statutory language is the best evidence of Congressional intent, and until now, the federal courts have always ruled accordingly. “In this case, the Tenth Circuit radically departs from Supreme Court and its own precedent by finding reservation disestablishment despite the absence of any statutory support,” Gray said. The Osage Nation has taken the position that rehearing is required based on the recklessness of this decision and its potential impact on reservation tribes around the country. “It’s very important for the court to seriously consider this opportunity to correct serious errors of law in its decision,” Gray said. “This gives the court another chance to get it right.”
link taken from http://www.gtrnews.com/greater-tulsa-reporter/6162/osage-nation-files-for-rehearing
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Osage County/Reservation is only 5% Osage, that’s the biggest weakness in our case right there. Judge’s will almost always favor States over Indian rights and with the big pockets and influence of the Ranchers and Oilmen, this will be a very tough ruling to overrrule. Is the law on our side, I think so, but when dealing with Indians, the States and Government have been known to totally disregard law to accomodate white citizens and the majority.
I have always wondered about concurrent jurisdiction and why the State tried to frame the issue so broadly. It seems like the court could have ruled on the tax issue and left the reservation issue alone, or maybe not?? Legal scholars out there please reply?
“A 1968 Supreme Court decision involving the Menominee disagreed. Native American treaties continue in effect unless expressly abrogated by Congress, the Court explained. Since Congress had not specifically mentioned the Menominee treaty in its legislation “terminating” the tribe, Menominee treaty rights, such as hunting and fishing rights, could still be exercised by the members of the tribe. This decision paved the way for federal court decisions in the 1970s, reaffirming Native American treaty rights that both Congress and the States had believed to be extinct.
Read more: Native Americans – Congressional Control After 1871 http://law.jrank.org/pages/22787/Native-Americans-Congressional-Control-after-1871.html#ixzz0kNDdEQVU”
If congress can not do this without due process then the court can’t eather. Each treaty would have to be nullified by congress individualy
congress is not a friend in this termination of indian rights has been a goal from at least 1871 on.
The treaty’s before 1871 that refer to us s the osage nation makes us gust as much a country a france, or england our willinness to defend this soverenty is the only question.