Osage Nation Assistant Principal Chief John Red Eagle. Photo by Shannon Shaw/Osage News
By Shannon Shaw
Osage News
A question as to who is in charge while Osage Nation Principal Chief Jim Gray is in France for nine days has caused discussion among tribal officials and tribal members.
“There was no briefing before he left, he didn’t say anything as to his plans of how he was going to run the Nation while he was out of the country,” said Osage Nation Assistant Principal Chief John Red Eagle. “In my opinion, I was elected by the Osage people, the Chief of Staff [Hepsi Barnett] was not elected by the people nor was [Gray’s] staff.”
The question came to a head when two congressional bills were delivered for Gray to sign into law Oct. 8. Since Gray won’t be returning until Oct. 15 the two bills are subject to pocket veto if not signed within five days upon delivery.
Red Eagle, who said he should be acting Chief while Gray is out of the country, requested of staff attorney Tosha Ballard that she show him the bills. Ballard denied the request. The two bills are ONCA 09-44 the Osage Nation Time Calculations Act and ONCA 09-50 an act to amend the Anti-Alienation Act.
“I didn’t ask [Ballard] to bring them to me to sign them into law, I asked her to bring them to me to look at them,” Red Eagle said. “She disobeyed a direct order.”
Ballard could not be reached before this story was published.
After Red Eagle was denied the request, a memorandum was sent Oct. 9 to all Osage Nation employees, the Osage Nation Congress, all boards and commissions and Executive Branch staff that said while Gray is out of the country he is still the Principal Chief and he would run the Nation from France.
“Temporary absence means temporary absence from his position, not temporary absence from Pawhuska,” said Hepsi Barnett, Chief of Staff. “If he were to be in the hospital and was unable to perform his duties than that qualifies as a temporary absence . . . If President [Barack] Obama leaves the country he doesn’t cease to be the president, does he?”
Gray is leading a delegation in France to represent the Nation at commemorative events in Montauban that celebrates the French-Osage relationship that began in 1829 when the people of Montauban helped stranded Osages return home, wrote Gray in his Daily Message Oct. 3. Twenty years ago the people of Montauban reached out to the Osage to help them revive their culture since the Osage was doing it so successfully, he said. Osage dancers, singers and the Osage princesses are apart of the delegation in France as well as some of Gray’s staff.
“Our government team is on an exploratory mission to expand opportunities for economic development, tourism, and possibly education–which has many special nuances in France,” Gray wrote in his Oct. 3 message. “We have arranged meeting with French companies with global reach in the field of energy and aerospace, who are seeking to expand in the United States.”
According to the Osage Nation constitution in Article VII, section seven, the Assistant Chief shall serve in the “temporary absence” of the Chief as Acting Chief and will have all the privileges, duties and powers of the Chief. The constitution does not define what qualifies as a “temporary absence.”
“There appears to be some confusion,” Gray wrote in the memo. “In the very unlikely event that I deem it necessary to be temporarily absent and thereby unable to perform my official duties and responsibilities, I shall expressly delegate, in writing and for a designated period of time, my power and authority as Principal Chief to the Assistant Principal Chief.”
“If anyone should need to contact me on government business while I am away from Pawhuska, I am available and in regular daily contact with my staff by e-mail, fax and phone,” Gray said.
Gray issued two veto messages from France on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8 for the act that would require a Primary Election and the Open Records Act.
Red Eagle is not satisfied with the memorandum Gray issued and doesn’t know what course he is going to take. Red Eagle said if something was to go wrong or a disaster were to happen within the Nation’s boundaries while Gray is away someone has to deal with it and he believes it should be the Assistant Chief and not one of Gray’s staff.
“We’re supposed to work together to run this Nation,” Red Eagle said. “If I’m not in charge in his absence then we need to define absence because my definition of absence is obviously different from his.”
Congressman Raymond Red Corn wrote in his e-mail message to tribal members on Oct. 9 that he believes a delegation of authority is not done with a memo and that Congress will have to define “temporary absence.”
“With no disrespect, I believe [Gray] ‘deemed it necessary to be temporarily absent’ when he boarded the plane for a 9-day trip across the Atlantic,” Red Corn wrote. “That is not an ‘unlikely event,’ that is a current event . . . In this instance the constitutional powers of the Assistant Principal Chief have been diminished not by constitutional amendment, but by a one page memo.”
October 13th, 2009 at 6:01 am
Who runs this Nation? The people and their elected representatives? He should have fired Tosha Ballard right then and there and taken the bills himslef. Then he should have fired Hepsi Barnett. She is an employee and not an elected official and has overstepped her position many times. Who cares what her opinion is about this subject? She works for John Red eagle, not vice versa
October 13th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
I’m pretty sure everyone understands “temporary absence” to mean when the Chief cannot physically perform his duties, the Assistant Chief has the power of the Executive Branch. The Chief is in France, how is he supposed to PHYSICALLY sign bills that are needed to be signed, an e-mail signature?? Add to the fact that Uncle Johnny never received any kind of communication from Chief Gray, it seems that the current administration are trying to keep the Assistant Chief in the dark about everything and will try to twist and skew the Constituion’s meaning to try to make their actions look legal.
Taking Hepsi’s definition where she states “temporary absence” means absence from his position, I ask, “isn’t not being in the capital of the nation, not able to sign bills into law, not being physically present in the reservation, or the whole country for that matter, being absent from the Chief position?? I think it is. The Chief cannot conduct business for the tribe while in France, not with other tribes based here in America, he cannot sign bills into law.
If president Obama was in another country, I’m pretty sure that Vice President Biden would be delegated authority to perform actions relating to the Executive Branch, be it signatures, presence at functions, etc. Chief Gray and Hepsi think that for the Assistant Chief to have power he has to delegate that power,the Constitution reads otherwise though. By being absent, and being out of the country is being absent, that power automatically is transferred to the Assistant Chief.
If read in Jim and Hepsi’s way, say Chief Gray gets in a major car wreck and goes into a coma for a month. Unless Chief Gray gave his express consent, the Assistant Chief never had the power. Did JFK give his consent for LBJ to take over as president?? You have to have an objective view of the clause, otherwise it would not work. THE CONSTITUTION IS THE LAW THAT IS ABOVE US ALL, IN AMERICAN LAW AND TRIBAL LAW, YOU ANSWER TO THAT, YOU DO NOT IMPLY THAT “WELL i HAVE TO GIVE MY EXPRESS CONSENT FOR THAT TO APPLY, IF THAT WAS THE CASE THE CONSTITUTION SHOULD HAVE SAID SO, YOU DO NOT MAKE UP RULES!! All Senators, Congressman and Judges swear an oath to the Constitution, and you have to follow it.
In closing I have to say that Assistant Chief Red Eagle was elected by his constitutents to perform his job, we know he’s a great leader of the Osage people and has the knowledge to run this nation as well, by letting him make decisions we are strengthening democracy and letting the people’s voice be heard, by trying to construe the meaning of a “temporary absence” clause and not letting him have any say, the current administration is looking very power hungry, arrogant, and downright heinous.
October 13th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Had a typing erorr, here’s how the paragraph should read.. ..
If president Obama was in another country, I’m pretty sure that Vice President Biden would be delegated authority to perform actions relating to the Executive Branch, be it signatures, presence at functions, etc. Chief Gray and Hepsi think that for the Assistant Chief to have power he has to have been delegated that power,the Constitution reads otherwise though. By being absent, and being out of the country is being absent, that power automatically is transferred to the Assistant Chief.
October 13th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Damn, another error, here’s the correct reading. .
Taking Hepsi’s definition where she states “temporary absence” means absence from his position, I ask, “is not being in the capital of the nation, not able to sign bills into law, not being physically present in the reservation, or the whole country for that matter, being absent from the Chief position?? I think it is. The Chief cannot conduct business for the tribe while in France, not with other tribes based here in America, he cannot sign bills into law.
October 13th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
There are a lot more issues that need to be addressed than just this and it is about time for some sort of action on the part of the Osage people. We are apparently not being represented in almost all venues of the tribe; not just the governmental portion. At a meeting held last Sunday many people showed up that were concerned about the issue of Osage scholarship funds, which is immediate,along with the education issue, there were a glaring number of issues that concern Osage tribal members at this time that came up very quickly. One that particularly disturbed me was the memo sent to tribal employees threatening them with possible job loss if they showed up at this meeting. Since when has the Osage nation become a terrorist state, the last I knew American workers had the right to do whatever they wanted on their days off, this notice was sent out by the executive office by people hired by the tribe not elected. John Red Eagle is the duly elected Assistant Prinicpal Chief and should be accorded the respect that the position holds or the constitution should be amended to say that the chief makes all decisions not matter where he and the assistant is only a figurehead and the chief can appoint who he wants to handle tribal business. We need some answers. I saw another site about Osage Nation News and it states that whomever wrote it “won’t take it anymore” but there is no name attached. We do not have to fear for our reputations by stating what we feel and its about time for that to be done. We are Osage tribal members and should be represented as such.
October 13th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Education fiasco, Sugarloaf mound purchases without getting approval, Non-transperancy regarding Casino accounting, Executive suing Congress, and now this, the Executive knows the end is near. By trying to control employees and threatening them with job loss just shows the paranoid and delusion that Jim, Hepsi, and the rest of Executive Branch have. They are out of touch with all of the Osage people and with every passing day their actions get more and more ridiculous. Change will be here soon enough!
October 16th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
First I’d like to say if Joe Keene wants any credibility to his comments that he really shouldn’t refer to Assistant Chief Red Eagle as “Uncle Johnny”. Secondly, am I the only one to find it a bit peculiar that two Congressional Bills just happened to cross over Chief’s desk during his trip to France? I’m curious about the nature of these bills and why the urgency to push it through or should I say have Asst. Chief Red Eagle simply look it over before Chief’s return?
October 16th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
We are a nation first and we must stand united. What the cats away so the mouse want to play? Stop acting like children and not fall apart at the seams. Our chief, Our leader what must he think of you. This behavior should not be tolerated. Everyone knew he was going to be gone to France. Why were these issues not addressed before he left? Why? Because our Chief thought he could leave knowing assured that he could leave in peace with something like this not to happen. He had faith and look what happens. Children will be Children if allowed. I call this taking advantage.I agree with OSAGEMARY.
October 16th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
“We are a nation first and we must stand united”. Only in a perfect world Lisa, only in a perfect world. Yes, we should stand united but when the Nation’s motto happens to be “Don’t trust anyone, not even me” and then use those words as a disclosure or permission to back stab, lie, and be deceitful it’s difficult to take our new government, Congress & Executive Staff seriously. I am embarrassed of the behavior exhibited by all of the above. Asst. Chief Red Eagle I’m sorry you were embarrassed, your ego was bruised or perhaps your hope of signing the bills into laws didn’t pan out as you had imagined but as a Voting Osage Member I do hope that you spend your other days as an elected official in moving the tribe forward and not backwards as demonstrated in the October 12th article.