By Shannon Shaw
Osage News

The Osage Minerals Council has selected three members to be the OMC’s representation on the Nation’s five-member Trust Team. The trust team is made up of three OMC members, the principal chief and the speaker of the congress.

Dudley Whitehorn, Galen Crum and Cynthia Boone were unanimously voted in by the eight-member OMC July 21, and Whitehorn was voted to be the trust team chairman. They will join Principal Chief John Red Eagle and Speaker of the Congress Jerri Jean Branstetter.

According to the Memorandum of Agreement, signed and dated July 21, 2006, between the executive, congressional branch and the minerals council, the trust team was developed to establish clear lines of communication between the three.

The trust team monitors pending and future lawsuits against the United States or its officials concerning federal mismanagement of Osage tribal trust funds and assets, legislation concerning the settlement of such lawsuits as Cobell v. Kempthorne; and federal administrative actions concerning reform of trust management systems for tribes and Indians, according to the memorandum.

Salary reductions

OMC Councilmen Curtis Bear and Joseph “Sonny” Abbott have voluntarily taken pay cuts. Bear asked the council July 21 in their regular meeting to reduce his salary from $30,000 a year to $13,000 a year. Abbott cut his salary completely. Bear said in the meeting that in order to receive his disability benefits he cannot make an income of more than $14,000; Abbott said he did not need the extra money.

Audience members thanked the councilmen for reducing and returning their salaries to the Osage shareholders. The OMC receives their funding from the Osage minerals estate.

For more information on the OMC contact Miya McKim at (918) 287-5433 or e-mail her at mmkim@osagetribe.org.

Newly elected Osage Minerals Councilman Dudley Whitehorn shakes hands with Supreme Court Associate Justice Jeanine Logan during the OMC Inauguration on July 7. Whitehorn was elected OMC Chairman July 9. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Osage News

The Second Osage Minerals Council selected Dudley Whitehorn to be its new chairman, replacing former councilman John Henry Mashunkashey.

Whitehorn was selected during an emergency meeting on July 8. The meeting minutes were not yet available to the public by the time this story was published.

OMC Councilwoman Cynthia Boone, who was re-elected June 7, posted on the blog osageshareholders.org that three signatories were named: Boone, Councilmen Melvin Core and Myron Red Eagle.

“The purpose of the meeting [July 8] was to elect a chairman and elect three people with signature authority to conduct business as usual,” Boone wrote. “We all know that daily business continues regardless of when elections are held.”

The next regularly scheduled OMC meetings are July 16 and July 21 at 10 a.m. in the OMC chambers on the Osage campus.

For more information on OMC meetings contact Reta Lintner at (918) 287-5556 or e-mail her at rlintner@osagetribe.org.

Osage News

Today is Inauguration Day at the Osage Nation in Pawhuska with swearing-in ceremonies scheduled for the Second Osage Nation Congress, the four judges of the Nation’s Judicial Branch and the Osage Minerals Council.

The inauguration events will be held in the following order:

All four judges representing the Judicial Branch will be sworn in at 10 a.m. at the Tribal Court Building, 1333 Grandview, with a reception to follow at the Osage Tribal Museum.

Those being sworn in are: Marvin Stepson, Osage Nation Trial Court Judge; Jeanine Logan, Osage Nation Supreme Court Associate Justice; Meredith Descygnes Drent, Osage Nation Supreme Court Associate Justice; and Charles H. Lohah, Chief Justice for the Osage Nation Supreme Court.

The Second Osage Nation Congress will be sworn in at noon at the Congressional Chambers on the Government Campus with a reception to follow at the Osage Tribal Museum.

The six Congress members elected or re-elected in the June 7 election will join the remaining six Congresspersons who have two years remaining in their terms.

First-time Congress members being sworn in are: Daniel Boone, John Free, Alice Goodfox, and Geoffrey Standing Bear. They will join re-elected Congressmen Raymond Red Corn and William “Kugee” Supernaw on the Congress with Jerri Jean Branstetter, Shannon Edwards, Archie Mason, Eddy Red Eagle Jr., Anthony Shackelford and Mark Simms to comprise the Second ON Congress.

The eight-person Osage Minerals Council will be sworn in at 2 p.m. in the Congressional Chambers with a reception to follow at the Dave Landrum Community Center.

Osage Minerals Councilmembers being sworn in are Joseph B. “Sonny” Abbot Jr., Curtis Bear, Cynthia Boone, Melvin Core, Galen Crum, Myron Red Eagle, Andrew Yates and Dudley Whitehorn.

Congressional candidate Alice Goodfox (center) waits for the June 7 election results to be announced while standing by her husband Joe Goodfox. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

By Benny Polacca
Osage News

Election officials certified the 2010 election results Wednesday, meaning there will be a runoff election July 19 for the Osage Nation Executive Branch’s top two offices. Results in the 2010 Minerals Council were also certified with shareholders voting to retain Cynthia Boone and electing seven new council members.

The Nation’s Election Board certified the election results at 3:35 p.m. Wednesday after 21 provisional ballots were counted and the board met with TrueBallot, the company hired to run the election. If any candidate wishes to challenge the June 7 election results, he or she has until 3:35 p.m. Saturday (June 12) to formally request a ballot recount. A $500 fee is required for a recount, according to the election rules.

Current Assistant Principal Chief John Red Eagle was the top vote-getter with 1,101 votes followed by Tim Tall Chief who got 744 votes and both will face a runoff election July 19. Incumbent Principal Chief Jim Gray won 633 votes; Roy St. John, 79 votes; and Carl “Chico Sellers, 55 votes.

In the Assistant Principal Chief race, Scott BigHorse won 628 votes and will compete in the runoff election with Amanda Proctor who won 485 votes. Everett Waller came in third with 468 votes followed by Cecelia Tallchief, 417; Anthony Shackelford, 386; and Jeff Irons, 198. The results were not announced until 1 a.m. on June 8.

Geoffrey Standing Bear won the most votes in the Osage Nation Congress race with 1,494 votes followed by incumbents Raymond Red Corn (1,299) and William “Kugee” Supernaw (1,258) who both won second terms. Alice Goodfox (926); Daniel Boone (892); and John Free Jr. (822) were also elected and will serve their first four-year terms as Congress members.

A total of 2,628 people voted in the June 7 election, according to the election board, which is about 27 percent of the Nation’s 9,849 members who are at least 18 years old and eligible to vote.

The 21 provisional ballots counted by the Election Board did little to change the voting results, but Election Supervisor Lisa Otipoby said those votes could have impacted the second highest vote-getter in the Assistant Principal Chief race. In initial voting results, Amanda Proctor received 480 votes and Everett Waller trailed by 14 with 466 votes.

“It opened up the margin by 17 votes instead of 14,” Otipoby said of the provisional ballot count which gave Proctor five more votes and Waller two additional votes.

Of the 2,628 people who voted on June 7, 1,349 in-person ballots were cast and 1,279 absentee ballots were mailed in.

A minimum of 14 provisional ballots were needed in order for the provisional ballots to be counted, so the 21 provisional ballot votes were added to the initial voting results before they were certified. Two provisional ballots were disqualified because they were not postmarked by June 7 as required, said Otipoby, who also noted there were no spoiled ballots that were disqualified in the election.

Election Board member Shannon Lockett said she was pleased with the June 7 voter turnout because the national voter turnout is lower and averaged between 15 to 20 percent.

Absentee ballot request deadline is June 29 for runoff election

The July 19 runoff election will be similar to this month’s in which the voting poll will be at the Tribal Administration Building on the Government Campus and will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The deadline for absentee ballot requests is June 29 for those who did not request an absentee ballot in the June 7 election. If people requested and voted via absentee ballot in this week’s election, they will automatically get an absentee ballot for the July 19 election, Otipoby said.

Those who voted in-person June 7, but will not be able to return to Pawhuska for the July 19 runoff election will need to request an absentee ballot by June 29, Otipoby said.

“If you’re an Osage Nation member who did not vote June 7, you can vote in the runoff election,” Otipoby said. “I just hope there is as much hoopla as the other day.”

Minerals Council election results also certified June 9

Incumbent Minerals Councilwoman Cynthia Boone was elected to a second term with 312.8 shareholder votes with seven other candidates who will serve their first terms on the OMC.

Winning their initial four-year OMC terms were: Dudley Whitehorn (300.3 votes); Melvin Core (295); Curtis Bear (251.3); Andrew Yates (227); Galen Crum (215); Joseph “Sonny” Abbott (207); and Myron Red Eagle (199).

The results for the OMC election were not announced until 5:30 a.m. on June 8.

A crowd of people stand in front of the Tribal Administration Building to see taped results on the window at the June 7 election. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

People rush to the window to see the final results of the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Congressman William Supernaw speaks with an Osage voter after the results were announced on June 7. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Principal Chief Jim Gray shakes hands with an Osage voter after the results are announced during the June 7 election. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

An election-themed cake sits at the campaign camp of election candidates Danette Daniels, Talee Redcorn, Gregory Woodell, Robert Martin, Jewell Purcell and Kathryn Red Corn on June 7 in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

By Ruby Murray
Osage News

On Election Day congressional candidate Daniel Boone fulfilled his campaign promise “to put a meat pie in your mouth, strawberry pop in your hand, and a smile on your face.”

Other candidates for Osage government had varied strategies for feeding voters on Election Day. Some considered voter preference for traditional Osage food, others considered the need for diabetic dessert choices and some went with a more contemporary flare.

The weather played havoc with congressional candidate Anthony Webb’s plans. Wind blew away supplies at Webb’s Grayhorse camp requiring a last minute shopping trip for Webb and his wife. Anticipating high temperatures, congressional candidate Randolph Crawford brought thirty bags of ice and lots of water as well as a barbecue lunch.

Candidates provide choices for lunch and dinner

Voters had choices of barbecue, fruit, vegetables, frybread at lunch and more choices for dinner. Minerals Council candidate Joseph “Sonny” Abbott Jr. served a cake topped with the Osage Nation seal and cookies with a Team Osage logo.

Assistant Chief candidate Amanda Proctor was serving steam fry, corn soup and frybread from the White Eagle community for the evening meal. A group of candidates including congressional candidate Danette Daniels and minerals council candidates Talee Redcorn, Jewell Purcell, Gregory Woodell, Robert Martin and Kathryn Red Corn planned a dinner including ham and a specially decorated “ballot cake.”

Congressional candidate Johnny Williams planned to serve Indian hotdogs in the afternoon, which is a hotdog inside of a piece of frybread topped with a choice of veggies and sauce.

Vance Wyrick, a congressional candidate from Florida, set up with boxes of donuts.

Jake Heflin, a congressional candidate from California, enlisted Ben Conley of Barnsdall to prepare lunch. While the slow cooker – big enough for fifty turkeys, according to Conley – slow cooked 50 pounds of brisket and pork for voters.

Dudley Whitehorn enlisted Hominy committee cook Suzi Hamilton to cook fry bread at his camp on Election Day. Robby Corcoran barbecued pulled pork and chopped brisket for his uncle Raymond Red Corn, running for re-election to the ON Congress.

Jeff Irons said that since so many candidates were feeding people lunch, he brought vegetable relish trays. Chico Sellers provided desserts, including sugar free pie and fruit. Sellers said he was concerned about cooks having to prepare frybread in the expected high temperatures. John Free Jr.’s wife Cindy served grape lemonade and fresh fruit salad and decorated her table with calla lilies.

Candidates and voters reminisce

As they visited, candidates and voters reminisced about past elections. Mineral council candidate Cynthia Boone remembered when people spread blankets all over the grounds. “We played Indian dice until the wee hours. You had to count the ballots by hand,” she said.
Leonard Maker remembered when there was a traditional Osage feast. Robin Maker said he remembered when there was one tent on Election Day and buffalo meat pies.

This year candidate’s tents spread to the north side of the Osage Tribal Museum. Abbot remembered attending the elections in 1961, when he was first old enough to vote. “It was crowded into the evening and we had Indian dancing,” he said.

As candidates accepted well wishes from supporters, some voters struggled to make last minute decisions. While it’s unsure whether a good meal can sway a voter, it’s sure that voters can eat to their heart’s content.

Barbecue shredded pork sits at a candidate campaign campsite during the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Sweet delicious M & M cookies, brownies and chocolate walnut cookies sit at a candidate campaign campsite during the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Shredded beef and smoked polish sausage is offered to voters and spectators at the campaign campsite of Principal Chief Jim Gray on June 7 in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Fresh watermelon and grapes are offered to voters and spectators at the campaign campsite of Amanda Proctor and Galen Crum on June 7 in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Golden brown frybread is served with food at the candidates' campsites during the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

A fresh salad awaits hungry voters and spectators at the candidates' campsites during the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Corn soup, an Osage favorite, sat at the food tables of many candidates' campsites during the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Barbecue brisket is one of many foods offered to voters and spectators during the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Meat gravy sits at the campaign campsite of Amanda Proctor and Galen Crum during the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

A vegetable tray sits on a table at Jeff Irons campsite on June 7. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Osage Mineral's Council Chairman John Henry Mashunkashey stands during the OMC meeting and states his concerns about the future of the Minerals Estate Feb. 25. Photo by Shannon Shaw/Osage News

By Shannon Shaw
Osage News

The Osage Minerals Council voted six to one to send a resolution to the Osage Nation Congress today that asks the legislative body for their blessing to run its own election in June.

OMC Councilwoman Cynthia Boone was the only No vote, Councilman David Dubler was absent.

“We did have a meeting last week with Congress and the Chief’s office . . . [OMC attorney Kirk] Kicking Bird was on the phone listening in and we went over this in quite detail and we just want to have a very cooperative type resolution,” said Bob Martin, OMC Councilman. “The chief had agreed that he would get the letter out [to the Bureau of Indian Affairs]. Congress will need a resolution for us and we wanted to have our own election and everybody thought that would be a good idea.”

The resolution comes after the BIA declined the OMC’s request to supervise its election and further said that they would only provide technical assistance upon approval from Osage Nation Principal Chief Jim Gray. Gray has said publicly that he will be sending a letter to the BIA to request that they provide the OMC with technical assistance during their election, such as providing a list of Osage shareholders and their shares.

Not all were happy with the OMC’s decision to move forward with the resolution. Osage Shareholder’s Association Secretary Roy St. John, who is also a candidate for Principal Chief, addressed the OMC with the OSA’s concerns that by sending over the resolution to Congress that the OMC was forfeiting their independence.

“As a group we are opposed to [the OMC] aligning itself with the Osage Nation Congress to accomplish this act,” St. John said. “I would hope that you would read [the resolution carefully] before you vote on this resolution and consider some of the wishes of the shareholders.”

Boone agreed with St. John and felt the OMC was making a mistake.

“It appears to me that we’re giving up our independence,” Boone said. “To me we’re either independent or we’re not, and to ask Congress to approve or request any action on this independent agency I think is inappropriate. I don’t see a need for this, is what I’m saying.”

OMC Chairman John Henry Mashunkashey said that the resolution they were voting on today wasn’t what he wanted but that the election was coming and the OMC is having to do what they have to do. He also said that he was very disheartened when the BIA declined to accept the OMC’s request to supervise their election.

“Recently, in my mind and in my heart, I found out that the Minerals Council wasn’t as independent as the [Osage Constitution] has stated,” Mashunkashey said. “In that loss of independence we had a loss of just about everything, to me. I was completely raped of everything I ever thought this Osage Tribe had ever had.”

Chief Gray is to call the Congress into session 10 a.m. Monday to consider the OMC’s resolution as well as the Election Board’s budget, said Archie Mason, Speaker of the Congress.

The Minerals Council is made up of eight seats that are currently held by Mashunkashey, Kenny Bighorse Sr., Bob Martin, Kathryn Red Corn, Jewell Purcell, Cynthia Boone, Talee Red Corn and David Dubler. Currently Kathryn Red Corn, Purcell and Boone are running for re-election. Mashunkashey and Bighorse Sr. have stated they’re not seeking re-election.

For a full list of Minerals Council candidates, visit osagenews.org.

To see a copy of the Minerals Council resolution to the Osage Congress click here:
Osage Minerals Council resolution

Cynthia Boone, Candidate for Osage Minerals Council. Photo by Shannon Shaw/Osage News

By Cynthia Boone, Candidate for Osage Minerals Council

I was born in Los Angeles, California and raised in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. My husband Tom and I raised two sons, Tom Jr. and Daniel. We have one granddaughter, Rachel. We are all culturally affiliated. Tom serves on the Grayhorse committee. I received my Indian name from Margaret Shunkamolah. We reside on Original Allotment property south of Pawhuska.

I retired from the Indian Health Service in 2003 after 27 years of dedicated service. Where I managed a comprehensive health service. I was responsible for managing a multi million dollar government budget.

I was honored to become your elected official of the Minerals Council in June 2006. My meeting attendance is remarkable. My voting record identifies me as being on the side of the headright owner.

I believe in keeping my constituents informed. I have faithfully attended the local Osage Shareholder Association meetings for the last three years. I also attend faithfully the United Osages of Southern California meetings twice a year.

I am announcing my candidacy for re-election to the Minerals Council. You can contact me by email: tom@cowboy.net or by telephone. My home number is (918) 287-2920 or cell (918) 698-3314.

Osage Nation Principal Chief Jim Gray answers questions from Osage Minerals Councilwoman Cynthia Boone at a Feb. 17 OMC meeting. Photo by Shannon Shaw/Osage News

By Shannon Shaw
Osage News

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has declined to help the Osage Minerals Council in running their election in June.

In a letter faxed to OMC Chairman John Henry Mashunkashey Friday from acting BIA Director Michael R. Smith, Smith said that when the Osage Nation formed its own government in 2004 it superseded the election process found in the 1906 Act and the Code of Federal Regulations for the old Osage Tribal Council, something that some on the OMC maintain still exists. Smith also stated that the BIA will give technical assistance with the OMC election but only with the consent of Osage Nation Principal Chief Jim Gray.

“I think the letter that we got was more or less what I anticipated we would get, a turn-down on the initial help for the election,” Mashunkashey said in a phone interview from southern New Mexico. “Basically in the past the technical assistance they provided us with is people that help count the voters, fractional voters . . . that’s all we asked of them and I guess without the chief’s consent they will not help us, but with the chief’s consent they will help us.”

Gray said in a crowded OMC meeting Wednesday that he would do everything in his power to work with the OMC in making sure they have a fair and accurate election and offered to meet with them that afternoon.

“I think the BIA is taking the appropriate steps to support tribal sovereignty and tribal self governance,” Gray said in a phone interview. “When you read the three documents, the Constitution, the 1906 act and the 2004 Reaffirmation Act, you can see that they ruled appropriately.”

OMC meeting gets heated as accusations fly

During a Feb. 12 OMC meeting Councilwoman Cynthia Boone was voted off the Osage Nation Trust Team and her post as Budget Committee Chair was taken away and given to Councilwoman Jewell Purcell because of two alleged incidents on the controversial trip to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 22. Both incidents were discussed in Executive Session and the members voted 5-3 to remove Boone’s authorities, with one of the No votes coming from Boone herself.

“I do not feel that the punishment was just and I’m concerned at them putting Jewell Purcell as a signatory on the bank account,” Boone said after the Feb. 12 meeting. “I acted in good faith on the part of my constituency.”

In Wednesday’s OMC meeting Boone brought up one of the alleged incidents and said that one of the OMC council members had disrespected her and her husband Tom Boone at a restaurant following the OMC’s meeting with BIA acting director Michael R. Smith in which she allegedly handed Smith a letter and refused to let the other OMC members know what it said. So at the airport, she said that she and her husband in turn disrespected the council member, which turned out to be Councilman Bob Martin.

Martin then went on to say that Boone’s husband Tom threatened him when they were exiting the jetway from the plane, which Boone vehemently denied and Martin said that Boone wouldn’t know because she was still exiting the plane and didn’t see.

Derogatory comments directed at Martin came from Lou Phillips, a regular blogger on the Osage Shareholder’s Association Web site and Boone supporter, who was sitting in the audience. She yelled, “We know the truth Cynthia!” and “How do you think your mother would feel if she knew you were acting like this?” To which a general outcry from the audience erupted to call the meeting over.

Boone then asked Martin what else the OMC was going to do to her because they had already stripped her of all her authority and she said, “You going to kick me off?” in which Martin replied, “Maybe.”

Two audience members however did not agree with Phillips or Boone. Tony Daniels of Fairfax stood up and told Phillips, “I am a shareholder and you do not speak for me.” Phillips approached Daniels and began to berate him in which Martin called her out of order. Assistant Principal Chief candidate Cecelia Tallchief said, “I am Cecelia Tallchief and I have been a shareholder for [54] years and based on the numbers the [OSA] represents . . . they represent less than a tenth [of the shareholders].”

OMC Election Code could be ready soon

OMC Councilwomen Jewell Purcell and Kathryn Red Corn have developed an OMC election code that follows nearly verbatim the BIA’s Code of Federal Regulations that pertain to the old Tribal Council’s election procedures. The things they changed to the code are substituting Osage Tribal Council with Osage Nation and changed the document to comply with the Osage Constitution, Purcell said.

The OMC will meet with Chief Gray and Osage Nation Congressional Speaker Archie Mason to reach a final decision on the OMC election code sometime this week, promised Gray.

“I’m ready, let’s move on,” Gray said.

The Minerals Council is made up of eight seats that are currently held by Mashunkashey, Kenny Bighorse Sr., Bob Martin, Kathryn Red Corn, Jewell Purcell, Cynthia Boone, Talee Red Corn and David Dubler. Currently Kathryn Red Corn, Purcell and Boone are running for re-election. Mashunkashey and Bighorse Sr. have stated they’re not going to run.

“When I ran four years ago I told them I’d give them the best four years of my health I could give them and physically, to sit up there for any length of time just wears me out,” Mashunkashey said. “I’d rather dance [at the In-Lon-Schka] than sit in the chambers. I don’t get to dance all the way through sometimes but I’d rather dance and put my [Osage] clothes on than sit in those chambers.”

For a full list of Minerals Council candidates, visit osagenews.org.

To view the letter sent by Michael R. Smith, click here:
Michael R. Smith letter

Lou Phillips (standing) questions Chief Gray about his intentions toward the OMC election process. Photo by Shannon Shaw/Osage News

Mary Lee Evans, a regular blogger on the Osage Shareholder's Association Web site and Boone supporter, asks questions at the Feb. 17 OMC meeting as Pawhuska BIA Agency Superintendent Melissa Currey looks on. Photo by Shannon Shaw/Osage News

OMC attorney Kirk Kicking Bird explains to Lou Phillips the reason for attorney client privilege after she protests the OMC going into Executive Session after the meeting. Photo by Shannon Shaw/Osage News

Attendees of the OMC Feb. 17 meeting listen to Chief Gray explain his position on the BIA's involvement in the upcoming OMC election. Photo by Shannon Shaw/Osage News

Candidates running for Principal Chief: 5
- Jim Gray
- John Red Eagle
- Carl “Chico” Sellers
- Roy St. John
- Tim Tall Chief

Candidates running for Assistant Principal Chief: 6
- Scott Bighorse
- Jeff Irons
- Amanda Proctor
- Anthony Shackelford
- Cecelia Tallchief
- Everett Waller

Candidates running for Osage Nation Congress: 20
- Daniel Boone
- David Conrad
- Randolph Crawford
- Danette Daniels
- James Elsberry
- John Free Jr.
- Alice Goodfox
- Louis Gray
- Margo Gray-Proctor
- Jake Heflin
- John Jech
- John Maker
- Jenny Miller
- Raymond Red Corn
- Joseph Shunkamolah
- Geoffrey Standing Bear
- William “Kugee” Supernaw
- Anthony Webb
- John Williams
- Vance Wyrick

Candidates running for Osage Nation Minerals Council: 24
- Joseph B. Abbott Jr.
- Curtis Bear
- Kenneth BigHorse
- Cynthia Boone
- Melvin Core
- Galen Crum
- Rauk Friend
- Linda Heskett
- John Joseph Hall
- Kyle Logan
- Richard Luttrell Jr.
- Robert Martin
- John Henry Mashunkashey
- John Pangburn
- Charles Pratt
- Jewell Purcell
- Kathryn Red Corn
- Talee Red Corn
- Myron Red Eagle
- James Revard
- Jim T. Schooling
- Dudley Whitehorn
- Gregory Woodell
- Andrew Yates

California Osage residents and guests listen to candidates for the Nation's 2010 election during the Oct. 3 United Osages of Southern California meeting in Oceanside. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News

By Benny Polacca
Osage News

OCEANSIDE, Calif. – Fellowship, laughter, discussion of Osage politics and the aroma of hot grease from cooking frybread set the stage for the United Osages of Southern California gathering earlier this month where the state’s Osage residents and their family members congregated.

Fran Clavier-Smith says she’s attended UOSC meetings since she was a teenager and says they keep her connected to the Nation culturally and politically. “(The meetings) help me understand the politics of the tribe,” she said while helping other volunteers at the Oct. 3 meeting.

More than 40 people came to the South Oceanside Elementary School for the event, which featured a meet-and-greet session with candidates planning to run in the Nation’s 2010 election. Six congressional seats, all eight seats on the Minerals Council and the principal chief and assistant principal chief’s offices are up for grabs in the election next June.

Seven Osages seeking office or reelection spoke to the attendees including incumbents Assistant Chief John Red Eagle and Congressman Raymond Red Corn who informed the constituents of current Osage events, politics and their intentions if elected.

“It helps to hear them speak instead of just reading their opinions,” said Clavier-Smith who lives in Vista.

C. Ann Norris, of La Mirada, came to the meeting prepared to discuss the Nation’s ongoings with a notebook and stack of papers and said: “I’m all into what’s going on this session.” She questioned the candidates about 2009 Tzi-Zho Session topics, which included selecting members for the election and foundation boards as well as the multi-purpose delegation trip to France this month and ongoing court matters.

Former Pawhuska resident Danielle Glenn-Rivera now works for the Los Angeles County Public Health Department in Alhambra. She’s lived out west for 22 years and believes the UOSC gatherings are crucial because “a lot of people don’t know the culture” nor travel back to Oklahoma for festivities like the In-Lon-Schka dances.

The UOSC meets about four times a year with an average of 50 members attending, said its chairman Bill Myers. The meetings focus on topics related to the tribe from politics to culture. For example, the UOSC previously held Osage language lessons conducted by instructors from the Nation’s Language Department.

Myers said the UOSC conducted a survey last year, which revealed when one member speaks to another Osage, that person is actually speaking to six others in communicating about the tribe. Several hundred Osages are believed to be living in Southern California, which includes the greater Los Angeles and San Diego metropolitan areas, he said.

Oceanside, a city with a population of over 179,000, sits along the Interstate 5 corridor next to the Pacific. It is the southern neighbor of Camp Pendleton – the U.S. Marine Corps base and is 35 miles north of San Diego, 83 miles south of Los Angeles.

Galen Clavier, a former UOSC chairman who led for about 20 years, said the group dates back to the World War II era in the 1940s and recalls his parents bringing him to meetings as a child. One event the UOSC has held in the past is a picnic featuring traditional Osage dishes, said Clavier, a retired educator who lives in Carlsbad.

Myers’s son, Teddy Myers, treated the congregation by making frybread that was served with lunch that day. Several people complimented his cooking, which was his second effort ever at making frybread.

Teddy Myers said he got the recipe and help from his aunt Cynthia Boone, an incumbent Minerals Council member and her son Daniel Boone who is seeking a congressional seat. He said he is interested in learning to make more Osage dishes and will again seek the Boones’ help to cook for the next UOSC meeting scheduled April 24.

Bill Myers said election candidates are invited again to speak at the spring meeting. He expects about 100 people to attend, as was the case at a similar meeting held just before the 2006 tribal election.

Rachel Castillo feeds her son Spartan Laie a piece of frybread while they attend the United Osages of Southern California meeting on Oct. 3 in Oceanside where they reside. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News

Tim Tall Chief discusses why he’s running for the principal chief’s office in the 2010 election at the United Osages of Southern California meeting in Oceanside on Oct. 3. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News

Raymond Red Corn (left), Assistant Chief John Red Eagle and Myron Red Eagle (foreground) sit and applaud at the United Osages of Southern California meeting in Oceanside on Oct. 3 after Tim Tall Chief finishes speaking and walks back to his seat. All are seeking office or reelection in the Nation’s 2010 election. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News

California resident Jake Heflin runs a slideshow presentation while discussing his run for the Osage Nation Congress in 2010 during the United Osages of Southern California meeting on Oct. 3 in Oceanside. Heflin is a firefighter/ paramedic for the city of Long Beach. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News

Myron Red Eagle, candidate for the Osage Nation Minerals Council, speaks with constituents during the United Osages of Southern California meeting on Oct. 3 in Oceanside. The group invited candidates who are running in the 2010 election to meet West Coast tribal members at the meeting. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News

Rachel Castillo (left) announces the winning ticket number during the raffle drawing at the United Osages of Southern California meeting on Oct. 3 in Oceanside. UOSC Chairman Bill Myers holds up the prize to be awarded to the winning ticket holder. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News