The Osage Campus. File Photo/Osage News

Osage News

The Osage News will be publishing a Candidates Weekly Roundup every week leading up to the election on June 7. Every week the candidates will be asked a question that pertains to the issues of the Nation.

For the week of May 3 the candidates were asked: “In your opinion, is the new Osage government working?”

All answers will be published Friday morning on osagenews.org. All answers will be published in the order they were received.

Read the candidates answers every Friday morning on osagenews.org.

ON Congressman Doug Revard pulls out of June election. Photo by Shannon Shaw/Osage News

By Shannon Shaw
Osage News

Osage Nation Congressman Doug Revard, who was seeking re-election in June, has bowed out of the race due to family reasons.

“I am going to withdraw from the election,” Revard said in a phone interview Friday. “It’s for family reasons.”

Revard hasn’t officially filed the paperwork with the Osage Nation Election Board Office yet but he plans to do that Monday.

Election board unable to certify Louis Gray’s candidacy for Congress

Louis Gray was the only candidate unable to be certified by the election board.

“At this time we were unable to certify him as a candidate,” Amber Harris said Thursday, who is the assistant election supervisor. She did not elaborate on the reason why he could not be certified.

Gray said in a phone interview Friday that he is consulting with his family, friends and supporters on whether or not to appeal the decision.

The violation in question with the election board is a 1992 Bogus Check violation by Gray. He was charged with the violation after a publication he was running went out of business and he paid the last bill but the bank had already closed the publication’s account, he said. They court made Gray plead guilty but eventually dismissed the charge.

The incident does not appear on Gray’s record and the election board would never have known about it except for Gray told them himself about the charge.

“I didn’t want to play legal parlor games, I was just trying to be honest,” Gray said.

Gray feels he has grounds to appeal the ruling because he filed his application on April 1 and the election board’s rules and regulations weren’t made into law until April 7.

“They enacted the law after I filed so it’s ex post facto law,” Gray said. “You can’t enact a punitive judgment on someone and have it apply.”

Gray passed a background check in 2006 when he ran in the 2006 election for the four-year congressional term. He has also passed background checks by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Secret Service, the White House and has also covered as a journalist the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, he said.

“I think the rules are rather rigid,” Gray said. “My first impression is that according to the election [board] no one is allowed to rebuild their life and I think that sends a negative message.”

“There are plenty of people who have made one minor fraction in their life, and it forever forbids you from serving your people?” Gray said.

Gray said he will decide Monday whether or not he plans to appeal the board’s ruling.

In the 2006 election if a candidate were to have been charged with a felony but it were dismissed, that candidate was allowed to run, not so with the election June 7.

“A lot of my friends and supporters are saying go for it,” Gray said. “Sometimes we have to think with our head and not our heart and I will proceed accordingly with what’s best for my family and the Osage people.”

Louis Gray will decide on Monday whether or not he is going to appeal the recent decision by the Osage Nation Election Board. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Campaign signs and literature can be found all over the reservation. Here a campaign sign for Myron Red Eagle was placed on the lawn of a Pawhuska resident. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Osage News

The candidates for the Osage general election and the Osage Minerals Council election have been finalized and there are a total of 53.

Participating in the general election will be five principal chief candidates, six assistant chief candidates and 20 congressional candidates. The filing date for the OMC election was Monday and there are a total of 24, including six incumbents. Councilman David Dubler was the only member not to file for re-election.

Up for judiciary retention are all three Osage Nation Supreme Court Justices and the Osage Nation Tribal Court judge, Marvin Stepson. The three current justices are Meredith Drent, Jeanine Logan and Chief Justice Charles Lohah. If the Osage people vote to retain all four judges they will hold their current positions for the next four years. If any of the judges are not retained by vote of the people then the Principal Chief will appoint someone to fill the vacancy.

The amendment up for vote in this year’s election is whether or not to change the wording in articles three, six, seven, eight, 13 and 15 of the Constitution from “membership” to “citizenship,” and to change “eligibility for membership” to “right to citizenship.” Sponsored by William “Kugee” Supernaw, the bill was passed in the March Hun-Kah session of this year.

To view the list of Osage candidates for the June election visit osagenews.org and click on the category Candidate Listing.

All candidates in both the general election and the minerals council election are invited to the Osage Shareholders Association meeting from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on April 18 at the Dave Landrum Community Center in Pawhuska. Refreshments will be provided, everyone is welcome. For more information contact Galen Crum at galen.crum@galencrum.com.

David Conrad, candidate for Osage Nation Congress. Photo by Shannon Shaw/Osage News

By David Conrad, Candidate for Osage Nation Congress

On Thursday April 1st 2010, I filed as a candidate for the Osage Nation Congress. I filed because I believe we must continue to build on the positive achievements of the Osage Nation under our new form of government, and as best we can, turn away from the cynicism and negative thinking that has held us back. I will base my campaign, and I hope others will join me, on the following areas:

Vision
The Osage Nation has many historical achievements that demonstrate the vision of our past Osage leadership. We have also reached out to the Osage people through the 25-year strategic planning process to guide us further. Now it is up to a new generation of Osages to step up and integrate our historical achievements with our current citizen-driven vision into a workable and fair system of governance.

Osage Nation legislators must build the necessary legal foundation for our government to function effectively. Osage Nation legislators must open up their decision-making process and invite citizen, neighbor, and expert testimony. The Osage Nation Congress must embrace the use of the best available technology to make their decision-making process more transparent. The Osage Nation Congress must pass a law enacting a system of district voting based on current census data. Without making Congressional members accountable to a defined electorate, we will see escalating election costs and less accountability. And finally Osage Nation legislators must demonstrate the judgment and discipline to focus on drafting and passing good legislation.

Experience
Throughout my educational and professional career I have been aware of and/or engaged with legislative decision-making bodies. I have worked with boards of directors, tribal councils, city councils, state legislatures, the U.S. Congress, and the Osage Nation Congress. And although this is my first experience running for an elected office, my experience interacting with legislators from an executive point of view will allow me to serve as a valuable asset to our Congress in bridging the gap in accommodating multiple perspectives and adopting good law.

Commitment
I am committed to the betterment of the Osage Nation, and enriching the lives of Osage people. I have worked across the country for the betterment of Indian country, tribal organizations, and tribes, and during that time have always shared good ideas and opportunities with Osages and Osage programs back home. I was honored to join the Administration of Principal Chief Jim Gray, an honor I accepted gladly although I did not know what that commitment would truly entail. My experience in the Gray Administration has been an opportunity to bring the knowledge and experience I have gained back to our people. I decided to run for Congress because I felt it has been the weakest link in our progress, and I hope to strengthen this new institution in ways I feel the other candidates could not.

Geoffrey Standing Bear, candidate for Osage Nation Congress. Courtesy Photo

By Geoffrey Standing Bear, Candidate for Osage Nation Congress

We can see that the Osage Nation could quite easily spend most all of the projected gaming revenue for this year only on education for our people. Most Osage will agree that the educational endeavors for our Osage people span education at pre-school through working adults obtaining their college or graduate degrees. For our small children there is a need for additional funding to supplement the federal funding and a need to opening up these programs to all Osage parents and children regardless of income. We need more teachers with better pay, more and better facilities, and more for meals and transportation. For our students seeking a college or graduate education the amount of funding can never be too much as tuition, books, time off from work, transportation, computers, and all the other requirements add up to many thousands of dollars, and more often than not, tens of thousands of dollars. The best way to keep our pre-teens and teenagers away from the growing world of meth and crime is to keep them close through youth education. When we look in another direction we see that our returning Veterans are having a tough time getting good employment which tells us we need to add job skill training including technical school and on-the-job training programs. This will also benefit those who have been laid off or who want to explore new careers. Our language and culture programs also are an important component of education. We need to expand the definition of “education programs” and realize how huge an area it is, then ask how can we better fund the students and operations. Under this expanded definition of Osage education we can see that $30 million dollars for a year does not seem adequate to meet the needs of education of the Osage. Consider now that elders, housing, children and women protective services, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, law enforcement, and the other many needs of the people must be met. From this perspective, my protests against reckless spending, no bidding on construction and service contracts, inside dealings and other actions which have resulted in our being taken advantage of makes more than good sense. Hiding the accounting of the Osage money the Osage Congress has appropriated is more than worrisome. Spending millions of dollars on attorneys and consultants seems insane. We must organize ourselves to directly benefit our people. Anything less should not be tolerated.

A strategic plan is a great idea. Where the Osage plan falls short is that it does not tell us how we are going to meet the requirements of the near future. Three of our most profitable casinos with hundreds of employees are not on federal Indian trust or restricted land which exposes them to attack. We need a definite plan to continue funding of our education and other programs. This must be plan which takes into consideration the consequences of not planning properly on how to arrive at this time in our history.

Roy St. John, Candidate for Principal Chief. Photo by Shannon Shaw/Osage News

By Roy St. John, Candidate for Principal Chief

As Principal Chief my goals are –

• A government striving to accomplish every task in a superior manner.
• One that treats every citizen equally.
• An Osage Nation that is respectful and respected in the local community and throughout the United States.

Education – The shining star of the current administration.

My observation today tells me that technology is changing at an ever-increasing rate. I support continuing the existing scholarship program and expanding the educational advantages to include K-12. I will recommend adopting an on-line tutoring program in all subject areas.

Immediate attention –

The current Gag Order will be rescinded.

Drop the suit against the Office of Fiscal and Performance Review (OFPR).

My administration will start with a complete independent audit of all-financial records and sound financial management practices.

The citizen contact process (aka Constituent Services) needs a major overhaul and would be greatly improved by implementing an online input and tracking feedback system.

While reviewing my management training literature I came across this quote which applies to the Osage Nation. “Problems are only Opportunities in disguise”.

I am asking for your vote and support as Principal Chief of the Osage Nation.

Visit my website www.roystjohn.net

The main page on the Voting Osage Web site. Courtesy Photo.

By Shannon Shaw
Osage News

Current Osage Nation Principal Chief Jim Gray and Tim Tall Chief are neck and neck in the principal chief votingosage.org candidate poll, with Tall Chief ahead by 19 votes as of 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The poll has generated traffic for the site, which was formed by a group of young Osages, and is so popular that nearly 1,000 people have voted in the poll – a little less than half of the number of Osages that voted in the 2006 election. Once Osages have voted many are also commenting on the many topics the site offers. Candidates can also be found commenting regularly on the site as well.

“My hope for this poll was simply meant to stir interest in this election,” Ryan Red Corn said, administrator for the site and Osage tribal member. “I don’t think it will so much change the minds of voters as it will affect the behavior of the candidates.”

And it already has. Once news of the poll got out Tall Chief sent e-mails to friends asking them to vote on the poll and also noted that people didn’t have to be Osage to vote. Gray was posting to his Facebook status for his friends to vote on the poll, causing his numbers to jump in a single day, while the other candidates dropped in the rankings.

“I’m having fun with it, these online polls are designed for entertainment purposes only,” Gray said. “What I am excited about is that it gets people talking about the issues that are affecting the Nation and it’s good to see Osages getting involved with the election . . . The only vote that matters is the vote that happens on June 7.”

Leading the poll Tuesday is Tim Tall Chief with 474 votes, in second is Jim Gray with 455 votes, third place is John Red Eagle with 44 votes, fourth place is Chico Sellers with eight votes and in last is Roy St. John with five votes.

Online polls are not to be compared with a Gallup Poll, where a random sample of the population is selected to represent the entire population. Online polls are viewed as biased because a person taking the time out to participate in an online poll more than likely has a vested interest in the issue and is not a true representation of the population, according to gallup.com.

“Of course, we have no way of verifying whether or not a voter is Osage, so these poll results should not be viewed as scientific,” Red Corn said. “As for telling non-Osages to go vote, I regard that behavior as disingenuous to the validity of the office those individuals are seeking.”

Assistant Principal Chief John Red Eagle, who is also running for principal chief, said “I do have to work you know, I can’t get on Facebook all the time and tell everyone to vote.”

“I looked at it when it first came out and I knew [Jim Gray and Tim Tall Chief] had got on Facebook and was telling all their friends to vote for them,” Red Eagle said. “I knew that it was probably inaccurate, not because I’m in third place, but because you don’t have to be Osage to vote.”

St. John has no plans to campaign for people to vote for him on the poll, he said.

“I think it’s an attempt to sway votes and I have no idea how accurate it is,” St. John said. “I don’t know if there’s anything you can do about it. If people are swayed by an election poll of this nature, and I assume some are, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“I don’t know who votes on it or that it has any accuracy, I don’t believe it’s an accurate poll and I question its validity,” St. John said.

Carl “Chico” Sellers echoed St. John’s comments. “The web site is supposed help inform all Osages regardless of their residence,” he said. “How does an unscientific, unregistered poll inform out of state Osages about candidates?”

The poll is currently for the principal chief race but Red Corn will cycle out the polls every Wednesday. This week it will change to Assistant Chief, next will be legislative and so on. Osage Minerals Council candidates will not be included in the poll.

“I think the site has been great at generating ideas, which has been its intent from the get go,” Red Corn said. “We are hoping that those ideas emerging from the discourse could be considered by our elected officials.”

Tim Tall Chief did not respond for comment for this article.

[Editor’s Note: After this story published administrator of votingosage.org, Ryan Red Corn, changed the poll to a different topic: “If you were a food, what would you be?”]

Osage News

The Osage News Editorial Board met today and voted unanimously to suspend all
Opinion columns by elected officials, running for re-election or not, until after the June
7 election. The Editorial Board will meet again in June to discuss whether the Opinion
columns will be a continued feature in the Osage News. The board is comprised of Teresa
Lamsam, Denny McAuliffe and Robert Warrior.

Jewell Purcell, Candidate for Osage Minerals Council. Photo by Shannon Shaw/Osage News

Jewell Purcell is seeking re-election to the Osage Minerals Council. Her Family will be sponsoring a Meet & Greet for her from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Community Building in the Hominy Indian Village. All are invited.