The 5th Osage Minerals Council took their oaths of office on July 1, 2022.
At the newly elected council’s first meeting, held in person at their chambers on the Osage Nation campus, Supreme Court Associate Justice Elizabeth Lohah Homer presided.
One-by-one, Everett Waller, Myron Red Eagle, Talee Redcorn, Melissa Currey, Anthony Shackelford, Paul Revard, Joe Cheshewalla and Kenneth Bighorse Jr. raised their right hands and swore their oaths of office:
“I … do proudly swear to carry out the responsibilities of the office of Minerals Council to the best of my ability, freely acknowledging that the powers of this office flow from the Osage People and Wakontah. I further swear that always to place the interest of all Osages above any special or personal interest and to respect the right of future generations to share the rich and historic natural heritage of our Osage people. In doing so, I will always uphold and defend the Constitution of the Osage Nation, so help me God.”
Homer gave each council member “a gift from the court,” after they took their oaths, which was a copy of the newly revised ON Constitution.
Following the ceremony, the council immediately elected its leadership. Re-elected as the council’s chairman was Waller, with a 5-3 vote. Voting “no” were Bighorse Jr., Revard and Shackelford. The election of the council’s second chair went to Cheshewalla with a unanimous vote. The council also voted to make Cheshewalla, Shackelford and Redeagle the council’s signature authorities.
The council adjourned following the votes. The council conducts regular meetings on the first Friday and the 3rd Wednesday of the month in the council chambers. The council serves as the governing body for the mineral affairs of the Osage Mineral Estate.
Inauguration Day
The Minerals Council will also be included in the Nation’s Inauguration Day festivities with a “presentation of honor,” according to an ON press release. Inauguration Day is scheduled for Saturday, July 9 at the Osage Casino Hotel & Casino in Tulsa. The event begins at 10 a.m.
Due to recent increases in positive COVID-19 cases among the Wahzhazhe community, the inauguration committee is encouraging all attendees to take health precautions and masks – hand sanitizer will be available. If you are feeling sick and/or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, please stay home and get tested.
Osage Minerals Councils
The ON Constitution vests the Minerals Council with the powers to administer and develop the Osage Mineral Estate in accordance with the Act of June 28, 1906, 34 Stat. 539, as amended, such powers which, prior to ratification of the Osage Nation Constitution, were vested in the “Osage Tribal Council.” Past councils include:
1st Osage Minerals Council 2006-2010: Kenneth Bighorse Sr., Cynthia Boone, David Dubler, Robert Martin, John Henry Mashunkashey, Jewell Purcell, Kathryn Red Corn, Talee Redcorn
2nd Osage Minerals Council 2010-2014: Joseph “Sonny” Abbott, Curtis Bear, Cynthia Boone, Melvin Core, Galen Crum, Myron Red Eagle, Dudley Whitehorn, Andrew Yates
3rd Osage Minerals Council 2014-2018: Cynthia Boone, Joseph Cheshewalla, Galen Crum, Stephanie Erwin, Kathryn Red Corn, Talee Redcorn, Everett Waller, Andrew Yates
4th Osage Minerals Council 2018-2022: Susan Forman, Margo Gray, Marsha Harlan, Myron Red Eagle, Talee Redcorn, Paul Revard, Everett Waller, Andrew Yates
For more information on the Minerals Council, visit their website at https://www.osagenation-nsn.gov/who-we-are/minerals-council
