TULSA, Okla. – As the Osage Nation’s reformed three-branch government enters its 19th year, Supreme Court Chief Justice Meredith Drent shared thoughts on the tribal courts’ role and ideas in upholding tribal sovereignty for the future.
Drent joined ON government officials – elected office holders and board/ commission members – for the inaugural leadership assembly on March 8 titled “Strengthening Sovereignty.” On behalf of the Judicial Branch, Drent spoke on the branch’s contributions thus far and plans for continuing service to the Osage people.
Established in the 2006 Osage Constitution, the Judiciary Article VIII states: “The Judicial powers of the Osage Nation are hereby vested in one Supreme Court, in a lower Trial Court and in such inferior Courts as the Osage Nation Congress may ordain and establish for the development, maintenance and administration of the Tribal Justice System. The Judicial Branch shall be responsible for interpreting the laws of the Osage Nation and its powers will include, but not necessarily limited to, the trial and adjudication of certain civil and criminal matters, the redress of grievances, the resolution of disputes and judicial review of certain holdings and decisions of administrative agencies and of the Trial Court.”
In 2006, Drent started serving on the High Court as an Associate Justice until she was appointed and confirmed by Congress as Chief Justice in 2012. Also seated on the Supreme Court are Associate Justices Drew Pierce and Elizabeth Lohah Homer, whose late father, Charles H. Lohah, served as the first Chief Justice for the government’s first six years.
“Ha.we Wahzhazhe!” Drent said in greeting the attendees during the event held at the Tulsa Osage Casino & Hotel.
“When it comes to the types of cases that the Supreme Court hears, we’re not like the U.S. Supreme Court in that they get to pick and choose, right? They get to decide ‘here’s a bunch of appeals, we don’t want to deal with this one, we don’t want to deal with that one.’ We don’t get to do that,” Drent said. “When an appeal comes and someone follows the appellate rules, we take the case. Now, sometimes we have the power to review it and sometimes we don’t – it’s just whatever the law tells us what we can do.”
“So, when it comes to sovereignty, one of the things that we’ll be doing is looking ahead,” Drent said of her respective branch. “It’s not always going to be us in these positions, we’re going to have somebody new, somebody else is going to be Chief Justice and when they take over, I want to make sure there’s a very clear vision and this is where collaboration comes in because this is not something we’re going to do alone.”
Drent referred to the Nation’s services and expertise as she discussed ideas for improving and further development of the branch.
“The next 10 years in the Judicial Branch is something that I’ve been considering,” Drent said. “So, what I wanted to be able to do was share with all of you some of the things we’d like to see happen in the next 10 years.”
“We want to increase the use of cultural values into our decisions, we’re going to need help with that,” Drent said, adding “we’re going to be talking to our (Tribal Cultural Advisors Committee), we’re going to be talking to our elders, we’re going to be working with our judges (Osage and non-Osage) to figure out how to best incorporate Osage values into the work that we do.”
“We want to incorporate more Osage language into our proceedings,” Drent said, adding “so language program: We’re going to have a great conversation, even if it’s introducing ourselves, even if it’s calling court into session or adjourning a session. Those things really put the framework in, so when people walk into our court, they’re going to know it’s Wahzhazhe, it is an Osage court.”
“We want to identify and train qualified and capable Osages to serve as Trial Court judges,” Drent said, adding “so that means we need to adopt and develop the necessary skillsets to be a judge so we can continue to develop legal precedence that includes our Osage values.”
“We would like our guardianships to be recognized by the federal government because many of you have heard the (Bureau of Indian Affairs) does not recognize our adult guardianships and guardianships over elders because there is a provision in the 1906 Act that says probates (which is what guardianship is) have to go through the state, that’s in the original 1906 Act. If we want to have our guardianships to be handled by our court for our people, for our elders, for our vulnerable adults, we want to take a look at that 1906 Act.”
“And while we’re at it, how about we get rid of those guardianship provisions that kind of led to the most horrific part of our history,” Drent added, referring to the Osage Reign of Terror and that others would need to take part in collaborative efforts to revisit the law.
Next, Drent referred to a past discussion she heard where Osage Congressman Billy Keene, also a practicing attorney, said he would like to see “a healing to wellness court and I want to commend him for bringing that up, these are not easy courts to put together.”
Drent said a healing to wellness court is based on a state drug court model requiring collaborations from other government branches and programs. “It’s a diversion program that focuses on restorative justice principles and does not focus on incarceration or punishment as the main mechanism for holding people who offend our community accountable. It’s designed to help people heal to maintain sobriety, to become better parts of our community, to become better people the way they want to be themselves.”
She added the healing to wellness court discussion is one she’d like to visit before the next Osage election, which will be in June 2026.
In closing, Drent told the attendees: “Sovereignty, at the end of all of this, is this – It’s these conversations, it’s these people sitting together and having all of these things that tie us together – having culture, having our common language, having our families who have been friends for generations … This is sovereignty right here, coming together looking for new improved innovative ways to secure home for our people and building on the works of our ancestors to maintain our Osage order.”
