By
Shannon Shaw Duty
Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear is in charge of leading the Osage Nation, and after 15 days on the job he’s finding out it also includes cleaning house.
Sworn into office on July 2, Standing Bear and staff set up their offices that afternoon. By July 17, Standing Bear had let go of four appointees who served under the Red Eagle and BigHorse administrations, called the Fourth Osage Nation Congress into two special sessions, issued five directives changing policies and procedures and changed the location of two departments.
But on July 17 the Osage News found him walking the halls of the Executive Branch building, speaking with staff and in-and-out of meetings. Standing Bear offered to show the News around his new offices.
“[Asst. Chief Red Corn] and I are doing the strategic work, we’re working on it and we’re doing things – but we’re also cleaning up a lot of closets, so to speak,” Standing Bear said. “Um … this place is cluttered and here’s an example.”
He led the News to a vault on the second floor, which he said no one knew the combination to (and hadn’t for years), so it always stood open. Frustrated by this, he called a locksmith in Bartlesville and had a new combination put on the vault, and now it will be used. Inside were boxes of papers, Osage Constitutions, fake flowers, Christmas decorations, office furniture and many other sorts of objects and files.
“We already cleared out a bunch of junk and now we’re going to clear out some more junk so I can figure out what else is in here,” Standing Bear said, motioning to all the items left. “We’re short of space all throughout the Nation. There’s paper everywhere, everything’s helter skelter, and it’s just crazy stuff. No one knows what’s in half this place – everything is just every which way.”
He next led the News to a vault on the basement floor.
“So it turns out that this is an overflow from yet another vault that’s on the third floor that accounting uses. While we’re here, we’re going to work on a plan to put all this in another secured location that the asst. chief is working on because Archives [Department] is out of space,” Standing Bear said. “So we’re going to use that building that is empty by the four-way stop, where the Osage County Historical Society was, and Properties [Department] tells us that there is a security alarm system and it can be secure. We’re going to be using that space before we use it for our Tourism office.
“We’ll be putting back in a Tourism Department and it’s going to take a few months to get that into place. In the meantime we’ve got to put this stuff somewhere.”
Hard work
Waiting for the chief by the downstairs vault was Jo Ellen Young, Fixed Asset Clerk for the Nation. She was busily working on the combination to the vault as the chief arrived. She opened the door and boxes of files lined the walls and floor.
ief Standing Bear points out unopened DVRs the Nation never got to use. SHANNON SHAW DUTY/Osage News
Standing Bear pointed out a wall lined with 66 unopened Sanyo boxes with brand new DVRs inside from early 2007, estimated at a worth of $42,000. He said it was thought they were for the Osage Casinos for security at one time but no one knew why they were there. The IT Department inspected them and said they were too outdated for use and should be recycled instead.
“Such a waste,” Standing Bear said. “We’re finding this kind of situation around the Nation way too much.”
Standing Bear said his staff has been working 10-12 hour days and he’s going to be giving them some rest time in the future. He said one employee who has been coming in before 8 a.m. and leaving after 6 p.m. is Executive Administrative Assistant Danielle Cass.
“Last weekend I just crashed, spent time with my kids and read books all weekend long, I did not do anything,” she said. “But I felt refreshed to start back up on Monday.”
Standing Bear said his staff’s dedication and knowing how much work needs to be done is keeping them energized and he’s very proud of them.
Change of location
The Osage Nation Constituent Services is now located in what used to be the Executive Branch conference room. The Osage Nation Mailroom is now located in the constituent services old office in the old Superintendent’s House next door. Standing Bear said the move made sense.
“When I checked on the history of constituent services it was originally part of the chief’s office and it makes perfect sense because it’s what we should all be doing,” he said. “When a constituent calls I want to make sure every phone is answered, it’s a priority and people are here from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.”
Inside the old mailroom will be an office space to fit multiple computers for visiting consultants and lawyers who come to do work for the Nation. Standing Bear said they need a place to work and somewhere removed from the Nation’s offices so they don’t interfere in day-to-day business.
New offices
Chief Standing Bear’s office is located toward the back of the building on the second floor. There are no paintings or photos hanging on the wall. That is because he is going to have the painting stripped and the wood paneling removed.
“We’re not asking for more money, we’re shifting money around that’s already there,” he said.
He wants visiting tribal dignitaries to be impressed when they visit the Osage Nation.
“These offices are junky, it’s ugly. We’re going to make this place look first class,” he said. “We’re supposed to be Osage, right? Darn right.”
Original Publish Date: 2014-07-18 00:00:00
