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HomeGovernmentClark Batson sworn in as Osage Nation Treasurer

Clark Batson sworn in as Osage Nation Treasurer

Former Acting Treasurer Tyler McIntosh resigned on April 3 but agreed to stay on during the transition in a contractual position.

After nearly three years of candidate searches, job postings, and salary increases to entice potential candidates, Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear has appointed a new Treasurer, Clark Batson, Osage from the Zonzoli District. He was sworn into office on April 3.

Batson has held several roles with the Nation since the early 2000s. Those have included Federal Programs/Payroll Accountant, Compliance Specialist, and Budget Analyst for the Wahzhazhe Health Center in the Department of Treasury. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a member of the Native American Church of Oklahoma.

A graduate of the University of Missouri Kansas City, he has also served as the Finance Director/Tax Commission Director for the Pawnee Nation and as Director of Internal Audit for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, where he also served as interim Treasurer for six months.

His appointment is subject to Congressional confirmation and the 8th Osage Nation Congress is currently in their second week of the Hun-Kah Session. His appointment will first be discussed at the committee level before going to the whole of Congress for a vote.

“I look forward to congressional confirmation, fulfilling the Constitutional and legal duties and responsibilities of the Office of Treasurer, and serving the Osage people,” Batson said in a press release.

Batson replaces Tyler McIntosh, who has served as the Nation’s Controller and Acting Treasurer for nearly three years. McIntosh resigned April 3 as Acting Treasurer and accepted a contractual position to support Batson during the transition. The Osage News has requested a copy of the contract.

According to the release, McIntosh made significant contributions and positive changes to Osage Nation’s accounting and treasury, as reflected in a 2022 audit report showing top-tier accountability and oversight and containing zero significant deficiencies or material weaknesses.

From left, Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear, newly appointed Treasurer Clark Batson and Judge Lee Stout after Batson was sworn in on April 3, 2024. Courtesy Photo/ON Communications

Resignation letter

According to McIntosh’s resignation letter, he said he faced “constant scrutiny” from Congress, a sentiment echoed by his predecessors, Jim Littleton and Samuel Alexander. McIntosh also took issue with the financial firm Moss Adams, which serves as the Congress’ Office of Fiscal Performance and Review. He alleged the firm produced negative reviews of the ON Treasury for “more income” and that he would not be “subject to bias reviews by OFPR.”

The Osage News requested Moss Adams’ review of the ON Treasury but apparently, the findings are preliminary and Congress has not seen the review yet. According to Second Speaker Pam Shaw, Moss Adams went over the preliminary findings with McIntosh earlier this week and once the report was complete it would be submitted to the 12 members of Congress and the Congressional Affairs committee. She said Moss Adams is also actively working on a Risk Assessment for the Nation as well as a Credit Card Review.

According to McIntosh, he worked 60+ hour weeks in an attempt to guide the Nation’s Treasury through the challenging times of COVID, the 2019 fiscal year audit, the 2020 failed accounting software conversion, and during a time when the Nation was receiving millions in ARPA funds.

McIntosh served as Controller and Acting Treasurer simultaneously at times and it was evident he needed help when during the 2023 Tzi-Sho Session he had a family emergency that resulted in the loss of his mother. As a result, he missed several Congressional committee meetings and no one from the Treasury Department could give Congress accurate information on the Nation’s finances. His absence nearly brought Congressional committee work to a halt.

In his resignation letter, he also mentions he provided “an un-bias [sic] analysis and forecast of the patient population base surrounding the Osage Health Clinic related to its construction project.” The Osage News has requested a copy of the analysis from the Si-Si A-Pe-Txa Board that governs the Wahzhazhe Health Center.

Unqualified?

McIntosh started out as the Controller for the Nation but was elevated to acting Treasurer in March of 2022. Standing Bear sought the advice of Attorney General Clint Patterson after several members of Congress questioned whether the Principal Chief had the authority to elevate McIntosh since he did not possess a CPA. AG Patterson said the Chief could make the promotion because the ON Constitution “demands efficiency and continuity of government.”

The fact that McIntosh did not possess a CPA remained a consistent barrier to his appointment as Treasurer. Congress members have attempted to amend the law to take out the requirement, but the move did not have the support of the full Congress.

“Tyler McIntosh has been an outstanding Acting Treasurer, and if he had a CPA, he would have been submitted to Congress for confirmation,” Standing Bear said in the release. “In the meantime, we are pleased that Clark Batson, a CPA, has accepted the difficult position of Treasurer of the Osage Nation. We will continue to work with Tyler on a contract basis as he has agreed to assist Treasurer Batson.”

Author

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Shannon Shaw Duty
Shannon Shaw Dutyhttps://osagenews.org

Title: Editor
Email: sshaw20@gmail.com
Twitter: @dutyshaw
Topic Expertise: Columnist, Culture, Community
Languages spoken: English, Osage (intermediate), Spanish (beginner)

Shannon Shaw Duty, Osage from the Grayhorse District, is the editor of the award-winning Osage News, the official independent media of the Osage Nation. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Legal Studies with an emphasis in Indigenous Peoples Law. She currently sits on the Freedom of Information Committee for the Society of Professional Journalists. She has served as a board member for LION Publishers, as Vice President for the Pawhuska Public Schools Board of Education, on the Board of Directors for the Native American Journalists Association (now Indigenous Journalists Association) and served as a board member and Chairwoman for the Pawhuska Johnson O’Malley Parent Committee. She is a Chips Quinn Scholar, a former instructor for the Freedom Forum’s Native American Journalism Career Conference and the Freedom Forum’s American Indian Journalism Institute. She is a former reporter for The Santa Fe New Mexican. She is a 2012 recipient of the Native American 40 Under 40 from the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. In 2014 she helped lead the Osage News to receive NAJA's Elias Boudinot Free Press Award. The Osage News won Best Newspaper from the SPJ-Oklahoma Chapter in their division 2018-2022. Her award-winning work has been published in Indian Country Today, The Washington Post, the Center for Public Integrity, NPR, the Associated Press, Tulsa World and others. She currently resides in Pawhuska, Okla., with her husband and together they share six children, two dogs and two cats.

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