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Minerals Council sends letter to Sec. Haaland regarding proposed regulations

The letter raises concerns over the BIA's failure to conduct reasonable and meaningful tribal consultation

Following an inconclusive meeting with Bryan Newland, the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs on the proposed new rules for oil and gas mining on the reservation, the Osage Minerals Council has decided to bypass Newland and go straight to his boss.

During a regular meeting of the OMC on July 19, Councilman Paul Revard made the motion following an executive session discussion.

“Our attorney has drafted a response to the Hon. Deb Haaland and the U.S. Department of Interior, dated July 19, 2023,” Revard said. “In reference to the BIA’s refusal to conduct reasonable and meaningful tribal consultation, I make a motion that we instruct Chairman Waller to sign this letter and for our legal counsel to transmit this letter by email and U.S. Postal Service to the Hon. Deb Haaland.”

The vote was unanimous with one absence by Councilwoman Melissa Currey.

Councilman Myron Red Eagle then made a motion to form a committee to work with the council’s general counsel on comments to the proposed rule, Colorado-based Patterson, Earnhart, Real Bird & Wilson PLLC.

The vote was unanimous with one absence by Councilwoman Melissa Currey.

The Osage Minerals Council voted unanimously to send a letter to Sec. Deb Haaland addressing concerns about the BIA’s tribal consultation process and the proposed rules for oil and gas regulations on July 19, 2023. Screenshot of OMC’s YouTube page

The regulations governing oil and gas mining on the reservation, known as 25 C.F.R. Part 226, were introduced as a result of a $380 million trust mismanagement settlement to the Nation, which happened more than 12 years ago. The new rules were allegedly published into the Federal Register without warning on Jan. 13.

According to the DOI’s website, tribal consultations are a formal, two-way, government-to-government dialogue between official representatives of Tribes and Federal agencies to discuss Federal proposals before the Federal agency makes decisions on those proposals. 

When tribal leaders met with Newland on June 27, Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear made it known he would prefer the BIA let the Osage make their own rules.

Other issues discussed at the OMC’s regular meeting on July 19 were the need for more lease auctions, and the lack of information to oil and gas producers from the BIA.

The Osage News issued an open records request for a copy of the letter. Minerals Council Chairman Everett Waller did not respond to requests for comment.  

To watch the meeting, visit the OMC’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/live/tsnDJZG74UI?feature=share

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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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