The Osage Nation Congressional Affairs Committee is hiring a special investigator to look into an alleged fraudulent membership connected to current Attorney General Clint Patterson.
The allegation came to the forefront after the Congressional Membership Committee held two meetings this month that were carefully shrouded in executive sessions. Membership Department Director Chris Standing Bear came close to describing the confidential report during a Jan. 17 membership meeting but Congressional legal counsel stepped in.
Standing Bear said, “… my office received a couple of emails from Amanda Proctor, her law firm, containing information that supposedly …”
And that’s when Congressional legal counsel, Loyed Trey Gill, interrupted him.
“There is no way he [Standing Bear] can give any explanation with any detail and not be in violation of this confidentiality that we are under,” he said. “I mean, I understand that Mr. Standing Bear is the director of the membership department, and I think that’s about as far as he can go, in stating anything. Because everything else is going to give detail into this specific matter which should be held in Executive Session.”

The Osage News reached out to Proctor, an attorney who specializes in family and Indian law and practices primarily in Osage County. She said that while researching AG Patterson for a case she is involved in, she ran across some questionable information.
“So, any good lawyer knows their adversary, and so I have researched the backgrounds and the litigation experience of the Attorney General and his associates. And, citing the public records, it appeared that one of the putative children of the Attorney General was adjudicated to be the biological offspring of another man by a district court judge in Ottawa County,” she said. “And again, citing the public record, that child is an enrolled member of the Osage Nation. And there may be various explanations as to how this child wound up on the tribal roll. But one plausible explanation is that she was enrolled using fraudulent documents, or by virtue of fraudulent statements.”
A “putative” child is a child whose father is not legally established, but someone who claims to be the child’s father.
“Back in 2015,” she continued, “the Osage Nation Attorney General’s office issued a press release and a policy statement that anyone who committed enrollment fraud or federal program fraud would be prosecuted to the greatest extent of the law. And since then, you know, I have defended a number of Osage citizens who have been charged for those types of alleged crimes, and one example is the prosecution of Osage tribal members who received the COVID relief money on behalf of Osage children whom they did not have legal custody of.
“And legal custody has nothing to do with time. It has to do with decision-making, and there was no application. There was no definition of custody. There was no Affirmative, you know, misrepresentation that could have been made, but yet, these tribal members were charged with one count of fraud for each child.”
She said that in her opinion the AG’s office operates with a “mafia mentality” and that they prosecute Osage people for political reasons, and also decline to prosecute Osage people for political reasons.
“Anyone can see these public records on the Oklahoma court information system,” she said. “I felt it was my duty to bring to light that the person leading the charge on prosecution sounding and federal program fraud may, in fact, be a perpetrator of federal program fraud.”
The Osage News emailed AG Patterson for comment on Proctor’s allegations, to which he replied he had no comment for the story. However, he also wrote, “I don’t want to lend any merit to this ridiculousness. Plus, Amanda is currently under prosecution by this office, so it would not be prudent of me to comment.”
The Osage News issued an open records request to the ON Trial Court for the court case Patterson referenced but did not receive a copy by the time this article was published.

Membership removal
The Osage News asked Membership Director Standing Bear about the process for investigating and removing an individual should they find fraud. He said they closely follow the Osage Nation Membership Law.
According to the Nation’s membership law, only “lineal descendants” or someone who is a blood relative in the direct line of descent of those Osages listed on the 1906 roll are eligible for membership.
A person can either relinquish their membership or be removed. In the case of relinquishment, the person voluntarily gives up their right to an Osage membership. But if they are removed, the Attorney General files a “membership action” in the ON Trial Court. Next, the accused is offered the chance to appeal this action. During this time, the Membership Department can recommend the suspension of any Osage benefits, i.e. the Health Benefit Card, scholarship funds, crisis assistance, etc.
The Osage News filed an open records request with the ON Trial Court for any membership actions filed within the past 90 days. The News did not receive a response by the time this article was published.
Investigation
According to the Congressional Rules, the three-person Membership Committee is tasked with ensuring the membership roll is properly maintained, and protected, that records are up to date and they are to meet with the membership director regularly. The committee can also recommend rules and regulations to Congress as necessary to regulate membership and maintain a correct roll of all Osages. Currently, the committee chair is Congressman John Maker, and the two additional members are Congressmen Joe Tillman and Eli Potts.
At the committee’s Jan. 29 meeting, Congressman Potts made several motions. They all referenced the confidential report the membership director gave and he asked that the information be sent to Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear and the AG’s office.
Since the report isn’t public, the News asked Potts if he could share a bit more as to what his motions would accomplish.
“The motions are intended to demonstrate that the Membership Committee takes seriously accusations presented by our constituents,” Potts said. “I know the committee gathered initial documentation and I felt that was enough to act on at this point, and the committee agreed.
“I personally wanted to forward the communications to the Principal Chief and the AG because I believe there are some inherent conflicts of interest that are being ignored. Additionally, just as with any suspicious, potentially fraudulent, or criminal behavior, if you see it, you have a duty to report it – I think we did that.”
The five-person Congressional Affairs Committee, whose chair is Second Speaker Otto Hamilton, is also made up of Congresswomen Whitney Red Corn, Maria Whitehorn and Congressmen Potts and Maker.
That committee unanimously voted on Jan. 30 to hire a special investigator to investigate the membership matter.
“I want to assure the Osage People that the Membership Committee is treating this issue with confidentiality because we want to respect the rights of individuals who are on our Membership Roll,” Congressman Potts said. “To those who are concerned – please don’t be. To those who are perplexed – stay tuned. The Committee will fully investigate this, and we will do our best to bring our colleagues in Congress along with us.”
The next Membership Committee meeting is Feb. 6 at 1 p.m.