The 9th Osage Nation Congress passed bills and resolutions including board law amendments, department budget amendments and a $125,000 appropriation to purchase headstones for unmarked Osage graves.
The Congress voted to pass 11 legislative bills and resolutions with unanimous “yes” votes on 10 of those items that day including the following items:
- ONCA 25-42 (sponsored by Congresswoman Jodie Revard) is “An Act to amend the Osage Nation Boards Act (in Osage law) to make the terms of Board members consistent with the constitutional amendment adopted in 2024 regarding confirmations; to amend (the law) to remove the compensation resolution being set every odd year and to remove the requirement that boards of the same designation receive the same compensation.”
Before the vote, Revard said ONCA 25-42 is a combination of two bills including hers and one sponsored by Congressman Billy Keene (now a bill co-sponsor) regarding the Nation’s boards and commissions law. The bill received consideration and amendments in the Congressional Government Operations Committee and Revard added “the goal was to ensure that the people who voted for our Constitutional amendment, when that passed, we wanted to go into our code and actually amend our language … which would allow us to confirm appointees during a special session.”
“There was also language removed that also took another layer of restriction off that handcuffed us to only setting compensation every odd year,” Revard said. “This allows us to actually appropriate the money on an annual basis, which I feel is more fiscally responsible.”
- ONCA 25-54 (sponsored by Congresswoman Alice Goodfox) is “An Act to authorize and appropriate $125,000 to Financial Assistance to purchase headstones for unmarked graves. According to the bill, the amount comes from the general fund and will be used for purchasing headstones for unmarked Osage individuals’ graves with the maximum cost amount at $2,200 per headstone request and associated administration costs. And the effective date of the law is Aug. 31 for service preparation.
Goodfox said “this is a need our people have, and we will be real honest, we don’t know how big the need is, we just know the need is there … If we have to provide more money, we will if we have it. The alternate effective date gives time for whatever program is going to administer this, they will be able to write policy and procedure, get it advertised, etc.”
- ONCA 25-57 (Revard) is “An Act to amend ONCA 24-73 to provide appropriation modifications and supplemental appropriations to the Executive Branch in the amount of $870,758.” Revard said the bill covers funding requests from respective departments including the Capital Asset Fund, Employee cost of living adjustments (COLA), Daposka Ahnkodapi (the Nation’s school), Department of Natural Resources, Housing Department, ON Museum, Tax Commission Board, Tribal Development, Financial Assistance, and the Wahzhazhe Early Learning Academy campuses.”
On the bill’s vote, ONCA 25-57 passed with 11 “yes” votes and one “no” from Congresswoman Maria Whitehorn.
- ONCA 25-60 (sponsored by Second Speaker Otto Hamilton) is “An Act to amend ONCA 22-81 to increase the appropriation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the expansion of the Chapel in the Grayhorse Indian Village in the amount of $49,531.”
- ONCA 25-61 (Hamilton) is “An Act to authorize and appropriate the amount of $257,389 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the Executive Branch for water and sewer infrastructure repairs, improvements, or upgrades for the Pawhuska Village and community.”
- ONCA 25-62 (Hamilton) is “An Act to amend ONCA 21-58 to decrease the appropriation to the Executive Branch of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for an adult male and female Primary Residential Treatment (PRT) facility, an adolescent male and female PRT, a transitional living facility, and a counseling center with administrative and counseling offices in the amount of $358,150.”
On the three bills dealing with ARPA funding, Hamilton said “I just want to point out (ONCA 25-60) and the next two are dealing with non-tribal funds, ARPA funds, these are three recommendations that came down from the Treasury (department).”
- ONCA 25-67 (sponsored by Congressman Eli Potts) is “An Act to require the Osage Nation to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant women in employment; to prohibit retaliation for requesting or utilizing a reasonable accommodation.”
- ONCA 25-75 (Potts) is “An Act to require the plan for expenditures of federal Roads (department) funds to be approved by the Osage Nation Congress.” The bill pertains to the Roads Department and its transportation program funding used for construction projects.
Keene spoke on the bill noting Congress passed a prior bill that the Legislative Branch would appropriate all funding, whether tribal or non-tribal, and that is prompting his vote to support the bill. Revard also supports the bill, noting capital and construction projects are the most expensive items and it’s “fiscally responsible for us to look at everything.”
Potts said “this is the road we’re on, I think with it comes responsibility, we’re asking for the responsibility to approve this plan, it shall be incumbent upon us to where if we are asked to approve a $10,000 bench, if we approve it, we expect it to be there for our people. But if we say ‘no,’ we shouldn’t see a bench show up and that’s what initially caused, in my mind, the need for some of these (laws).”
- ONCA 25-76 (Revard) is “An Act to require the self-governance Multi-Year Funding Agreement (MYFA) to be approved by the Osage Nation Congress.” According to the bill, the Nation negotiates with the US Department of Interior to determine which services will be administered by the Nation through the Self-Governance (MYFA) “which is a government decision best coordinated between the Executive and Legislative branches.”
Revard said the MYFA agreement itself is missing during the fall budgeting session to review budgets receiving self-governance funding. “I’m asking that Congress support this effort so that we can look at this in a comprehensive manner and if this passes, then next year, I intend to file a bill that includes all of our self-governance programs in one bill so we can look at it as a bill with one type of funding and that we better understand what it is we are appropriating to and the dollars we have available to us,” she said before the vote.
- ONCR 25-10 (Revard) is “A Resolution to authorize and adopt the Amended Articles of Incorporation for the nonprofit corporation, Manzeska Ota Tsi (Place to Borrow Money), formed under the Osage Nation Nonprofit Corporation Code.”
- ONCR 25-11 (Revard) is “A Resolution to approve the amended bylaws of the Manzeska Ota Tsi (Place to Borrow Money) public purpose corporation in accordance with the Articles of Incorporation.
All passed legislation items were sent to Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear’s office for consideration of signature.
For more ON Congressional information on sessions, committees and to view filed legislative bills and resolutions, visit the Legislative Branch website at: https://www.osagenation-nsn.gov/who-we-are/legislative-branch
