The Ninth Osage Nation Congress approved a resolution supporting the Nation’s application to join the Coalition of Large Tribes during its March special session for more advocacy efforts for the Nation.
On March 5, the Congress unanimously voted to support ONCR 25-05 (sponsored by Congresswoman Jodie Revard), which is a “resolution to support the Osage Nation’s membership in the Coalition of Large Tribes (COLT).”
The resolution received initial consideration at a Congressional Government Operations Committee meeting before the vote. Revard said, “this resolution has come before Congress that would allow the Nation to join this (coalition) … Kihekah (Geoffrey Standing Bear) feels that it would be necessary at this time, with the environment that we’re in, and how this could benefit us, and he would be responsible for voting, and as an alternate, it would be our Speaker of Congress (Pam Shaw).”
Revard noted the annual COLT membership cost is $5,000 and the COLT website states: “Comprised of members from large Indian tribes throughout Indian Country, the coalition serves as an advocacy group for issues facing American Indian tribes with land bases exceeding 100,000 acres.”
COLT member tribes include the Navajo Nation, Crow Nation, Blackfeet Tribe, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Spirit Lake Tribe, Spokane Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, Omaha Tribe, Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and others.
According to ONCR 25-05, the Nation seeks to use COLT services as follows: “Advocacy for legislative, regulatory and policy reforms to: Improve issues unique to tribes that govern large land bases; Protection, development and restoration of Indian land and assets to ensure the most beneficial use of the lands for the tribes and their individual Indian land owners; and to have Indian trust lands treated as Indian lands and not public lands under the federal environmental and other federal laws of a general nature applied to Indian tribal and allotted trust lands.”
On behalf of the Executive Branch, James Aldridge, deputy chief of staff, told the committee the Nation is also including its Minerals Estate acreage in addition to land base as part of justification to the ON Congress for joining COLT.
“They’re comprised of 15 different tribes now, the Navajo, I think is their biggest member nation,” Aldridge said. “So most of it is geared toward land bases and making sure that those tribal nations are able to exercise their land bases as they see fit and exert their sovereignty in doing so.”
ONCR 25-05 passed with an 11-0 vote with one absence from Congressman Billy Keene on March 5 during the special session.
