In its second week of the 2024 Hun-Kah Session, the Eighth Osage Nation Congress approved six legislative items including a $2 million appropriation to go toward costs for a new building for the Wahzhazhe Cultural Center and Language Department entities.
Six items unanimously approved by Congress are the first of several items to go through the Nation’s legislative process. Those items approved on April 4 are:
- ONCA 23-93 (sponsored by Congressman Eli Potts) is “An Act to establish equal pay requirements in Osage law.” According to the bill, the law requires “male and female employees of the Osage Nation shall be paid equally when holding the same employment positions and having the same years of experience on the job.” The new law applies to ON government employees, as well as unincorporated ON businesses and all wholly owned limited liability companies (LLCs) of the Nation.
- ONCA 24-34 (sponsored by Congressman Scott BigHorse) is “An Act to provide an appropriation in the amount of $2 million for the demolition, design, engineering, and construction of a new multi-function office building.” According to the bill, Congress is authorizing and appropriating $2 million “out of the Capital Asset Fund” for costs toward a new multi-purpose building to house the Cultural Center and Language Department entities.
Both the Nation’s culture and language-focused department employees need new office spaces after the long-standing building that housed the entities (known as the Heritage Center) sustained flood and mold damage during extreme winter weather that caused water pipes to burst. After Congressional Government Operations Committee discussions on the issue, government officials’ efforts started on locating unspent money to go toward new building costs.
- ONCA 24-38 (sponsored by Congresswoman Jodie Revard) is “An Act to amend the Osage Nation Bar Association Fund (in Osage law) to change it to the Osage Nation Bar Fund for the benefit of the Judicial Branch; to amend the stated purpose.” The law refers to the ON Bar Fund, which has the purpose to “collect annual bar dues of the attorneys practicing in the Osage Nation Courts, and to hold them for appropriation for the benefit of the Judicial Branch.”
The new law notes “the assets of the (ON) Bar Fund shall consist of revenue received through annual attorney bar dues collected by the Judicial Branch and appropriated by the (ON) Congress for the benefit of the Judicial Branch.”
- ONCA 24-39 (Revard) is “An Act to establish a revolving fund for the Judicial Branch to process revenues, expenditures and bonds by operation of the Courts.” According to the bill, the law’s purpose is to “establish a fund for the (ON) Judicial Branch to collect and expend court fines, donations, fees, forfeited restitution and forfeited bonds, and to hold and return bond funds of criminal defendants and civil litigants.”
Known as the Court Operation Fund in this law, ONCA 24-39 states “expenditures out of the Court Operations Fund shall be directed by the (ON) Judicial Branch.”
- ONCA 24-45 (Revard) is “An Act to amend ONCA 23-106 to provide a supplemental appropriation to Tribal Works in the amount of $200,000.”
- ONCR 24-13 (BigHorse) is “A Resolution to authorize a limited waiver of sovereign immunity from suit and consent to jurisdiction to the Oklahoma Historical Society, an agency of the State of Oklahoma, for the purchase of real estate known as the ‘Chief Lookout Gravesite.’”
Before the vote, BigHorse addressed his colleagues noting the gravesite location in Pawhuska became a party spot for individuals who would visit the location and leave litter including empty alcohol containers nearby and he and family members would be ones who would clean the area the day after. “We reported it to the Oklahoma Historical Society and they said they would take better care of it, but they never did, so I’m tickled to death we’re able to get our hands on this and hopefully we can keep it to the pristine site that it needs to be,” BigHorse said.”
Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear signed all six items to take effect after his office’s review.
Downloadable copies of filed legislative bills and resolutions, as well as Congressional meeting notices and agendas are posted online to the Legislative Branch website at: https://www.osagenation-nsn.gov/who-we-are/legislative-branch
