[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 74 (Tuesday, June 1, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H3562-H3563]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REAFFIRMATION OF CERTAIN RIGHTS OF THE OSAGE TRIBE
Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2912) to reaffirm the inherent sovereign rights of the Osage
Tribe to determine its membership and form of government.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 2912
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. REAFFIRMATION OF CERTAIN RIGHTS OF THE OSAGE
TRIBE.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
(1) The Osage Tribe is a federally recognized tribe based
in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
(2) The Osage Allotment Act of June 28, 1906 (34 Stat.
539), states that the ``legal membership'' of the Osage Tribe
includes the persons on the January 1, 1906 roll and their
children, and that each ``member'' on that roll is entitled
to a headright share in the distribution of funds from the
Osage mineral estate and an allotment of the surface lands of
the Osage Reservation.
(3) Today only Osage Indians who have a headright share in
the mineral estate are ``members'' of the Osage Tribe.
(4) Adult Osage Indians without a headright interest cannot
vote in Osage government elections and are not eligible to
seek elective office in the Osage Tribe as a matter of
Federal law.
(5) A principal goal of Federal Indian policy is to promote
tribal self-sufficiency and strong tribal government.
(b) Reaffirmation of Certain Rights of the Osage Tribe.--
(1) Membership.--Congress hereby clarifies that the term
``legal membership'' in section 1 of the Act entitled, ``An
Act For the division of lands and funds of the Osage Indians
in Oklahoma Territory, and for other purposes'', approved
June 28, 1906 (34 Stat. 539), means the persons eligible for
allotments of Osage Reservation lands and a pro rata share of
the Osage mineral estate as provided in that Act, not
membership in the Osage Tribe for all purposes. Congress
hereby reaffirms the inherent sovereign right of the Osage
Tribe to determine its own membership, provided that the
rights of any person to Osage mineral estate shares are not
diminished thereby.
(2) Government.--Notwithstanding section 9 of the Act
entitled, ``An Act For the division of lands and funds of the
Osage Indians in Oklahoma Territory, and for other
purposes'', approved June 28, 1906 (34 Stat. 539), Congress
hereby reaffirms the inherent sovereign right of the Osage
Tribe to determine its own form of government.
(3) Elections and referenda.--At the request of the Osage
Tribe, the Secretary of the Interior shall assist the Osage
Tribe with conducting elections and referenda to implement
this section.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons).
General Leave
Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 2912, the bill now
under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Nevada?
There was no objection.
Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2912 is sponsored by the gentleman from Oklahoma
(Mr. Lucas). This legislation would put the Osage Tribe on the same
footing as every other sovereign, federally recognized tribe in the
United States in terms of defining its own membership criteria and its
form of government.
The Committee on Resources ordered H.R. 2912 reported by unanimous
consent, and the report was filed on May 19, 2004.
The Osage Tribe is the only federally recognized tribe for which a
specific act of Congress, which was passed nearly 100 years ago,
mandates terms of membership in the tribe, as well as its form of
government.
Under the Osage Allotment Act of 1906, as interpreted by subsequent
Federal court decisions, the only legal members of the Osage Tribe are
the lineal descendents of those Osage persons living before July 1,
1907, who also possess what is called a ``headright share.'' A
headright share, Mr. Speaker, is a share in the royalties from mineral
development in the Osage reservation.
This has had the unfortunate result of excluding people who have a
high degree of Osage blood from membership in the tribe. Even though
the Osage tribal leaders want to allow such disenfranchised people to
become members, the 1906 act precludes them from altering their tribe's
membership criteria.
The reasons for how the 1906 act came about are complicated, and
though Congress may have had its reasons for mandating membership rules
for the Osage people, such reasons are no longer relevant today.
Preventing the tribe from determining its membership and form of
government is the exact opposite of promoting self-determination.
The Committee on Resources held a hearing within the Osage
reservation on March 15, 2004. We received testimony from several
witnesses with a high degree of Osage blood who are part of the Osage
community in Oklahoma and whom many of the tribal members want to
welcome into the tribe.
But because of the 1906 act, they are not eligible to be members of
the tribe because they do not own a headright share in the Osage
mineral estate. They are denied the basic benefit, as well as
responsibilities, of tribal membership. Some are not eligible for
certain services and benefits, such as Native American scholarships.
They are prohibited by law from participating in certain rituals and
ceremonial events, even though they may or might, in theory, have a
higher degree of Osage blood than official members of the tribe.
It is past time to consider letting the Osage Tribe decide how to
govern itself as it sees fit, providing that no one loses any property
or other vested legal rights in the process. H.R. 2912 includes
language to ensure that no one's interest in headright shares is
touched. Headrights are private property, and there is no intent to
affect them under this bill.
This bill received support from all the witnesses testifying at the
hearing, including the representatives of the Osage Shareholders
Association, which is comprised of individuals who have a vested
interest in the mineral estate of the Osage reservation.
Again, Congress is overdue in addressing this unusual problem, and I
urge passage of H.R. 2912.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I might
consume.
(Mr. RODRIGUEZ asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, the honorable gentleman from Nevada (Mr.
Gibbons) has done a beautiful job of adequately explaining the
legislation.
[[Page H3563]]
I would simply like to add, for almost a century now the Osage Tribe
of Oklahoma has lived with a cloud over their ability to determine
tribal membership roles. This is a basic right afforded all Indian
tribes, and I am pleased we are here to clarify the matter for the
tribe.
I would also like to commend the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Carson)
for his work on behalf of the legislation during its consideration by
the Committee on Resources.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas), who is the author of this bill.
Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to bring my
strong support to H.R. 2912 to reaffirm the inherent sovereign rights
of the Osage Tribe to determine their membership and form of
government. Because of a law created in 1906 by this Congress, the
Osage Tribe has not been afforded the same rights as every other
federally recognized tribe. According to that law, membership in the
tribe would be extended only to those who owned a share of the Osage
mineral estate and their descendents. Today, there are literally
thousands of Osage Indians denied the benefits of membership simply
because they do not hold a share of that estate.
H.R. 2912, which I introduced in July of 2003, was designed to
clarify the 98-year-old law. It is intended to put the Osage Tribe on
equal footing with all other federally recognized tribes by allowing
them to determine their own membership criteria and system of
government, while protecting the headrights of the shareholders.
I believe most importantly it will give many Osages, many young
Osages, the opportunity to take part in Indian programs that have been
previously denied to them.
At a field hearing in March of this year, members of the Committee on
Resources and I heard testimony from members of the Osage Tribe, as
well as others involved with Indian affairs. It was clear from the warm
reception that the bill received that the Osage people are prepared for
the right to decide for themselves who is and who is not a tribal
member.
Mr. Speaker, I am quite confident in 1906 that this body was acting
in the spirit of benevolent support to protect the Osages from what
was, at that time, I should say, fantastic mineral wealth within their
tribal reservation. Times have changed. The oil fields are not quite
what they once were. It is important, I believe, now that we allow the
Osages the same rights as every other federally recognized tribe; that
we allow the Osages to go forward with their tribe.
Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R.
2912, bringing the Osage Tribe one step closer to finally receiving
that right.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 2912.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________