[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.

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