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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 188 / Friday, October 1, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs 25 CFR Part 90
212A2100DD/AAKC001030/
A0A501010.999900
RIN 1076AF58

Election of Officers of the Osage Minerals Council Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:

The Bureau of Indian Affairs BIA is finalizing revisions to its regulations governing elections of the Osage Nation. These revisions update and limit the Secretarys role to the task of compiling a list of voters for Osage Minerals Council elections. These changes reaffirm the inherent sovereign rights of the Osage Nation to determine its membership and form of government.

SUMMARY:

This rule is effective on November 1, 2021.

DATES:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Elizabeth Appel, Office of Regulatory Affairs & Collaborative Action, telephone 202 2734680, elizabeth.appel@bia.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Statutory Authority II. History of the Rule III. Overview of Rule IV. Changes From Proposed Rule to Final Rule V. Procedural Requirements A. Regulatory Planning and Review E.O.
12866, 13563, and 13771
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act C. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement and Fairness Act D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
E. Takings E.O. 12630
F. Federalism E.O. 13132
G. Civil Justice Reform E.O. 12988
H. Paperwork Reduction Act I. National Environmental Policy Act NEPA
J. Consultation With Indian Tribes E.O.
13175
K. Energy Effects E.O. 13211

I. Statutory Authority BIA is finalizing this rule under the authority of the Act of June 28, 1906, Public Law 59321, 34 Stat. 539, as amended by the Act of December 3, 2004, Public Law 108431, 118 Stat.
2609.
II. History of the Rule The Department of the Interior provided testimony in support of the legislation proposed by the Osage
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Nation when the Nation sought to exercise its inherent sovereign rights.
Thereafter, the United States Congress reaffirmed in 2004 the Nations rights to determine its membership and form of government. The following discussion sets forth a brief historical account of the relationship between the Osage Nation and the Federal government.
In 1906, the Congress enacted the Osage Allotment Act, which is unique among Federal Indian laws in that it restricted the Osage Nation from defining its own membership rules, and prescribes a particular form of government, which the Nation could not change without seeking amendment or clarification of Federal law. In 2002, the 31st Osage Tribal Council, formed pursuant to the Osage Allotment Act, actively began seeking a legislative remedy to address the restrictions contained in the Osage Allotment Act.
On July 25, 2003, Congressman Frank Lucas ROK introduced H.R. 2912, a bill reaffirming the rights of the Osage Nation to form its own membership rules and tribal government, provided that no rights to any shares in the mineral estate of the Nations reservation are diminished. The bill also directs the Secretary of the Interior to assist the Nation in holding appropriate elections and referenda at the request of the Nation.
H.R. 2912 was referred to the Committee on Resources. On March 15, 2004, that Committee held a hearing on the bill in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Osage Nation officials, a BIA representative, and Osage people testified in favor of the bill. On May 5, 2004, the bill was favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
See H. Rpt. 108502. On June 1, 2004, the House of Representatives passed the bill and then sent it to the Senate, and it was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
On July 14, 2004, the Committee on Indian Affairs favorably reported H.R.
2912 to the Senate with a do pass recommendation. President Bush signed H.R. 2912 into law on December 3, 2004, and became Public Law 108431, 118 Stat. 2609.
The Commission began conducting town hall meetings in April 2005.
Meetings were conducted in all Osage communities and other geographic areas with large concentrations of Osages.
This was followed by a written survey mailed to all Osages with a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood CDIB card.
Input from the meetings and data obtained from the survey results were compiled to formulate key questions put forward to the Osage people for a vote in a referendum in November 2005.

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The results from the referendum were used to draft an Osage Constitution, which was ratified on March 11, 2006, in a second referendum vote. The Osage Nation adopted a new constitutional form of government reorganized from a Tribal Council system into a tripartite system, which now includes an executive, legislative and judicial branch with a separation of powers between the three branches.
This was followed on June 5, 2006, by the election of a Principal Chief and Assistant Principal Chief, Osage Nation Congress, and Osage Minerals Council.
At the request of the Nation, the BIA
provided technical assistance in conducting the election in accordance with Public Law 108431, 118 Stat.
2609. With the elections completed, all elected officials were sworn into their respective offices on July 3, 2006. Upon the swearing in of these elected officials, governmental authority passed from the Osage Tribal Council to the Osage Nation Constitutional Government.
Thereafter, the Osage Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma became the Osage Nation.
In 2008, the BIA formally acknowledged the name change of the Tribe from the Osage Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma to the Osage Nation and published the change in the Federal Register in the list of Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible to Receive Services from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs. See, 73 FR 18553, April 4, 2008. Further communication between the Nation and the BIA
eventually resulted in an agreement to begin an informal negotiated rulemaking process. In February 2010, representatives from the Osage Nation, the BIA Eastern Oklahoma Region, Osage Agency, the BIA Eastern Oklahoma Region, Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office, the Tulsa Field Solicitors Office, and the BIA Central Office convened to form a joint regulation negotiation team. The team completed new and revised regulations to cover 25 CFR parts 90, 91, 117, and 158. The June 2010 Election resulted in a change of administration of the Osage Nation, thereby, starting the process over again with a new vision from Osage Nation. The Osage Nation formed a new team in 2019 and they have reviewed and revised regulations to cover 25 CFR
part 90. The team will continue working on parts 91, 117, and 158.
III. Overview of Rule This rule governs BIAs role in providing information to the Osage Minerals Council Election Board for purposes of notice. The existing 25 CFR
part 90 is the authority for the release of otherwise potentially confidential
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