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From: Sleepless in Osage County
Date: 3/10/2006
Time: 7:50:29 PM
Remote Name: 152.163.100.134
Dear Chief Gray and the Members of the Osage Tribal Council: I perused the most recent copy of the Osage Nation News, where the lion's share of the discussion was devoted to the federal arbitration case concerning retail to retail cigarette sales. I, for one, don't care about the outcome of that lawsuit. I do, however, care that the same two lawyers hired by the Osage Government Reform Commission to advise them regarding the drafting of the governing document of our Nation are spending their time instead suing the state of Oklahoma to protect a handful of cigarette retailers. I feel that your greatest mandate was to reconstitute the government of the Osage Nation. In this regard, there has been a great failure. You cannot possibly, in good conscience, favor this Constitution. You cannot possibly, in good conscience, believe that the business of the Tribe can be carried on by a governing body that meets only twice per year, for 24 consecutive days each session. I don't believe that you do, in good conscience, support this document or believe that is good or valid. Therefore, why are you not responding to phone calls, emails, and a formal written grievance signed by more than sixty members of your Tribe? Why are you not directly addressing concerns regarding voter dilution, voter disenfranchisement, and poor draftsmanship? Why are you throwing good money after bad . . . not just your money, but OUR money? Why are you falling on the sword for the sake of this flawed document and the "pride of authorship" of a scant few individuals? Why do you believe that these few individuals are right, and several hundred more are "misled and uninformed?" There is no reason why a vote over a governing document should be so close or contentious. I have worked as an administrator of 3 different Tribes, and this situation is not typical, even in the Tribal context. This proposed Constitution is far from typical. We need your leadership; we need your activism. No matter the result of the vote on Saturday, it is not too late.