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From: Osage Voter No. 448
Date: 3/20/2006
Time: 11:12:00 PM
Remote Name: 64.12.116.134
Actually, it could happen quite easily. I'm going to be cryptic intentionally in my answer because there's no use giving our leaders more cards then they already have in play. But here's the nitty gritty: the 1906 Act has been amended 16 times through uncodified statutes, i.e. statutes that were never published in the United States Code and aren't accessible to your average layman. The 1906 Act was amended in 1978 and again in 1986 to provide that the full beneficial interests in Osage headrights could only be owned by "Osage Indians." The 1986 Amendment also changed any reference to persons "with Osage blood," as had been the norm previously, to "Osage Indians." And Congress specifically stated that "Osage Indians" as such had to show something other than "any mere quantum of Osage blood." The trickiest part is, these laws applied only to headrights "already in Osage hands." So, our administration can effect a coup only on those headrights that are held by Osages, leaving the headrights owned by nonOsages (ranchers, guardians, churches, etc.) entirely untouched. Anyone who thinks the 1906 Act and its amendments are ironclad is grossly miscalculating the truth. Our leadership knows it not, and we should know too. For the Oklahoma Supreme Court's opinion on this matter, please see http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?citeID=4248