Osage Nation eyes rehearing in reservation status case
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Filed Under:
Law
The
Osage Nation of Oklahoma will ask the
10th Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear a case over the status of its reservation, Chief Jim Gray said.
Gray said the 10th Circuit ignored its own precedent in declaring that the reservation was disestablished by an act of Congress. He said the ruling threatens other tribes' rights.
"By establishing new law and not following precedent, their own and that of the Supreme Court, the 10th Circuit court has signaled that every tribe with a reservation is at risk," Gray said
in a
press release. "The same thing could happen to them, so we are hopeful that the (court) will reconsider its decision and remain faithful to established federal law."
In 1872, Congress created the 1.5 million-acre reservation for the tribe. In 1906, Congress passed the Osage Allotment Act, which distributed most of the land to individual tribal members.
The 10th Circuit acknowledged the 1906 law didn't explicitly disestablish the reservation. But the court said the circumstances surrounding its passage indicate the tribe knew its reservation was going away.
When Oklahoma became a state, Osage County was drawn to the boundaries of the 1872 reservation. The tribe says the county remains Indian Country.
Get the Story:
Osage Nation seeks rehearing
(The Tulsa World 3/9)
10th Circuit Decision:
Osage
Nation v. Oklahoma (March 8, 2010)
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