Minerals Council continues discussion on headright legislation

Written By: Allison Herrera

(OSAGE NATION) On Nov. 23, 2021, the Osage Mineral Council voted to seek federal legislation to permit non-Osages who own a headright interest in the Osage Mineral Estate to gift or sell those headright interests back to the OMC, the Osage Nation, or Osage individuals.

Read this story on Osage News here.

“When the United States broke promises to our Osage people and allowed non-Osages to receive the proceeds from minerals from our reservation, it caused decades of suffering. Today, we begin the process to work for justice and equity for our Osage people,” Osage Minerals Council Chairman Everett Waller said in a statement at the time.

The Minerals Council has been working with Congressman Frank Lucas, who represents Oklahoma’s 3rd district to enact legislation to allow for non-Osages to more easily return their headright interest. According to the OMC meeting agenda for Feb. 2, “Headright Discussion” is listed under Executive Session.

The council had a brief discussion about the legislation at their Sept. 13, 2023, meeting with their then-legal counsel Wilson Pipestem of Pipestem Law. There wasn’t much movement and some members of the OMC wanted more discussion amongst themselves before getting feedback from headright holders about it. 

From 1906 until 1978, the United States Secretary of the Interior permitted non-Indians to receive Osage headrights or money derived from the minerals estate. In 1978 Congress passed a law prohibiting Osage headrights to be transferred through inheritance to non-Osages.

Today, approximately 26 percent of non-Osages own headrights. The list includes churches, private trusts, universities and individuals. 

In 1984, Congress passed another law making it difficult for non-Osages to sell or transfer their headrights. The 1984 Act said that any sale or transfer of a headright must abide by a “tiered purchaser preference.” This means that it requires the non-Osage headright holder to first try to sell the headright to the linear descendants of the original owner. If that’s not possible, then the purchase by “any other Osage” is allowed. If these two requirements cannot be fulfilled, the headrights can then be returned to the Osage Nation.

The new legislation is thought to make the process easier. But, members of the Minerals Council will be working with their current legal representation, Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP in Washington, D.C., to iron out some of the details.

According to a 2021 OMC press release: “The OMC, being of one mind, that all barriers to non-Osages interested in selling, gifting or transferring their headright interest in the Osage Mineral Estate back to an Osage, the OMC or Osage Nation should be removed.”

The release of “Killers of the Flower Moon” and its award nominations have added pressure to getting some legislation approved and organized as it has brought attention to some of the corruption surrounding headright transfers to non-Osages.