PAWHUSKA, Okla. / Osage Nation Headquarters – The Osage Nation will be holding its first biennial election on June 7, after adopting a new constitution and electing a new slate of officials in 2006. Elections for the executive officers will take place every four years and every two years for one-half of the Osage Congress. The Chief Judge of the Trial Court along with the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court will be up for retention every four years.

Roadside candidate signs have sprouted up throughout the Osage Reservation attesting to the interest in the election. Five candidates, including incumbent Jim Gray, are vying for Principal Chief. Six candidates are vying for Assistant Principal Chief. Twenty candidates, including two incumbents, are running for six at-large seats in the Osage Congress. Four judges are up for retention. Twenty-four candidates, with seven incumbents, are running for eight at-large seats on the Osage Minerals Council, also a part of the constitutional government.

Many candidates for office will have a customary camp on the tribal campus for their supporters, and will provide food and refreshments. Polls will be open from 8 am to 8 pm. A computerized voting system will provide results after the polls close.

The winning candidates will take office on July 7th unless there is a runoff election for either the principal chief or assistant principal chief.  In the event one or both fail to receive at least 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election would take place on July 19th   as required by the Osage Nation Election Law.

The Osage Nation consists of approximately 12,700 citizens, of whom about 9,800 are eligible to vote. An estimated 25 percent of the citizens reside on the Osage Reservation, 25 percent in the remainder of Oklahoma and the balance scattered throughout the U.S., with the largest concentrations in Texas, California, and Kansas.

The Osage Nation began a process of nation building in 2006 with the adoption of a constitution and the establishment of a new government. The Nation has developed major new economic development projects as well as maintaining the variety of programs that provide essential services to Osages, other Indians, and non-Indians on the Reservation.

The Osage Nation is the largest employer on the Reservation with about 400 government employees and about 1100 employees in its gaming enterprises. The present administration commissioned a study in 2007 of the Osage Nation’s economic impact on the state’s economy and it was estimated at $222 million.