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Osage Principal Chief Jim Gray: "There will always be the chance that a future Congress may discontinue or cut appropriations if they disagree with the content or message of the press."Courtesy Photo

Osage Congress Cuts Distribution of Newspaper

By Sunnie Redhouse

It took just one meeting for the Osage Nation Congress to end distribution of the tribe's sole media source for more than 40 years.

In an appropriations committee meeting Wednesday night in Pawhuska, Okla., the Congress approved a budget cut for The Osage News, a publication written by, about and for tribal members.

The cut prevents the tribe from mailing the publication to its more than 10,000 readers. Paula Stabler, acting editor of The Osage News and communications officer for the tribe, said, "People across the country, they have no way of receiving the important information. Our population is scattered throughout the United States. It's always been a way to keep an updated list of our people."

Though distribution has been cut, salaries and benefits of publication employees weren't affected.

Stabler said the cut doesn't prevent publication of the paper, just the distribution, leaving the paper to rely on electronic distribution.

But Stabler says that's still a problem.

"This is a benefit that they receive as a member of the nation," she said. "We will continue to work, put a paper out electronically, but not everyone has e-mail."

Beyond distribution lies a much bigger problem, a problem some tribal media have dealt with for many years. "By pulling that funding, they are showing they're controlling the press," Stabler said.

The Osage Nation Congress tried to enact the Independent Press Act of 2008 on April 3, 2008. The act would have allowed for the Osage Nation to have a free and independent press, and to prevent a situation like the tribe cutting the publication's funding.

On July 14, Principal Chief of the Osage Tribe Jim Gray vetoed the act for "constitutional violations" and filed for interpretation.

In his veto message, Gray stated: "... the press can never be free or independent if the funding to support it is subject to legislative appropriations and it is established by Congress. I fully support the idea of a newspaper that reports objectively and I encourage the establishment of an editorial board of the Osage News ... However, as long as the newspaper depends on Congressional appropriations for its very operation, there will always be the chance that a future Congress may discontinue or cut appropriations if they disagree with the content or message of the press."

The Osage News and tribe continue to await the ruling and completion of the litigation.

Stabler said that for years the publication has allowed tribal officials to submit articles, most of which were published unedited. But still, "some members of Congress do not care for the content of the paper," she said.

Gray and Speaker of the Osage Nation Congress Archie Mason were in meetings and were not available for comment.

Aside from the legalities, Stabler said the situation comes down to concerns for the tribe as a people.

"They really enjoy their paper; they're proud of it," Stabler said. "It gives them a sense of feeling included."

Rehouse reported this article from New Mexico.

 

Sunnie Redhouse, Navajo, graduated in May from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. A graduate of the Freedom Forum's American Indian Journalism Institute and a Chips Quinn Scholar, Redhouse had had reporting internships at Sports Illustrated, the Albuquerque Journal and, this past summer, the Salt Lake Tribune under the Sports Journalism Institute internship program.

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