The administration’s refusal to disclose records to the press is among the counts that will be considered during Red Eagle’s removal trial, scheduled to start in January.

 

PAWHUSKA, Okla. – A settlement has been reached in a civil suit over an open records request by a tribal newspaper.

Earlier this year, the Osage News filed the lawsuit against Chief John Red Eagle after his office did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for the terms of employment of a non-Osage consultant, Rod Hartness.

As per the tribe’s Open Records Act, Red Eagle’s office had 10 business days from the receipt of the Osage News’ records request to provide the contract, request additional time or explain in writing why the request could not be fulfilled. Since Red Eagle’s office did not respond within 35 business days, the Open Records Act allowed for the request in tribal court. The administration has since released the contract information to the Osage News through the lawsuit’s associated filings, prompting the newspaper to simply seek attorney’s fees and court costs, which will be covered under the terms of the settlement.

“We were relieved to see the nearly four-month case come to an end,” Osage News editor Shannon Shaw Duty said. “It was not an easy decision to sue the Principal Chief of the Osage Nation. There was much debate back and forth among our editorial board and with a heavy heart, we proceeded. We gave his office and staff plenty of chances to hand over the public record, to which we were entitled under the Osage Nation's Open Records Act, both as journalists and as citizens."

"The issue of whether or not he broke Osage law doesn't end with the settlement of our case. The Third Osage Nation Congress will be making the final judgment on whether or not Chief Red Eagle should be removed from office, our case being one of the six allegations."

The administration’s refusal to disclose records to the press is among the counts that will be considered during Red Eagle’s removal trial, scheduled to start in January. Last month, Red Eagle’s administration announced it terminated the contract of Paul Allen, who was paid more than $70,000 in tribal and federal funds over the course of two years to develop and maintain Red Eagle’s personal website but did little actual work. Allen’s contract was also among the six counts that will be considered during the removal trial.