by an Osage citizen
The Osage Nation Congress authorized an investigation into Principal Chief Joe Tillman on September 2, 2026. Written September 10, 2026.
What has happened?
On September 2, 2026, the Osage Nation Congress authorized hiring special counsel, an attorney retained to investigate whether Principal Chief Joe Tillman’s actions warrant removal from office. Congress set a $50,000 budget for the investigation.
As of September 9, 2026, when this record was last checked, the case remained in fact-finding. No removal had been decided or attempted.
The authorization starts an investigation. It does not establish that the allegations are true. Second Speaker Whitney Red Corn made that distinction clear in Osage News’s reporting: authorizing the investigation is not itself an attempt to remove the Chief.
The question now is what the investigation finds. Any decision to proceed to a removal trial would require a separate step and a separate vote.
What is being investigated?
The authorization lists three allegations. It describes each as malfeasance, meaning wrongdoing in office. These are allegations to be investigated, not findings that wrongdoing occurred.
- The emergency declaration. The authorization alleges that Executive Order 26-01 declared a state of emergency that did not exist and that the Chief had no legal basis to issue the order. An executive order is a directive issued by the Chief. - The closures. It alleges that the Chief used a false financial state of emergency to close Daposka Ahnkodapi, the Visitor Center and Harvest Land. - Pressure over criminal charges involving peyote. It alleges that staff appointed by the executive branch pressured the Office of the Attorney General to file or dismiss criminal charges against former Treasurer Clark Batson over his possession of peyote. Peyote is a substance legal for Native Americans under federal and Osage law. The Attorney General’s office is an independent office; the allegation concerns pressure on that office’s decisions about criminal charges.
The investigation is to examine whether the Chief’s actions warrant removal. The authorization itself does not resolve any of these allegations.
What has the Chief said?
Chief Tillman issued a public statement shortly before 4 p.m. on September 4, 2026. He rejected the allegations and said he would cooperate with the review.
"On Sept. 2, 2026, the Osage Nation Congress authorized the retention of special counsel to investigate allegations related to decisions and actions taken by my administration. While the allegations are without merit, I recognize their seriousness, respect Congress's constitutional authority, and will cooperate fully with a fair, thorough, and impartial review of the facts."
Principal Chief Joe Tillman, statement, Sept. 4, 2026
Who authorized it?
The Osage Nation Congress authorized retaining special counsel under Rule 12.1 of the Amended Rules of the Osage Nation Congress. Eleven of the twelve members signed. Congressman John Maker left his signature line blank; he later told Osage News the authorization had arrived by email after hours and he had not checked it in time, and that he would have signed to let the Chief have his day in court.
What happens next?
1. Investigation and report. Special counsel investigates and reports to Congress. 2. A decision about a trial. A member of Congress must formally move to proceed to a removal trial. That motion needs eight of twelve votes to pass. 3. A decision at a removal trial. Conviction and removal require ten of twelve votes, five-sixths of Congress.
Neither vote has happened. As of the September 9 check, the case was still at the first step: fact-finding.
Where can I check this?
The full record carries the independently sourced account behind this summary: the September 2 authorization, Osage News’s reporting, the Chief’s September 4 statement, and the removal procedure, each cited to its source. Status current to September 9, 2026.
Optional historical context: Principal Chief John Red Eagle was removed from office after an eight-day removal trial in 2014, the only prior use of this process, in a different case with different allegations.
This page is part of a record compiled by an Osage citizen, independent of the Osage Nation government. It will be updated as the special counsel process moves forward.