PAWHUSKA, OK – Following the Osage Nation 2026 General Election, several elected officials will transition into new roles across the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. To ensure continuity of government, Osage Nation officials are following a leadership succession process that ensures government operations continue without interruption while newly elected officials prepare to take office.
Effective at noon on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear resigned in order to take the oath of office as a member of the Osage Nation Minerals Council, which took place on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. Assistant Principal Chief RJ Walker was immediately sworn in as Principal Chief and will serve in that capacity until the Osage Nation Inauguration on Saturday, July 11, 2026. Chief Walker appointed Assistant Principal Chief-Elect John Shaw to serve as Assistant Principal Chief, pending consent of congress. In the event, the appointment needs congressional consent before the Osage Nation 2026 Inauguration on Saturday, July 11, 2026, an emergency special session will be called.
Principal Chief-elect Joe Tillman, who currently serves as a member of the Osage Nation Congress, will resign his legislative seat effective at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, July 10, 2026. His resignation clears the way for his inauguration as Osage Nation Principal Chief on July 11 and allows his congressional seat to be filled.
The following officials were elected during the June 1, 2026, Osage Nation General Election: In the Executive Branch, Joe Tillman was elected Principal Chief and John Shaw was elected Assistant Principal Chief; within the Judicial Branch, Meredith Drent was elected Chief Justice and Elizabeth Lohah Homer was elected Associate Justice, while William Ladd Oldfield was elected Chief Judge of the Trial Court; and elected to the Legislative Branch were Michael Bristow, Alice Goodfox, Otto Hamilton, Eli Potts, Angela Pratt, Whitney Red Corn and RJ Walker.
The inauguration ceremony marks the beginning of a new term of service for the Osage Nation’s elected leaders.
