§ 15.20 Report of superintendent. The superintendent should submit a report when transmitting the contract, setting forth the qualifications and general reputation of the attorney selected, based upon references and independent inquiry by the superintendent, and the superintendent's recommendation concerning approval of the contract.

§ 15.21 Copies of approved contracts. Upon approval of a contract, one copy will be transmitted to the attorneys, one to the superintendent of the agency for the information of the Indians in interest, and the other three copies will be filed in the proper offices in Washington, D. C.

§ 15.22 Qualifications of attorneys. The person selected as attorney should be a reputable member of the bar, and fully competent to carry the case through the Court of Claims, and to the Supreme Court of the United States, if necessary.

§ 15.24 Fees and expenses. Under rulings of the Comptroller General and section 27 of the act of May 18, 1916 (39 Stat. 158; 25 U. S. C. 123), tribal funds held in the United States Treasury may not be used for payment of attorney fees

and expenses, in the absence of express authorization by Congress. Unless congressional authority has been obtained for the use of tribal funds, the payment of attorney fees and expenses shall be contingent upon a recovery by the Indians in the matters or claims covered in the contract. In case congressional authority has been obtained for the use of tribal funds for attorney fees and expenses, the provisions of the contract concerning the payment of such fees and expenses should strictly conform to the provisions of the act authorizing the use of the funds.

§ 15.25 Invalid contracts. It may be pointed out that R. S. 2103; 25 U. S. C. 81 provides further that all contracts made in violation of that section shall be null and void; section 2, 17 Stat. 136; 25 U. S. C. 84 provides that no assignment of any such contract shall be valid without the consent of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the Secretary of the Interior; and section 18, 38 Stat. 97; 25 U. S. C. 85 declares that no contract with any individual Indian relating to tribal property shall have any validity unless the consent of the United States has previously been given thereto.

Sec.

18.20

Sworn statement of count to be made by election board.

18.21 Notification of election of tribal officers.

18.22 Failure of any member of election board to serve.

AUTHORITY: §§ 18.1 to 18.22 issued under sec. 7, 45 Stat. 1481.

SOURCE: §§ 18.1 to 18.22 appear at 11 F. R. 2768, except as noted following section affected.

§ 18.1 Officers, quadrennial elections. Section 7 of the act of March 2, 1929 (45 Stat. 1478) provides in part as follows:

That there shall be a quadrennial election of officers of the Osage Tribe as follows: A principal chief, an assistant principal chief, and eight members of the Osage tribal council, to succeed the officers elected in the year 1928, said officers to be elected at a general election to be held in the town of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, on the first Monday in June, 1930, and on the first Monday in June each four years thereafter, in the manner to be prescribed by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and said officers shall be elected for a period of four years commencing on the 1st day of July following said elections.

Pursuant to the above provisions of law, a general election of officers of the Osage Tribe will be held in the town of Pawhuska, Okla., on the first Monday in June, 1946, and on the first Monday in June each 4 years thereafter, in the manner prescribed in this part.

The

§ 18.2 Election proclamation. Principal Chief, or in his absence the Assistant Principal Chief, shall issue a proclamation not more than 75 days nor less than 65 days preceding the day appointed by law for the holding of a quadrennial election of officers of the Osage Tribe, and shall name an election board consisting of a supervisor, assistant supervisor, five judges, four clerks, and two interpreters, whose duties shall be to conduct the election as provided in § 18.14. The proclamation shall meet all the requirements of section 7 of the act of March 2, 1929 (45 Stat. 1478); the place, date, and time for holding the election; qualifications of electors; method of nominating candidates and closing date for same; method for determining the location of the name of each nominee on the ballot; and the names of all members of the election board. A copy of the proclamation, after approval by the superintendent of Osage Agency, shall be mailed to each qualified elector at his last known address.

|11 F. R. 5856]

§ 18.3 Compensation of election board members. Members of the election board, other than employees of Osage Agency, when duly appointed as provided in this part, may be compensated for conducting each quadrennial election at the following rates: supervisor, $10; assistant supervisor, $8; judges, clerks, and interpreters, $6 each.

§ 18.4 Qualifications of electors. Only members of the Osage Tribe, 21 years of age or over, whose names appear on the quarterly annuity roll at the Osage Agency as of the last quarterly payment immediately preceding date of election will be entitled to hold office or vote for any tribal officer. No person shall be permitted to cast more than one vote on his own account: Provided, That whenever any qualified elector shall be absent from Osage County for any reason on the day appointed by law for the holding of a quadrennial tribal election, such elector shall be entitled at such election to exercise the right of suffrage in the manner and form prescribed in this part.

§ 18.5 Applications for absentee ballots. All applications for absentee ballots shall be made in writing by the absentee elector to the superintendent of Osage Agency. It shall be the duty of the superintendent, upon receipt of said application, to forward all supplies, affidavits, and ballots, as required by this part, to said absentee elector, not less than 30 days before any election provided for in this part. The superintendent shall maintain a file of all applications received, together with a record of the names and addresses of all persons to whom absentee ballots are mailed, including date of mailing, and shall write across the margin of each such ballot the words "Absentee Ballot," with the date of issuance marked thereunder.

§ 18.6 Execution of instrument authorizing elector to cast ballot for absentee. Any qualified absent elector who desires to exercise the right of suffrage shall, by an instrument in writing, executed by him not more than 30 days previous to any quadrennial tribal election, authorize any elector of the Tribe to cast for him his vote, or ballot, in the manner prescribed in this part, for all officers for whom he would have a right to vote if he were present at such election; said instrument shall be signed by such absent elector and sworn to before the clerk of a court of record or notary public or other officer or person authorized to administer oaths.

§ 18.7 Affidavit by absent elector. The said absent elector shall make and subscribe an affidavit in the form or of the effect following:

I, A. B., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a member of the Osage Tribe of Indians; that I will be twenty-one years of age or over at the election date; that I am now a resident of ----; and that

I am unavoidably absent from Osage County, Oklahoma, because of and will be unable to appear at the polls in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, on election day.

thereof the affidavit set out in this section, which shall also be duly subscribed and sworn to by the absentee voter. The said envelope shall be duly sealed and enclosed by him in another envelope, marked "Absentee's Vote," and directed to the elector authorized by said absent elector, to cast the ballot, and said absent elector shall then transmit or deliver the same to the person to whom it is directed.

The aforesaid instrument shall be in words or of the effect following, viz:

I, A. B., a qualified elector of the Osage Tribe, will be absent from Osage County, Oklahoma, and therefore unable to appear at the polls in Pawhuska on election day, and do hereby authorize and direct

(name of agent), a qualified elector of the Osage Tribe, to cast for me the ballot herewith enclosed at the quadrennial tribal election to be held at Pawhuska, Oklahoma, on the day of 19, in the manner prescribed by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

(a)

§ 18.9 Casting of absentee ballot. The elector to whom such letter shall be directed may open the outer envelope thereof, but he shall not open the inner envelope, on the day of such election, and between the opening and closing of the polls thereof, he shall deliver such inner envelope to the supervisor of the election board at the polls, and if the person whose name shall be signed to the affidavit on the outside of the envelope shall be determined by the said supervisor to be duly qualified voter of the Osage Tribe, said envelope shall be by the judges of said election publicly opened and the ballot therein contained shall be duly deposited in the box prepared to receive the ballot of voter, and the name of such absent elector shall be entered upon the poll list, together with the name of the person delivering the ballot at the polls. The ballot, contained in any such envelope which shall have been opened or unsealed before the same shall have been delivered to the supervisor of the election board, shall not be deposited in the ballot box but shall be rejected.

(b) The affidavits and instruments described above in this part, and all envelopes marked "Absentee's Vote", not opened at the election shall be kept and filed by the supervisor in the same manner and place as poll lists of such elections are required by this part to be filed and kept.

§ 18.10 Oath of person casting absentee ballot. The person to whom an absentee's ballot shall be sent as provided in this part shall, at the time of delivering the same to the supervisor to be deposited in the ballot box, also make his statement or affirmation, in writing, setting forth that the ballot or ballots therewith presented have been received by him to deliver to said supervisor, and that he has not in any manner changed, altered, or opened the said ballot, or the inner envelope thereof, and that he believes that same have not been changed, altered or opened by any other person.

§ 18.11 Printing of proclamation, ballots, forms, envelopes, affidavits, etc. The superintendent of Osage Agency is authorized and directed to prepare and have printed at the cost of the Osage Tribe, the election proclamation, ballots, necessary blank forms and envelopes required to carry out the provisions of this part, relative to voting of qualified electors of the Osage Tribe; and shall have the affidavits required by this part relative to absentee voting to be printed in blank upon the proper envelopes, and shall send one copy of each blank form, envelope, and of the sections of this part relative to absentee voting to each person making application for absentee ballots.

§ 18.12 Nominations to be by conventions and petitions. Conventions shall be held in Osage County, Okla., on or before the first Monday in April of the year in which a quadrennial election is held, and written reports of such conventions, duly certified by the secretary or presiding officer, showing total number of qualified electors in attendance, together with the names of candidates nominated for the various offices: Provided, That at least 25 qualified electors shall have been in attendance at any such convention; also, names of any independent candidates nominated by petition of not less than 25 qualified electors, each signature to be witnessed by 2 persons, shall be filed with the superintendent of the Osage Agency not later than 5:00 p. m. on the first Monday in April of the year in which a quadrennial election is held in order that such names may be placed on the official ballot.

§ 18.13 Voting place. The superintendent of the Osage Agency shall designate a room in the office building or Osage Auditorium where the election

board shall assemble and make necessary preparations for receiving prospective voters and see to it that voting booths are arranged to afford privacy. The election board shall also hold the place of voting open and deliver and receive ballots between the hours of 8:00 a. m. to 8:00 p. m. without intermission on date of election.

§ 18.14 Duties of board. The supervisor or, in his absence, the assistant supervisor, shall be chairman of the election board and shall see that the rules prescribed for conducting the election are faithfully carried out. The ballots shall be handed out by a judge to the electors as they present themselves to vote, after being identified by a clerk, who shall be supplied with a copy of the Osage roll, or an extract thereof showing the names and allotment numbers of those qualified to vote, and written list of names of voters to whom ballots are delivered shall be kept by a clerk of the board. In the event of mutilation of a ballot and application of the elector for another, the supervisor shall, upon surrender of the mutilated ballot, have another issued in lieu thereof and such mutilated ballot shall be retained with other records pertaining to said election. A judge shall receive the ballot after the elector has indicated his choice thereon by placing an "X" mark with a stencil opposite the name of each candidate for whom he desires his vote counted and shall deposit same in the ballot box. The duties of the remaining judge, in conjunction with the supervisor and interpreters, will be to read the names on the ballot when requested so as to identify the candidates or furnish such other information as may be desired in that connection; also, assist prospective electors unable through illiteracy or physical incapacity to cast votes for candidates of their choice.

§ 18.15 Ballot. A ballot showing names and offices for which each candidate has been nominated shall be printed and space shall be provided therein for inserting names of any members of the tribe qualified to hold office, whose name does not appear on the ballot. Should elector so desire to cast his vote for such individual, he shall write his name in such space and indicating his preference in the same manner as others whose names are printed in the ballot for whom he votes. While any faction or group has the right to nominate any

candidate it chooses in accordance with the regulations prescribed in this part, the names of such candidates shall be printed on the ballot in the manner and order set forth, viz:

Under the heading, Principal Chief, with notation to vote for one, shall appear name of all candidates for that office. Similarly for Assistant Chief. Under the heading, Members of Council, with notation to vote for eight, shall appear names of all candidates for Council. Names of candidates for office shall appear only once on ballot, regardless of the fact that they may have been nominated on more than one ticket. The order in which names of qualified candidates for office will be placed on the ballot shall be by lot method of drawing, in a manner to be determined by the Tribal Council, and to be free from or regardless of party or factional affiliations. All ballots shall be numbered numerically and record kept of any that may be mutilated, canceled, or used as samples.

§ 18.16 Ballot box to be locked. When all else is in readiness for the opening of the polls the supervisor shall open the ballot box in view of the other election officers, shall turn same top down to show that no ballots are contained therein, and shall then lock the box and retain the key in his possession until after the polls are closed and the count of the ballots is started.

§ 18.17 Challenge of right to vote. Any member of the tribe may have the right to challenge any elector's qualifications to vote and it shall be the duty of the supervisor and the judge of the board to make such investigation then and there as they deem essential, and decide the question of such person's qualifications as an elector and his right to cast or not cast the ballot.

§ 18.18 Electioneering or congregating near polls. No person shall be allowed to electioneer within the building where and when the election is in progress and it will be the duty of the supervisor to request the detail of a police officer to assist him in maintaining order about the building during the progress of the election.

§ 18.19 Manner of counting following the close of polls. Promptly at one minute past 8:00 p. m. the supervisor, in the presence of the election board, shall open the ballot box and move slide on inside of box closing the opening in which ballots are inserted and thereafter shall immediately and in the presence of said board close and lock the ballot box until the count of the ballot

is to be started, which shall be as soon as practicable, and the supervisor and not less than two of the judges shall remain continuously in the room until all cast ballots are finally counted, when the supervisor shall again, in the presence of the election board, unlock and open the ballot box, after which the count shall be started in the manner outlined. Two judges shall act as official counters and the clerks shall each record the vote upon a sheet opposite the name of the respective candidate for which the vote is cast, and shall continue this manner of recording until all votes have been counted. The duties of the remaining officials of the election board will be to assist in the counting and recording of each vote cast correctly and after the ballot has been counted it shall be pierced by a needle and strung and after all ballots have been so treated both ends of the string shall be tied and the ballots deposited with the list of names of voters kept by the clerk during the election in the ballot box which shall then again be locked and the keys retained by the supervisor.

§ 18.20 Sworn statement of count to be made by election board. A statement pertaining to the conduct of the election; correctness of vote tallied opposite each candidate, in which shall be incorporated

the names of each candidate declared to have been elected, with designation of office and total number of votes credited each, shall be prepared and duly acknowledged before an officer qualified to administer oaths, which instrument shall, with the keys to the ballot box, be delivered by the supervisor to the superintendent of the Osage Agency for appropriate disposition.

§ 18.21 Notification of election of tribal officers. The superintendent of the Osage Indian Agency shall in due time give written notice to candidates of their election to the various tribal offices and as soon thereafter as practicable such tribal officers shall appear and subscribe to oath of office before an officer qualified to administer oaths and such oaths shall be delivered to the superintendent and by him transmitted to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

§ 18.22 Failure of any member of election board to serve. If a member of the election board desires to be relieved from duty for any cause he shall notify the superintendent in writing to that effect and the Principal Chief shall be called upon by him to designate someone else and with the approval of the superintendent such substitute shall serve in the capacity of this designation as a member of the election board.

provisions interpreted or applied are cited to text in parentheses.

SOURCE: §§ 21.1 to 21.17 appear at 11 F. R. 391, except as noted following sections affected.

§ 21.1 Purpose. The purpose of this part is to prescribe the terms and conditions of loans to Indian chartered corporations, unincorporated tribes and bands, credit and cooperative associations, and individual Indians from the United States, in order to promote the economic development of the borrower.

§ 21.2 Eligible borrowers. Loans may be made from revolving credit funds to Indian chartered corporations;1 recognized tribes and bands; credit associa

1 This includes the organization of groups in Alaska having a common bond of occupation, association, or residence within a welldefined neighborhood.