(a) The purpose of this part is to set forth procedures and guidelines to govern the use of authorized funds in education programs for the benefit of Osage Tribal members, along with application requirements and procedures used by those eligible persons.

(b) The Osage Tribe by act of Congress, October 27, 1972 (25 U.S.C. 883,86. 12950, as amended by Pub. L. 98-605) on October 30, 1984, provides that $1 million, together with other funds which revert to the Osage Tribe, may be advanced, expended, invested, or reinvested for the purpose of financing an education program of benefit to the Osage Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, with said program to be administered as authorized by the Secretary of the Interior.

Act means Osage Tribe by Act of Congress, October 27, 1972 (25 U.S.C. 883,86. 1295), as amended by Pub. L. 98-605.

Allottee means a person whose name appears on the roll of Osage Tribe of Indians approved by the Secretary of the Interior on April 11, 1908, pursuant to the Act of June 28, 1906 (34 Stat. 539).

Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs.

Osage Tribal Education Committee means the committee selected to administer the provisions of this part as specified by § 122.6.

Reverted funds means the unpaid portions of the per capita distribution fund, as provided by the Act, which were not distributed because the funds were:

(1) Unclaimed within the period specified by the Act; or

(2) For an amount totaling less than $20 due an individual from one or more shares of one or more Osage allottees.

Secretary means the Secretary of the Department of the Interior or his/her authorized representative.

(a) The information collection requirements contained in §§ 122.6 and 122.9 have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and assigned clearance numbers 1076-0098 and 1076-0106, respectively. The information collected in § 122.6 is used to determine the eligibility of Osage Indian student applicants for educational assistance grants. The information collected in § 122.9 provides summary review for program evaluation and program planning. Response to the information collections is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with 25 U.S.C. 883.

(b) Public reporting burden for this information collection is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 337 SIB, 18th & C Streets, NW., Washington, DC 20240; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (1076-0106), Washington DC 20503.

(a) The Osage Tribe, to maintain its right of Tribal autonomy, shall, at the direction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, establish the Osage Tribal Education Committee (OTEC) to fulfill the responsibilities and provisions of this part as set out in § 122.6.

(b) This committee shall be composed of seven (7) members. Five (5) of the members shall be of Osage blood or descendents of Osage, and two (2) from the education staff of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

(1) Of the five Osage members, at least three shall be legal residents and/or live within a 20-mile radius of one of the three Osage Indian villages. Of these, at least one member shall reside within the specified radius of the Pawhuska Indian village; at least one member shall reside within the specified radius of the Hominy Indian village; and at least one member shall reside within the specified radius of the Greyhorse Indian village.

(2) The two remaining Osage committee members will be members at large.

(a) Selection of the five (5) OTEC members shall be made by the Assistant Secretary in accordance with the following:

(1) Any adult person of Osage Indian blood who is an allottee or a descendant of an allottee is eligible to serve on the Osage Tribal Education Committee.

(2) Nominees for committee membership shall include a brief statement of interest and qualifications for serving on the committee.

(b) Nominations may be made by any Osage organization, including the Osage village communities of Greyhorse, Hominy and Pawhuska, by requesting its candidates to follow procedures outlined in paragraph (a)(2) of this section.

(c) Nominations shall be delivered by registered mail to the following address: Osage Tribal Education Committee, c/o Area Education Programs Administrator, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Muskogee Area Office—Room 152, 5th & W, Okmulgee, Muskogee, Oklahoma 74401.

(d) A Nominee Selection Committee composed of OTEC members so designated by the Assistant Secretary will review all nominations. Upon completion of this process, the Nominee Selection Committee will forward its recommendations for final consideration to the Assistant Secretary.

(e) Each member shall be sworn in for a four year term. At the discretion of the Assistant Secretary, members may succeed themselves with a recommendation for reappointment from the Nominee Selection Committee.

(f) The Assistant Secretary may, until a vacancy is filled, appoint an individual to serve for a temporary period not to exceed 120 days.

(a) For the purpose of providing financial assistance to eligible Osage applicants for educational assistance, the Osage Tribal Education Committee shall maintain an office and retain all official records at the Bureau of Indian Affairs offices located at the Federal Building, Muskogee, Oklahoma.

(b) The Osage Tribal Education Committee shall be responsible for implementing an overall plan of operation consistent with the policy of Indian self-determination which incorporates a systematic sequential process whereby all student applications for financial aid are rated and ranked simultaneously to enable a fair distribution of available funds.

(1) All applicants shall be rated by a point system appropriate to applications for education assistance. After all applications are rated, the Osage Tribal Education Committee will rank the applications in a descending order for award purposes. No awards shall be made until all applications are rated against the point system.

(2) Monetary awards shall be for fixed amounts as determined by the Osage Tribal Education Committee. The fixed amounts shall be itemized in the committee's annual budgetary request, and the monetary award amounts shall be consistent with the fixed amounts itemized in the approved budget.

(3) Payment of the monetary awards shall be made directly to the student, with half of the amount payable on or before September 15 and the second half payable on or before February 15, provided the student is successfully enrolled in an accredited institution of higher education and meeting the institution's requirement for passing work.

(4) No student will be funded beyond 10 semesters or five academic years, not to include summer sessions, nor shall any student with a baccalaureate degree be funded for an additional undergraduate degree.

(a) By August 1 of each year, the Osage Tribal Education Committee will submit a proposed budget to the Assistant Secretary or to his/her designated representative for formal approval. Unless the Assistant Secretary or his/her designated representative informs the committee in writing of budget restrictions by September 1, the proposed budget is considered to be accepted.

(b) The investment principal, composed of the one million dollars appropriated by the Act and reverted funds, must be invested in a federally insured banking or savings institution or invested in obligations of the Federal Government. There are no provisions in this part which shall limit the right of the Osage Tribal Education Committee to withdraw interest earned from the investment principal; however, expenditures shall be made against only the interest generated from investment principal and reverted funds.

(c) All funds deposited will accumulate interest at a rate not less than that generally available for similar funds deposited at the same banking or savings institution or invested in the same obligations of the United States Government for the same period of time.

Funds available for expenditures may be used by the Osage Tribal Education Committee in the performance of its duties and responsibilities. Recordkeeping is required and proposed expenditures are to be attached with the August 1 proposed annual budget to the Assistant Secretary or his/her designated representative.

The Osage Tribal Education Committee shall submit an annual report on OMB approved Form 1076-0106, Higher Education Annual Report, to the Assistant Secretary or his/her designated representative on or before November 1, for the preceding 12 month period.

The procedure for appealing any decision regarding the awarding of funds under this part shall be made in accordance with 25 CFR part 2, Appeals from Administrative Action.

These regulations shall cease upon determination of the legal and appropriate body to administer the fund and upon the establishment of succeeding regulations.