The mission of the Osage Nation Department of Education is to provide educational and supportive services to Osages so that they can obtain the skills needed to become productive individuals and contributors to their community.
The Osage Nation Department of Education offers educational and training programs sponsored by tribal and federal funds. The federal programs include: classroom training, summer youth, supportive services, career services, work experience, and Johnson O'Malley (JOM). The tribal programs include: higher education scholarship, Sylvan tutoring, on reservation tutoring, internship/externship, and youth outreach projects. The federal programs are open to all eligible Native Americans residing within
Osage County. The tribal programs are offered to Osage tribal members located on and off the reservation.
The federal portion of the program is funded by the Indian Employment, Training, and Related Services Demonstration Act, Public Law 102-477, referred to as "477". The current 477 programs of the Osage Nation include: workforce development for adults and youth, funded by the Department of Labor; higher education, funded in part by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, adult vocational training, and JOM.
The goal of PL102-477 is "to consolidate its federally funded employment, training, and related services into a single integrated program: to improve the effectivesness of the services; to reduce joblessness in Indian communities; and to meet tribally-determined goals consistent with the policy of self-determination".