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Cobell Letter: Ross Swimmer can't tell the truth
Monday, August 8, 2005

"So, Ross Swimmer, the Special Trustee for American Indians, is once again telling Native Americans not to worry. The Bush administration is making marvelous improvements to the long-troubled Indian trust system run by the Interior Department, he says.

Any improvements are long overdue and surely will be welcomed. Congress ordered a revamping of the trust system in 1994, 11 years ago.

But Swimmer is ignoring the big picture and misleading trust beneficiaries in the process.

Consider this. One of those "whereabouts unknown" accounts happened to belong to the husband of Elousie Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the Cobell vs. Norton lawsuit over trust accounts. You'd think after nearly 10 years in the courts, spending more than $100 million in taxpayer funds to fight Elousie Cobell, there would be someone in the Interior Department who would recognize the Cobell name. It shouldn't have taken a task force of federal workers to have discovered another Cobell."

Get the Story:
Cobell plaintiffs: Swimmer is 'ignoring the big picture' (The Native American Times 8/5)
Cobell plaintiffs: Swimmer is 'ignoring the big picture' (Cobell 8/5)
Special Trustee touts trust improvements (The Native American Times 8/4)

Senate Testimony:
Hearing on S. 1439, Indian Trust Reform Act of 2005 (July 26, 2005)

Additional Testimony:
Sen. McCain Statement | Ernie Stensgar | Hoopa Valley Tribe | Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe

S.1439 Documents:
John McCain Statement | Byron Dorgan Statement | Full Text of Bill as Introduced | S.1439

Relevant Documents:
Trust Reform and Cobell Settlement Workgroup Principles for Legislation (June 2005)

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Cobell v. Norton, Department of Justice - http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/index.htm
National Congress of American Indians - http://www.ncai.org
Intertribal Trust Fund Monitoring Association - http://www.itmatrustfunds.org

Related Stories:
Resolution of Cobell v. Norton appears far away (8/5)
Editorial: McCain and Dorgan should fix trust bill (8/4)
Much work needed on Cobell, trust reform bill (8/1)
Editorial: Settlement of trust fund case at hand (8/1)
Appeals court stays Lamberth order on notices (7/29)
DOI mum on settlement figure for Cobell v. Norton (7/27)
Cobell apologizes for comments on trust bill (7/27)
Opinion: McCain, Dorgan lowball Indians on trust (7/27)
Indian leaders to pledge support on trust reform (7/26)
Cobell calls trust reform bill a win for Interior (7/22)
McCain and Dorgan introduce trust reform legislation (7/22)
Opinion: Keep open mind on Cobell settlement (7/19)
McCain plans hearing on Cobell settlement, reform (7/14)
Judge blasts Interior on handling of trust (7/13)
Elouise Cobell: Principles put trust back into trust fund (07/07)
Cobell and Cason to appear on C-SPAN program (7/6)
Cobell calls for settlement of trust fund lawsuit (7/5)
Editorial: Resolution of trust fund debacle needed (7/5)
Editorial: Abramoff scandal can't compare to trust (6/30)
Opinion: Downfall of Indians traced to Army, BIA (6/28)
Pombo supports settlement of Cobell trust fund case (6/27)
Harjo: Tribes lobby to fleece their own people (6/24)
Editorial: Congress should settle trust fund (6/24)
Editorial: Trust fund a 'national embarassment' (6/22)
Indian Country united on trust reform solutions (6/21)
Trust workgroup to outline Cobell settlement goals (6/17)
Echohawk optimistic on settlement of Cobell case (06/03)
Final trust reform meeting held in North Dakota (6/3)
UTTC hosts meeting on trust reform legislation (6/1)
House panel acts to restore Bush budget cuts (05/05)
NCAI and ITMA hold second trust reform meeting (05/04)
Bush administration won't give up fight on Cobell (03/18)
McCain weighs GAO probe of Indian trust debacle (03/10)
McCain lays out Indian agenda for 109th Congress (3/7)
Norton won't testify on trust fund retaliation (2/28)
Bush official won't accept claims of trust mismanagement (02/17)
Appeals court won't hold back Lamberth on trust reform (12/13)
Appeals court supports Lamberth's authority on IT (12/06)
Lamberth critical of Norton's 'bad faith' on trust fund (10/25)
Interior denies attempt to halt trust fund payments (10/05)
Bush administration challenges trust fund ruling (09/16)
Appeals court takes on Cobell trust fund case (9/15)
Lamberth exchanges harsh words with Cobell critic (08/02)
Bush administration calls for end to Cobell case (04/09)
Cobell trust fund suit mediators announced (4/6)
DOI's Internet connection shut down for third time (03/16)
Lamberth defends special master against attack (03/16)
Anderson praises Cobell suit in NCAI speech (2/25)
Tribes still frustrated on trust reform (11/20)
Bush officials blasted by tribal leaders (11/19)
Cobell plaintiffs disputing trust fund rider (11/17)
Daschle criticizes 'shameful' rider in DOI budget bill (11/04)
Norton welcomes time-out in Cobell trust fund case (11/4)
Bush official balks at large settlement for Cobell (7/10)

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