Attorney calls $7B Cobell offer pennies on dollar

Marcella Giles, an attorney who handles individual Indian trust cases, criticized the Bush administration's $7 billion offer to settle the Cobell and tribal trust lawsuits.

Giles said Indian landowners are owed billions of dollars for mismanagement of their assets. She said the offer would terminate the government's trust responsibilities forever.

"I can tell you, you will find letters documenting each and every allottee involved in this and what the government is offering is pennies on the dollar, even at $7 billion," Giles, a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma, said at the 35th Annual Symposium of the American Indian, The Tahlequah Daily Press reported.

Giles encouraged landowners to retain all documents related to the use of their land.

Get the Story:
Probate, oil and mineral rights problematic for allottees (The Tahlequah Daily Press 4/24)

Court Order:
Cobell v. Kempthorne (April 20,2007)

Settlement Letter:
Kempthorne-Gonzales to SCIA (March 1, 2007)

Relevant Documents:
Alberto Gonzales Testimony (March 1, 2005) | SCIA Views and Estimates (March 1, 2007)

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Kempthorne - http://www.indiantrust.com
Cobell v. Norton, Department of Justice - http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/index.htm

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