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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2002

The Indian Enron: "If the theft of billions of dollars from some of the nation's poorest citizens isn't enough to galvanize American taxpayers into action, guarding their own pocketbooks should be. Every day that the Bureau of Indian Affairs procrastinates on cleaning up the Native American trust fund, the price tag to fix it goes up." -- Editorial: The 'Indian Enron' (The Omaha World-Herald 9/23)

Norton's abuse of trust: "Anyone who surveys the booming Indian gaming landscape and decides that the Native American has finally risen above the role of dependent of the federal government needs to take a second look at things. A good place to start would be Phoenix, where last week Interior Secretary Gale Norton addressed the National Summit on Emerging Tribal Economies. . . [T]he very day of Secretary Norton's speech, she was being found in contempt of federal court. Her transgression is failing to do anything about the hundreds of millions of dollars (maybe billions) that have been looted out of Indian trust accounts managed by, that's right, the Indian's trusted ally, the federal government." -- Editorial: Very limited partners (The Riverside Press-Enterprise 9/23)

No excuse for failed reform: "The Interior Department stands accused of horribly mismanaging something called the Indian Trust Fund. The fund was created in the late 19th century as a place for the U.S. government to deposit proceeds from the leasing of seized Indian land with its deposits of oil, gas and minerals. For decades, the Interior Department has been accused of misplacing or failing to collect tens of billions of dollars in royalties due 300,000 American Indians. That accusation is mild compared with the ones that Judge Lamberth last week aimed at current Interior Secretary Gale Norton. The judge said Secretary Norton "committed a fraud on the court" by lying about her department's efforts to repair the accounting system and thus undermined the public's trust." -- Editorial: Indian Affairs: Interior Department deserves court rebuke (The Dallas Morning News 9/23)
Username: indianz@indianz.com, Password: indianz

McCaleb didn't do it!: "Last week U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth held Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Neal McCaleb, the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, in contempt for failing to abide by a three-year-old court order to begin a historical accounting of the trust. In fairness, Lamberth's court order predates Norton's and McCaleb's watch. Especially McCaleb, the Oklahoman who's been on the job for only a little more than a year. The Indian trust mess is more than 100 years old, but Norton and McCaleb are the ones now occupying key offices at the responsible government agency." -- Editorial: On the Hot Seat (The Daily Oklahoman 9/24)

Interior can't manage trust: ""Sad but true, the U.S. Interior Department for decades has lost, allowed to be stolen or otherwise mishandled billions of dollars in royalties produced from American Indian lands and owed American Indians. The department can't or won't fix the problem. Interior's inability to accurately account for Indian royalties is a perfect example of why the government's condescending paternalism toward Native Americans has failed. It's become a terrible stain on the nation." -- Editorial: INTERIOR FAILURE / Government's promise toIndians remains broken (The Houston Chronicle 9/23)

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
Indian Trust, Department of Interior - http://www.doi.gov/indiantrust
Trust Reform, NCAI - http://www.ncai.org/main/pages/
issues/other_issues/trust_reform.asp

Related Stories:
Editorial: Norton's failure is 'disgrace' (9/24)
Norton chided on Cobell 'accounting' (9/23)
TAAMS witness not 'credible' (9/23)
Tiny praise for Norton on trust (9/23)
Editorial: Norton's 'shameful' behavior (9/23)
Editorial: Don't appeal trust fund ruling (9/23)
Editorial: Lamberth throws 'temper tantrum' (9/23)
Editorial: Probe Norton subordinates too (9/23)
Editorial: Norton needs to settle trust (9/23)
Slonaker to testify at Senate hearing (9/23)
Norton's denials ring hollow (9/20)
McCaleb blames trust fund on Babbitt (9/20)
Editorial: Norton's trust boondoggle (9/20)
Editorial: Norton 'toss in the towel' (9/20)
Norton's contempt worries not over (9/19)
Editorial: Norton has made no reforms (9/19)
Column: Norton, aides like 'kids' on trust (9/19)
Norton cited for Indian trust 'fraud' (9/19)
Norton 'unfit' to manage Indian trust (9/18)
Griles nearly perjured himself (9/18)
Congress responds to contempt (9/18)
Lamberth makes ruling on trust (9/18)
Editorial: Send Norton the liar to jail (9/18)
Editorial: Norton deserves rebuke (9/18)
Editorial: Norton is 'disgrace' (9/18)
Slonaker feels vindicated by ruling (9/18)
Norton found in contempt for trust fund (9/17)
Judge holds Norton in contempt (9/17)
Rahall: End the trust fund charade (9/17)