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FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2003

"Elouise P. Cobell (Blackfeet) and others went to court in 1996 on behalf of 500,000 Indian account holders. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth was thunderstruck by the federal failure to follow court orders and held cabinet officials in the past administration and this one in contempt.

This problem has been a century in the making. Some administration politicos are working overtime to convince congressional and tribal leaders that all problems stem from the lawsuit, the judge, the account-holders and the Indians’ lawyers. Your program’s broke? Trustees in a rut? Too much snow, rain or heat? Blame it on Cobell.

Inside the courtroom, lawyers for the government clearly outspend those for the Indians. Six federal attorneys sit at the defendants’ table, with individual high-powered laptops indexed for easy retrieval of transcripts, exhibits and other materials. Four file runners listen like prairie dogs, then dig for documents in the hundreds of file feet of archive boxes.

Five lawyers sit at the plaintiffs’ table and do most of their own running."

Get the Story:
Harjo: Trust funds, the rule of law and regular order (Indian Country Today 7/18)

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

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