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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2001

The delay in general assistance and other payments to tribes and individual Indians is "unacceptable," Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) told The Billings Gazette.

"Why didn’t the agency think ahead?" asked Duane Buckle, a member of the Assiniboine Tribe of Montana. "Unless you believe in the Miracle on 34th Street, no one’s going to get their checks before Christmas."

Those are some of the sentiments felt around Indian Country regarding the Internet shutdown at the Department of Interior, which authorized in response to a federal judge's order to protect the assets of 300,000 American Indians. The Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs in many instances had no backup plan to deal with the outage.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth has since ordered the Interior to reconnect its systems under supervision of his court.

Get the Story:
BIA check delay harmful to some (The Billings Gazette 12/19)

Today on Indianz.Com:
Taking lead on trust reform proves tough for Griles (12/19)

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust, Department of Interior - http://www.doi.gov/indiantrust
Office of the Special Trustee - http://www.ost.doi.gov
Trust Management Improvement Project - http://www.doi.gov/bia/trust/tmip.htm
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com

Related Stories:
Judge orders Interior reconnect (12/18)
Interior shutdown was 'overreaction' (12/18)
'Not be a very bright Christmas' (12/18)
Cost of Interior shutdown not known (12/17)
Interior computer agreement dropped (12/14)
Interior computer order finalized (12/13)
Editorial: Still ripping off Indians (12/12)
Griles in charge of IT reform (12/11)
Floods more important than Indians (12/10)
Judge holds security hearing (12/8)
DOI Shutdown: 'We're Hurting Tribes' (12/7)
From the top, a gamble in trust (12/7)
Norton acknowledges Internet problems (12/7)
'We're in the Dark' (12/7)
Judge orders Interior to cut Internet access (12/6)
Security contempt charge added (12/6)
Transcript of Dec. 5 trust fund hearing (12/6)
Interior doesn't understand court order (12/6)
Judge cuts trust fund access(12/5)
Report reveals attacks on tribal, Indian trust (12/5)
No Trust: Hacking the Department of Interior (12/5)
Judge holding secret hearings (12/4)
New: Security report released (12/4)