Members of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma voted 135-18 on Saturday to settle an historical accounting lawsuit with the Department of Interior.

Under the settlement, the tribe would drop its claim for an accounting of tribal trust funds. In exchange, DOI would pay the tribe $4.6 million to conduct accountings of Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts held by tribal members. From there, a mediator would resolve what may be owed to the account holders.

Separately, tribal members voted to approve a Superfund lawsuit filed against several mining companies who polluted Indian lands. In response, the companies have countersued tribal members, including business committee chairman John Berrey.

Get the Story:
Tribe accepts deal with U.S. Interior (The Joplin Globe 2/1)
Quapaws vote to approve land deal (The Daily Oklahoman 2/1)
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Mining companies fire back (The Miami News-Record 1/31)

Relevant Documents:
DRAFT: Quapaw-DOI Settlement (December 2003)

Relevant Links:
Tar Creek Information Site - http://www.tarcreek.org
Tar Creek, State of Oklahoma - http://www.deq.state.ok.us/LPDnew/Tarcreek

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