"When the federal government faces a problem in Indian country, its usual tactic is to try to divide and conquer the Indians. That does not seem to be working these days.

On June 20, I went to Washington to announce a set of principles that could settle the class-action lawsuit I filed nine years ago over the government�s well-documented mishandling of thousands of individual Indian Trust accounts. As our news conference dramatically illustrated, the leaders of the nation�s largest Indian organizations were united. All joined me in supporting congressional action that could resolve our lawsuit.

Too many Indians have died since the lawsuit was filed in 1996, and too many will die before the courts can resolve all the issues in the case. These are among the poorest people in America, and they need help now. That�s why I agreed to this proposal."

Get the Story:
Elouise Cobell: Ending a national disgrace (The Hill 7/6)

Relevant Links:
National Congress of American Indians - http://www.ncai.org
Intertribal Trust Fund Monitoring Association - http://www.itmatrustfunds.org
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Cobell v. Norton, Department of Justice - http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/index.htm
Senate Indian Affairs Committee - http://indian.senate.gov

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