"The federal government has botched royalty payments to Native Americans for more than a century.

It has spent tens of millions of dollars in a futile attempt to unravel the accounts. And it's pouring money into fighting a 9-year-old class-action suit seeking restitution.

Now, with the help of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., there's a way out of the morass, if clouds of rhetoric don't obscure it.

The payments in question are royalties for farming, grazing, mining, logging and other economic activities on tribal lands. The federal government is supposed to collect the money, put it in a trust fund and distribute it to thousands of individual Native Americans. Arizona tribes have been less affected, but hundreds of their members could be owed money."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Tribal treaty (The Arizona Republic 8/1)

Senate Testimony:
Hearing on S. 1439, Indian Trust Reform Act of 2005 (July 26, 2005)

Additional Testimony:
Sen. McCain Statement | Ernie Stensgar | Hoopa Valley Tribe | Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe

S.1439 Documents:
John McCain Statement | Byron Dorgan Statement | Full Text of Bill as Introduced | S.1439

Relevant Documents:
Trust Reform and Cobell Settlement Workgroup Principles for Legislation (June 2005)

Related Story:
Federal official: Native trust fund accounts vulnerable (The Lincoln Journal Star 7/21)

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
National Congress of American Indians - http://www.ncai.org
Intertribal Trust Fund Monitoring Association - http://www.itmatrustfunds.org

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