"So, Ross Swimmer, the Special Trustee for American Indians, is once again telling Native Americans not to worry. The Bush administration is making marvelous improvements to the long-troubled Indian trust system run by the Interior Department, he says.

Any improvements are long overdue and surely will be welcomed. Congress ordered a revamping of the trust system in 1994, 11 years ago.

But Swimmer is ignoring the big picture and misleading trust beneficiaries in the process.

Consider this. One of those "whereabouts unknown" accounts happened to belong to the husband of Elousie Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the Cobell vs. Norton lawsuit over trust accounts. You'd think after nearly 10 years in the courts, spending more than $100 million in taxpayer funds to fight Elousie Cobell, there would be someone in the Interior Department who would recognize the Cobell name. It shouldn't have taken a task force of federal workers to have discovered another Cobell."

Get the Story:
Cobell plaintiffs: Swimmer is 'ignoring the big picture' (The Native American Times 8/5)
Cobell plaintiffs: Swimmer is 'ignoring the big picture' (Cobell 8/5)
Special Trustee touts trust improvements (The Native American Times 8/4)

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)

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

Related Stories:
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Editorial: McCain and Dorgan should fix trust bill (8/4)
Much work needed on Cobell, trust reform bill (8/1)
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Appeals court stays Lamberth order on notices (7/29)
DOI mum on settlement figure for Cobell v. Norton (7/27)
Cobell apologizes for comments on trust bill (7/27)
Opinion: McCain, Dorgan lowball Indians on trust (7/27)
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