Mary Dann, a Western Shoshone grandmother who refused to concede her tribe's ancestral lands to the federal government, died in an accident on her ranch in Nevada on Friday.
Dann, whose age was reported to be in the early 80s, and sister, Carrie, represented a decades-long land rights struggle. The Danns and other Western Shoshones say they never ceded 26 million acres promised to the tribe in an 1863 treaty.
The Danns fought against efforts to distribute a $140 million trust fund for the alleged loss of the land. They lost the battle in 2004, when President Bush signed into law a bill to hand out the money.
The sister never gave up, however, refusing to accept the government's jurisidiction over their family's land in Nevada. Carrie Dann, the more outspoken of the pair, vowed to carry on the fight
Get the Story:American Indian activist Mary Dann dies in ranch accident (AP 4/25)
Shoshone activist dies; sister vows to fight on (The Reno Gazettee-Journal 4/24) Relevant Links:
Western Shoshone Defense Project - http://www.wsdp.org Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act:
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