Jodi Rave: Cobell calls trust offer 'insulting'

Friday, March 30, 2007  

"The federal government's $7 billion attempt to settle a Native trust lawsuit is both positive and insulting, the case's lead plaintiff told members of the U.S. Senate's Committee on Indian Affairs on Thursday. “Positive” because it's the U.S. Interior and Justice departments' first attempt to suggest a dollar amount, said Elouise Cobell, lead plaintiff in a 10-year-old suit representing a half-million Native landowners.

And an “insult” because the government's offer goes well beyond the intent of her lawsuit.

Cobell sued the Interior Department in 1996 on behalf of 500,000 Native landowners in the largest class-action lawsuit filed against the federal government.

Her case seeks a historical accounting of thousands of royalty accounts managed by the Interior Department for more than a century.

The department and its Bureau of Indian Affairs were charged with collecting money from individual land leases and mineral royalty payments earned by landowners. But it's estimated billions of dollars were never deposited or altogether disappeared.

On March 1, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne proposed to end the case by providing $7 billion over a 10-year period to aid in the reconsolidation of Native land bases and fix fractionated land ownership.

But the proposal also would relieve the government of all historical accounting obligations and prevent tribes or individuals from suing in the future."

Get the Story:
Jodi Rave: Cobell calls trust offer ‘insulting' (The Missoulian 3/30)

Committee Notice:
OVERSIGHT HEARING on Indian trust fund litigation (March 29, 2007)

Settlement Letter:
Kempthorne-Gonzales to SCIA (March 1, 2007)

Elouise Cobell Statement:
NO THANKS, WE’LL TAKE THE ACCOUNTING, INDIAN PLAINTIFFS SAY (March 8, 2007)

Sen. Dorgan Statement:
DORGAN SAYS BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFERS $7 BILLION TO SETTLE SUIT OVER MISMANAGEMENT OF INDIAN TRUST FUNDS (March 6, 2007)

Other Documents:
Alberto Gonzales Testimony (March 1, 2005) | SCIA Views and Estimates (March 1, 2007)

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Kempthorne - http://www.indiantrust.com
Cobell v. Norton, Department of Justice - http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/index.htm

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Editorial: The billion-dollar question (3/26)
Senate hearing on trust fund litigation on Thursday (3/26)
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