![](http://www.missoulian.com/art/jodirave-mug.jpg)
"A federal judge took note of witness testimonies last week in a landmark trial that will award a historic cash settlement to Native landowners in a class-action lawsuit against the
Interior Department.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson will determine who gets award money and how much. He will likely make a decision by the end of summer.
Lawyers in the
Elouise Cobell vs. Dirk Kempthorne trial have told the judge a settlement figure rests between $400 million and $58 billion.
The case has spanned a dozen years. Last week's proceedings ended Thursday and will resume on Monday. The trial is expected to last between two to three weeks.
Cobell, the lead plaintiff and a resident of the Blackfeet Reservation, filed suit in June 1996 on behalf of 500,000 Native landowners across the country. At stake is money earned from natural resource income from grazing leases, mining proceeds and sales of timber, oil and gas. Billions of dollars have been collected and held in trust by the U.S. Interior and Treasury departments, respectively. The departments and their bureaus have been designated by Congress to distribute the money to indigenous people.
The accounts were created as the result of Congress' 1887 General Allotment Act, known as the Dawes Act. The measure called for dividing large, land-based reservations into tiny plots which were then allotted to individual tribal members. Any remaining land was given to non-Indians for settlement.
Government lawyers and attorneys for the Indians have been sparring for years about how much money went into Individual Indian Money, or IIM accounts, since 1887.
January court filings show an estimated $14.3 billion was collected between 1909 and 2005 for the IIM accounts. About $10.7 billion was distributed to account holders. The Interior and Treasury departments can't explain what happened to remaining $3.6 billion."
Get the Story:
Jodi Rave: Testimony continues in historic case
(The Missoulian 6/15)
Trial Transcripts:
June
9 AM |
June
9 PM |
June
10 AM |
June
10 PM |
June
11 |
June
12 AM
Related Stories:
Osage trust funds at issue in Cobell lawsuit
(6/13)
Editorial: $58B trust
payout more than fair (6/13)
Editorial:
Indians short-changed by trustee (6/13)
Cobell plaintiffs rest case in trust fund trial
(6/12)
Cobell plaintiffs focus on $58B
claim at trial (6/11)
Trial seeks to
resolve Indian trust fund lawsuit (6/11)
Judge opens landmark trial in Cobell trust fund
case (6/10)
Jodi Rave: Cobell happy with
opening day of trial (6/10)
Jodi Rave:
Cobell trial begins in Washington DC (6/9)
Cobell trust fund case set for final trial
(6/3)
After six-plus years, BIA website
finally online (05/27)
BIA to be fully
online in a couple of months (5/21)
Interior heads back online after disconnect
(5/15)
Judge issues pre-trial order in
Cobell trust case (5/13)
Bush
administration responds to Cobell $58B claim (04/11)
'Rough justice' seen in resolving Cobell case
(4/7)
House panel threatens Cobell
accounting cut (4/4)
Letter: A small
spark of justice in Cobell case (3/31)
Cobell plaintiffs say $58B owed for Indian trust
(3/21)
Cobell case set for resolution in
court (3/6)
Judge sets June 9 trial to
resolve Cobell case (3/5)
Judge to hold
Cobell hearing this Wednesday (3/3)
Next
hearing in Cobell case set for March 5 (02/21)
Resolution appears near in Cobell trust case
(2/19)
Editorial: Settle 'botched'
Indian trust fund (02/06)
Editorial:
Settle the Indian trust fund lawsuit (2/4)
Kempthorne reiterates $7B Indian trust offer
(2/1)
Editorial: A remedy for 'neglect'
of Indian trust (2/1)
Cobell: 'Great day
in Indian Country' (1/31)
Judge: Cobell
historical accounting 'impossible' (1/30)
Cobell statement on historical accounting decision
(1/30)
Jim Cason: Historical accounting
facts (01/18)