Editorial: Settle 'botched' Indian trust fund

Wednesday, February 6, 2008  

"An exasperated federal judge has reached a logical conclusion regarding a century of botched accounting by federal bureaucrats handling Indian trust accounts: The government failed, miserably.

Finally, a decent, honorable and ultimately expensive settlement may be in sight for Blackfeet Indian Elouise Cobell, who filed suit in 1996 on behalf of hundreds of thousands of Native Americans.The elemental issue is the failure of the U.S. government to be responsible stewards of oil, gas and timber receipts and other royalties held in trust from Indian lands as far back as 1887.

After 11 years of stalling by the Interior Department, U.S. District Judge James Robertson concluded that an accounting required by the lawsuit was an impossible task. No amount of CSI-style forensic number crunching would produce a fair, timely answer. For starters, no one could produce something as basic as a beginning balance for the Indian accounts."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Settle the botched Indian trust case (The Seattle Times 2/6)

Court Decision:
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (January 30, 2008)

Final Briefs:
Cobell Brief: Conclusions of Law | Cobell Brief: Findings of Fact | DOJ Brief: Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

Trial Transcripts:
Day 1 AM | Day 1 PM | Day 2 AM | Day 2 PM | Day 3 AM | Day 3 PM | Day 4 AM | Day 4 PM | Day 5 AM | Day 5 PM | Day 6 AM | Day 6 PM | Day 7 AM | Day 7 PM | Day 8 AM | Day 8 PM | Day 9 AM | Day 9 PM | Day 10 AM | Day 10 PM

Trial Order:
Cobell v. Kempthorne (April 20,2007)

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: 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)
Cobell: Historical accounting far from accurate (12/14)
Bush shifts historical accounting duty again (12/5)
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