The United Tribes of North Dakota passed a resolution to urge Congress to approve the $3.4 billion Cobell trust fund settlement.

The settlement will benefit members of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation; the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate; the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe; the Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.

“At home we have over 11,000 enrolled members with IIM accounts,” said Marcus D. Levings, the chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara who serves as chair of the United Tribes board. "The tribes in this region we have a very large number of people who are affected by the settlement."

The deal provides $1.4 billion in cash payments to beneficiaries of the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust. Another $2 billion will be used to buy fractionated interested from landowners.

Get the Story:
Tribes ask Congress to act on agreement (The Bismarck Tribune 12/12)
Local lawyer guided suit by Indians to settlement (The Winston-Salem Journal 12/12)
Indian lawsuit to pay out billions (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 12/14)
Alumni win $3.4 billion class action suit settlement (Carolina Newswire 12/14)

Relevant Documents:
Agreement | Press Release | Q&A | Audio

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