In 2003,
Congress earmarked $1 million to help the
Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma consolidate its land base, which sits on the largest
Superfund site in the U.S.
Consolidation has helped facilitate cleanup at
Tar Creek, reduce fractionation and promote economic development, Chairman John Berrey said at a
Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing yesterday.
But the tribe only benefited from about half of the earmark because the
Bureau of Indian Affairs took a huge administrative fee.
According to a
letter that Berrey supplied to the committee, the BIA only spent $482,292 of the earmark to acquire land for the tribe. The remaining, $538,874 was used by the
Miami agency in Oklahoma.
With $1.9 billion in land consolidation funds being provided by the
Cobell Indian trust fund lawsuit, Berrey said the administrative costs are a major concern. The settlement allows the BIA to take 15 percent -- or about $285 million -- for its own use.
"Our hope is that you might create some sort of tool or some process that keeps the bureau from using that money for administrative costs that aren't necessary for land consolidation," Berrey testified.
The BIA did not provide testimony at the hearing.
Committee Notice:
OVERSIGHT
HEARING on "The American Indian Probate Reform Act: Empowering Indian Land
Owners" (August 4, 2011)
Related Stories:
Audio from Senate Indian Affairs Committee
hearing on probate (8/4)
Witness List: Senate
Indian Affairs Committee probate hearing (8/3)
Senate Indian Affairs Committee schedules hearing
on probate (8/1)
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