Members of Oglala Sioux Tribe respond to Cobell buyback offers

Friday, March 28, 2014

Members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota appear to be responding favorably to the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations.

A land purchasing clerk for the tribe said hundreds of people are coming in every day to accept or respond to offers from the Interior Department. Since December, landowners have received more than $10 million for their fractionated interests.

"We are identifying it as a pilot project for other tribes throughout the United States. The Oglala Sioux Tribe is kind of setting a precedence out there," Steve Her Many Horses, the tribe's buy-back director, told KSFY-TV.

More money will be coming to the Pine Ridge Reservation -- DOI has made more than $100 million in offers to landowners. The deadline to accept is May 2.

The Cobell settlement provided $1.9 billion for Indian landowners who want to sell their fractionated interests. DOI will pay "fair market value" as required by the Indian Land Consolidation Act.

Any land that is acquired under the program is returned to tribes. And a portion of each purchase is deposited in a scholarship fund for Indian students.

Get the Story:
Land buy-back program could bring economic boost to the Pine Ridge Reservation (KSFY 3/27)