Michael Connor, a descendant of Taos Pueblo, serves as the deputy secretary at the Interior Department. Photo from Bureau of Reclamation

Top Interior Department officials will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday for a listening session on the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations.

The session takes place from 1pm-5pm at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Deputy Secretary Michael Connor, Special Trustee Vince Logan and Larry Roberts, the acting head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs will hear from tribal leaders and landowners about the program that has put more than $736 million into the hands of individual Indians.

The $3.4 billion Cobell settlement provided $1.9 billion for Indian landowners who want to sell their fractionated interests. The Interior Department will pay "fair market value" as required by the Indian Land Consolidation Act.

As of February 26, the department has made nearly $1.8 billion in offers and more than 32,000 landowners have received more than $736.6 million for their interests. The equivalent of nearly 1.5 million acres has been transferred to tribal governments.

The settlement requires DOI to distribute the $1.9 billion within 10 years of making the first offers, which went out in late 2013. Some $258 million of that amount was set aside for administrative fees and tribes have been entering into cooperative agreements to help facilitate the program.

Related Stories:
Muscogee Nation looking to sign Cobell land buy-back agreement (02/01)
Fond du Lac Band expects $7.8M in Cobell land buy-back offers (01/12)
Cobell plaintiffs offer update on distribution of settlement funds (01/06)
DOI signs Cobell buy-back agreements with two more tribes (12/16)
DOI schedules listening session for Cobell Land Buy-Back Program (12/08)
Landowners on Lummi Nation see $4M in Cobell buyback offers (11/17)
Landowners from Swinomish Tribe see $3.8M for Cobell buy-back (10/27)
Colville Tribes expect to see $27.7M in Cobell buy-back offers (10/26)
Quinault Nation to see $19M from Cobell land buy-back program (09/21)
DOI signs five more cooperative agreements for Cobell land buy-back program (09/15)
Native Sun News: Lower Brule landowners will see Cobell offers (09/10)
Native Sun News: Lower Brule Sioux Tribe misses Cobell deadline (08/28)
Land buy-back hits milestone with over $500M in purchases (06/26)
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes see 4K acres from buy-back (06/18)
Landowners on Fort Peck Reservation see $54M in Cobell offers (06/11)
DOI sends over $230M in offers to Indian landowners in Montana (6/8)
Osage Nation expects to see offers from land buy-back program (05/28)
Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation sees $150M in land offers (05/07)
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe prepares for Cobell buy-back offers (04/28)
Navajo Nation signs buy-back cooperative agreement with DOI (04/15)
Standing Rock Sioux Reservation sees $195M in buyback offers (04/06)
Navajo Nation considers agreement for land-buy back program (03/30)
DOI sends another $34M in offers on Rosebud Sioux Reservation (03/24)
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe seeks owners for buy-back program (3/19)
Lummi Nation signs cooperative agreement for Cobell buy-back (03/09)
DOI schedules listening session on buy-back program in Arizona (03/03)
Deadlines approaching for over $100M in land buy-back offers (02/24)
DOI signs land buy-back cooperative agreements with two tribes (01/30)
Osage Nation expects to see $7.4M in Cobell consolidation offers (1/27)
DOI sends $20M in land-buy back offers on Salt River Reservation (01/16)
DOI signs land buy-back agreements with Washington tribes (1/13)