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FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2003

Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado) plans to introduce legislation to extinguish historical accounting claims of willing Indian beneficiaries.

Campbell tells The Denver Post that tribes support his idea. But at last year's National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), tribes told him to hold off on the bill and he backed away. He said he would hold a hearing to discuss it.

The Department of Interior circulated legislation to settle certain Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts. The draft gave the Secretary full discretion to make a cash settlement that could not be challenged by the beneficiary nor could ever be raised in a court of law.

Get the Story:
Campbell advances trust solution (The Denver Post 1/10)

Relevant Documents:
Draft: IIM Extinguishment Program (PDF 28k)

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Cobell v. Norton, Department of Justice - http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/index.htm
Indian Trust, Department of Interior - http://www.doi.gov/indiantrust
Trust Reform, NCAI - http://www.ncai.org/main/pages/
issues/other_issues/trust_reform.asp

Related Stories:
Tribes opposing trust fund settlement bill (11/13)
Norton proposes divide and conquer (11/6)