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Breaking news: President Obama announces settlement of the longstanding Cobell lawsuit

elouise cobell in Wash DCI just received news from the White House that President Obama has announced a settlement of the Cobell vs. Salazar lawsuit. This is the case filed by Elouise Cobell of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana back in 1996. That’s when she decided to sue the U.S. government on behalf of a half million landowners. Yes, after 14 long years in the court system, the White House and Cobell lawyers have agreed upon a settlement.   This site offers more details, stating upwards of $3.4 billion.
Here’s what President Barack Obama had to say today about it:

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

_____________________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release December 8, 2009

Statement by the President on the Settlement of Cobell Class-Action Lawsuit on Indian Trust Management

“Today, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Attorney General Eric Holder announced that, at long last, a settlement has been reached in the Cobell class-action lawsuit. This suit was originally filed in 1996 over the United States government’s trust management and accounting of hundreds of thousands of individual American Indian trust accounts. With this announcement, we take an important step towards a sincere reconciliation between the trust beneficiaries and the federal government and lay the foundation for more effective management of Indian trust assets in the future. I want to applaud Secretary Salazar and Attorney General Holder for working tirelessly with the plaintiffs to help reach this settlement.

“As a candidate, I heard from many in Indian Country that the Cobell suit remained a stain on the Nation to Nation relationship I value so much. I pledged my commitment to resolving this issue, and I am proud that my Administration has taken this step today. I came to Washington with a promise to change how our government deals with difficult issues like this, and a promise that the facts and policies, and not politics, will guide our actions and decisions.

“But it is important to note that today’s actions are not the final step. The District Court for the District of Columbia must formally endorse the settlement, and Congress must enact legislation to authorize implementation. I urge Congress to act swiftly to correct this long-standing injustice and to remember that no special appropriations are required. I congratulate all those in Indian Country that have waited for this news, and join them in waiting for a quick conclusion to the process.”

###

The announcement was made this morning in Washington, D.C. at the Interior Department. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Attorney General Eric Holder both announced the settlement of Cobell. 

Jodi Rave

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear is the founder and director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance, a 501-C-3 nonprofit organization with offices in Bismarck, N.D. and the Fort Berthold Reservation. Jodi spent 15 years reporting for the mainstream press. She's been awarded prestigious Nieman and John S. Knight journalism fellowships at Harvard and Stanford, respectively. She also an MIT Knight Science Journalism Project fellow. Her writing is featured in "The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity," published by Columbia University Press. Jodi currently serves as a Society of Professional Journalists at-large board member, an SPJ Foundation board member, and she chairs the SPJ Freedom of Information Committee. Jodi has won top journalism awards from mainstream and Native press organizations. She earned her journalism degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

6 Comments

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  • Barbara Blackdeer-Mackenzie

    It will be interesting to find out the details of how and when this decision will be implemented. Regardless, all the landowners should do a calculation as to what the pay out for their particular property was/ is to determine fair pay-out. If lands are still held, or purchased back, there should be a valuation of the property value compared to the settlement. The same should go for the adjacent properties to determine the value the federal government places on certain areas.

    Congratulations to those families getting a settlement. May the funds be used safely and wisely.

  • Notnek

    YES; That’s is a promise kept. SALUTE. I bet Jodi had a great deal to do with this too.

  • Doris Respects Nothing

    I am not in favor of the settlement and would like to know why Eloise did not consult before accepting that amount when she came to Pine Ridge and stated that she would not accept anything lower than 30 Billion or was I mistaken? It has been hard for many who were not consulted with as well as those who passed on who did not see justice or is this justice? Why is more monies being put into purchasing undivided interests when it was a failure from the beginning? or is it the plan? My questions are many and probably will not be answered due to special interest groups that protect policies that restrict protection of trust responsibility by the Federal Govt. I’ve attended sessions where those in the consultation process are looking out for non-indians who marry into tribes and inherit trust lands and we all know that when this happens, we lose more lands which is the goal of these Acts of Genocide against Treaty Tribes.

    Wopila

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