It will be interesting to see how many individuals decide to opt out of the Cobell settlement, a $3.4 billion agreement on which not everyone agrees. Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the Indian trust fund lawsuit, met with landowners on the Pine Ridge Reservation on Sunday. Today, she is scheduled to meet with folks on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation. Indianz.com reports she will be speaking at the gym at the Sinte Gleska University from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The House Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to have a hearing and live webcast on Wednesday to discuss the settlement. Seven people are scehduled to testify.The settlement culminated in an agreement among IIM beneficiaries and the Secretary of the Interior, the Assistant Secretary of the Interior-Indian Affairs, and the Secretary of the Treasury in a long-running class action lawsuit, Cobell v. Salazar. The lawsuit claims Interior Department failed to provide an historical accounting of Individual Indian Money accounts. The settlement, if approved, will create a $1.4 billion accounting and trust administration fund. Also, $2 billion will be used for a trust land consolidation fund. In addition, an Indian education scholarship fund of up to $60 million has also been proposed for higher education grants. Here’s a link to key documents in the Cobell vs. Salazar case. If you are a landowner, you owe it to yourself and your family to learn everything about the case. If you hear something you’re not sure about, check it out.
While the Cobell settlement might be good for many people, it likely won’t meet the needs of all landowners. It’s imperative everyone do their part to understand the settlement. I’m working on it myself. As a landowner, I have my own questions about whether the settlement will work for me. I don’t know yet. But I will share my findings once I make some phone calls and begin talking to more people. I’m aware that some folks at the Cheyenne River Reservation are calling for a rejection of the settlement.
For more information, go to the Cobell v. Salazar settlement Web page.
Jodi Rave
