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WhoMe

I just got this email in today and wondered if it can be verified by anyone here? If 300,000 plaintiffs split the settlement of $1.4 BILLION dollars, then by my nonprofessional calculation, each plaintiff should receive around $3000 (after other depts are paid). Hmmm? Here's the article:

"Interior Department settles royalty dispute with American Indians for lands overseen by US

US settles royalty dispute with Indian tribes

President Barack Obama hailed the settlement of the case, known as Cobell v. Salazar, as an important step to reconcile Indian tribes and the federal government.
"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," Obama said in a statement issued by the White House. "I pledged my commitment to resolving this issue, and I am proud that my administration has taken this step today."
Under the agreement announced Tuesday, the Interior Department will distribute $1.4 billion to more than 300,000 tribe members to compensate them for historical accounting claims, and to resolve future claims. The department also will spend $2 billion to buy back and consolidate tribal land lost by previous generations. The program will allow individual tribe members to obtain cash payments for divided land interests and free up the land for the benefit of tribal communities.
The settlement resolves a 13-year-old dispute in which Indian tribes claim they were swindled out of billions of dollars in oil, gas, grazing, timber and other royalties overseen by the Interior Department since 1887.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called the settlement a historic, positive development for Indian country and a major step to reconcile decades of acrimony between Indian tribes and the federal government.
Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe from Montana who was the lead plaintiff in the case, called the proposed settlement crucial for hundreds of thousand of Native Americans who have suffered for more than a century through mismanagement of the Indian trust funds.
Cobell said she is hopeful that the settlement can "help break the cycle of poverty that has held too many families in poverty for generations."
The proposed settlement still must be approved by Congress and a federal court judge."



Can anyone verify if this article is real????

__________________
"If you can find a way to please everybody, bottle it."

Rico Newman, Piscataway Elder

OLChemist

Obama administration moves to settle Cobell | Indian Country Today | Content

Cobell v. Salazar

http://cobellsettlement.com/docs/200..._Agreement.pdf

What I want to know is what is the lawyers' cut?

legalstraight

I actually watched the whole press conference- fortunately my co-workers were equally interested otherwise the perpetual mix of cursing and celebration would not have been appreciated.....

Anyways, the Secretary of the Interior says every person who has an OST account will get $1,000 (a grand). My math says that is a pretty good estimation.

Congress and the federal court in D.C. still have to approve this. Once they do anybody who is eligible should be getting a something in the mail about what the settlement actually will be.....
And how do you know if you are eligible? You have to own trust land or have an OST account. And the list is gonna come from OST, so if you haven't gotten any mail from BIA or OST in the last six months it would be an excellent time to give them a call and make sure they have your current address.

wyo_rose

Cobell v. Salazar - this looks like the same link as above, but actually explains who's getting what.

I won't hold my breath. And even though this is just a little pitance per individual, it could be put to good use.

__________________
I wasn't born knowing this stuff.

Paul G

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/us/09tribes.html?_r=1

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legalstraight

Thanks for posting the link. You can also check out Indiantrust.com for more info and history on the case.

Grits & Beans

Have any of you heard of the G & B Trust Plan?

ha ha ha ha ha!

WhoMe

So my question is, "if I and others accept the $1000, are we consenting that this is just and fair compensation for mismanagement by the government?"

__________________
"If you can find a way to please everybody, bottle it."

Rico Newman, Piscataway Elder

legalstraight

And at that WhoMe I will direct you and anyone else who may have specific questions about the settlement and their rights under it as members of the class to an attorney- preferably one who knows Indian law. So call either your tribal legal department or an Indian legal services office.

wyo_rose

Sounds like if you accept the money, you forfeit any further claims along these lines. If you opt out, you can file your own lawsuit.

__________________
I wasn't born knowing this stuff.

WhoMe

legal,

But they may only be able to offer their opinion. Hopefully more public information will be deciminated by those working directly with this case to address this question.

We have a right to know.

__________________
"If you can find a way to please everybody, bottle it."

Rico Newman, Piscataway Elder

legalstraight

In defense of my much maligned profession, an attorney who looks into this can find all of the settlement documents and so forth and give you an actual answer to your questions- its more a matter of translating lawyer into regular english than giving an opinion.

So far the attorneys on both sides have released everything that they can.

The right to know has been a big part of this case- the historical accounting was essentially the government opening their books and double checking their math- unfortunately they also had to admit that so many of the early records were lost thus the last few years of fighting over how much exactly are the land owners owed.

And before the settlement is all done every single land owner will be getting a letter that describes the settlement, your rights, and what happens if you agree to it.

Zeke

I have zero issues with your profession.

But I am not certain that The Law(tm), is the only thing at work, here. While mediation and compromise are important, settlements -- typically -- come for reasons.

Somehow, the government will wind up in the black on this.

__________________
People who support a quantum definition (diminishing resource) with respect to Indian identity might consider how they usher in the Trojan Horse that seeks the legalized destruction of all American Indians.