Court: Feds Delayed $100B Owed To Indians

Federal Judge Says Interior Dept. "Unreasonably Delayed" American Indian Trust Accounting

(AP)  A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that the Interior Department has "unreasonably delayed" its accounting for billions of dollars owed to Indian landholders.

The federal agency "has not, and cannot, remedy the breach" of its responsibilities to account for the Indian money, U.S. District Judge James Robertson said in a 165-page decision in a long-running federal lawsuit alleging mismanagement of Indian trust funds.

"Indeed, it is now clear that completion of the required accounting is an impossible task," Robertson said.

The suit, first filed in 1996 by Blackfeet Indian Elouise Cobell, claims the government has mismanaged more than $100 billion in oil, gas, timber and other royalties held in trust from Indian lands dating back to 1887.

Cobell said in a statement that "this is a great day in Indian Country."

"We've argued for over 10 years that the government is unable to fulfill its duty to render an adequate historical accounting, much less redress the historical wrongs heaped upon the individual Indian trust beneficiaries," Cobell said.

An Interior Department spokeswoman said officials were reviewing Robertson's decision and had no immediate comment.

Robertson said he will schedule a hearing in the next month to discuss a way to solve the problem. He added that his conclusion that Interior is unable to perform an adequate accounting does not mean that the task is hopeless.

"It does mean that a remedy must be found for the department's unrepaired, and irreparable, breach of its fiduciary duty over the last century. And it does mean that the time has come to bring this suit to a close," Robertson said.

The judge said that although department officials had attempted and continued to attempt to "cure the breach of their fiduciary duty" they have not succeeded in doing so and "have unreasonably delayed the completion of the required accounting."

Robertson also blamed Congress for the lack of money appropriated for the cause, citing the "tension between the expense of an adequate accounting and congressional unwillingness to fund such an enterprise."

Interior Department officials argued during the October trial that their job was difficult with limited money from Congress. The judge agreed, saying the department deserves credit for trying to strike a balance between "exactitude and cost."

He said he did not agree with the Indian plaintiffs' assertion that an adequate accounting is not possible because of missing records. The record is inconclusive on that point, he said.

The lawsuit deals with individual Indians' lands. Several tribes have sued separately, claiming mismanagement of their lands.

The government proposed paying $7 billion partly to settle the Cobell lawsuit in March 2007, but that was rejected by the plaintiffs, who estimate the government's liability could exceed $100 billion. The Interior Department estimates that it has spent $127 million on its accounting in the past five years.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said Wednesday that he hopes the judge's decision is a catalyst for a settlement.

"Ultimately the question is going to be for the administration and the Justice Department, are they willing to settle for all of these years of mismanagement," he said.

Robertson took over the case after Judge Royce Lamberth was removed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which said he had lost his objectivity.

The government had asked that Lamberth be replaced after the judge lambasted the Interior Department, writing in a decision that it "is a dinosaur — the morally and culturally oblivious hand-me-down of a disgracefully racist and imperialist government that should have been buried a century ago."

In his decision, Robertson detailed the extensive background of the case, saying that it would "stretch the limits of understatement" to say the case's history has been exhaustively chronicled in district court. He noted there are 3,504 entries on the case's docket and 10 circuit judges have been engaged in the case. His opinion will have the shorthand of "Cobell XX," he noted.

Throughout his conclusion, Robertson quoted Charles Dickens' "Bleak House," which chronicles a never-ending legal suit. Using passages from that novel, he notes that the "suit has, in course of time, become so complicated" that "no two lawyers can talk about it for five minutes without coming to a total disagreement as to all the premises."

"'Innumerable children have been born into the cause,' and, as plaintiffs have reminded us on occasion, 'innumerable old (plaintiffs) have died out of it,"' Robertson said.

Just wondering-have any of you whining weasels ever been around the people that "LOST" out on everything the would have "inherited"????????????????????????
I''m guessing not.
I have, I live there.
They wreck everything they are given-and get new from the government.
They drink every dime they get-and get more from the government.
Native Americans in my state are the most hateful people I''ve ever met, and they want MORE and MORE.
I''m sorry, I didn''t steal ANYTHING from them. NEITHER did my ancestors.
And they use all of the white peoples help to continue to abuse each other from birth.
GIVE ME A BREAK.
And by the way-I am part Native American.
And I''m NOT proud of "my people" for how they are.

[klingon69]

Everything was taken from them and always with the promise that they would be compensated. Now it''''s time to pay up. Why do you have a problem with paying your bill?
Posted by Element51 at 07:03 PM : Jan 30, 2008
So will it be paid to just those on the reservations, or will it be paid to anyone with Native American blood? If so, what percentage, and how much blood line must there be? Will the percentage payout be based upon the amount in your blood? Say a full-blooded vs 1/4 blooded?

[dan9111]

Some of these arguments are silly. Clearly one is not obligated to pay the debts that another has incurred. The murder and treason committed by the whites was done by white who today are dead ones. One can only blame government itself, not racial or technological divides.

To believe our "leaders" today (be they McCain or Hillary) are going to stop murdering people is fantasy in the extreme. If you want to stop violence, then you should stop condoning this belief in "good government". There is no such animal.

[beehive21-2009]

WE lost a lot we should have learned from the Indians,took the land,scalped for a bounty in California, dishonored treaties,gave tribes blankets infected with smallpox,killed all the Buffalo,raped the Earth of oil,timber,gold silver, water etc.and now,have become the world Super Power thru inventions and landing on the moon.We cannot be held responsible for what happened hundreds of years ago,however we can be kind to Indians today,and does not mean lining there pockets with gold,they have no use for but helping them when we can thru education,housing,kindness.

[olebd]

Heck, according to my family tree, I''ve got a fractional amount of Native American blood in me. I hope I see some money out of all this :)

Come to think of it, most of us probably have a little Native American in us if you have relatives that were in this country way back when.

[extremophil]

100 billion is still not enough to compensate for what was done.... Posted by mediamomma


Yeah, I sure feel guilty for how much YOU have suffered. Just take the conscience money and go have a cocktail.

[olebd]

In the words of the great Chief Geronimo, "UGH" and "HOW?"

[kevzgrl]

The word was skan-ky, by the way. In no way is that cursing or racially/sexu-ally charged - it refers to dirt, plain and simple.

[Krazcarl]

JKHAGEMANN...Does your sign in stand, for pimple on the *ss of prgress. Besides making jr high fun what points don''t you agree with what has you in a lather. I''m open to debate I''m educated informed you apparently are not and jealous. I recommend a little reading broaden your horizens child.

[kevzgrl]

Element51: I, too, have reported these idiots who post on here for "hot girls" and the like - however, CBS doesn''t do anything about it, because they probably get money from these *** websites the posters keep trying to direct you to. Then, they turn around and censor the words you use in a legitimate post response to a story. Go figure, the media is king.....

[ceehelmuth]

brianbwb:

So funny, and sooooo true! Maybe in the end they will only accept DC as a payment!

C

[mediamomma]

I have been saying for years that my ancestors received unjust treatment. The europeans came and took this country from my family and made them walk a long journey with many dying along the way. That is not the way to treat people. Oh, they came and pretended to be friendly and ate my ancestors'' food, but then they took it farther. They stole everything from them. This entire country is built on theivery and lies. The Alamo wasn''t even an american site. They took that from the mexicans. The europeans came here with nothing and stole everything. Don''t tell me I''m better off with having them come over here and give technology. I would rather be living in a tepee or on open land riding horses. This country was much better off before the foreigners came and stole everything out from under my ancestors feet. 100 billion is still not enough to compensate for what was done.

[brianbwb-2009]

"...government has mismanaged more than $100 billion in oil, gas, timber and other royalties held in trust from Indian lands dating back to 1887..."

At an average of 3% per annum for 120 years that comes to...Texas!

[bidder3]

It''s called "SCREW THE INDIANS" did you exspect anything different? The US has been doing it for centurys,and will probably keep doing it.
We;re a very PROUD nation,arn''t we

[mcvet]

Must be nice to be a ''''Native American'''' (so did they spontaniously generate in North America ?)

Imagine, just because they are born into the right family, they get money. Maybe they should be paying a visa to come into the US.


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Posted by speakinup at 06:43 PM : Jan 30, 2008
+ report abuse

I MUST add my objections to the others on here. YOU are one sick Swastika Hugger! These people were ROBBED! Corporations TOOK money that was supposed to be, by an HONEST agreement, meant for them and put it in their collective pocket. The Government that was supposed to have collected and protected that money, by agreement, did NEITHER! Have you people NO honor what so ever? Crawl back under your rock PLEASE!!
Sieg Heil Y''all.

[mcvet]

Whatever the Europeans did to the Indians it was not genocide. There are more Native Americans now than there were when the Europeans came over. And they have a higher standard of living. They were living a stone age existence without horses, cattle, iron, or wheels. That being said, anthropologists studying primitive tribes have said tribal life is happier and more satisfying than modern life. They knew many things and had many skills we don''''t possess. Throughout history whenever a group with more technology has run into a more primitive one the more technical ones have prevailed. Not just in North America. American Indians have the same rights as any other American. They do as well as anybody else when they assimilate into the general population. I am part Indian and have some full bloods in my family.


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Posted by runningralph at 07:48 PM : Jan 30, 2008
+ report abuse

What is it with you Nazi''s and you constant LYING? Do you HONESTLY believe anyone with any importance will believe this garbage? Sieg Heil Bush

[imnho]

The europe settelers got a lot from the Native Americans. They got corn from the Indians. They got food from the Indians. They got New York from the Indians. They got the great plains from the Indians. They got Part of the Soth from the Indians.

The Native Americans we not compensated for any of this. They were put on the reservation in the hope that they would die. The 100 Billion that the goverment owes them should be payed as soon as it is practical.

[jkhagemann]

crzmeat... are you retarted? Oh, let me be politicaly correct; do you suffer from "downs syndrome"?

My god man.. get a life.

[fishinfool43]

Good to see they might get what is due to them after all these years. I just hope they dont flood the country with more casinos

[Krazcarl]

Element51...I report him regular after every name change but CBS will not police the blog you''d think they would read it and take care but theyb won''t that''s why it has gone jr.high.