What happened to the Cobell trust fund settlement?
The overwhelming majority of the $3.4 billion Cobell trust fund settlement has been distributed but some Indian beneficiaries still haven't been paid. The Trump administration has put Indian Country on notice of the eventual end of the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations.
What is the Cobell v Salazar Settlement?
What is the “Cobell Settlement?” Cobell v. Salazar is a class action lawsuit brought by Native American representatives against the United States government. Plaintiffs claim that the U.S. government incorrectly accounted for Indian trust assets, (land which came out of the Dawes Act.)
How many Indians are entitled to a share of Cobell’s settlement?
A November 27 deadline is fast approaching to locate an estimated 17,000 Indian beneficiaries who are entitled to a share of the $3.4 billion Cobell trust fund settlement.
What happened in the Cobell v Cobell case?
The Cobell case hinged in large part on whether or not an accurate accounting of the IIM accounts could be determined. After over 15 years of litigation, the defendant and the plaintiffs both agreed that an accurate accounting was not possible and in 2010 a settlement was finally reached for a total of $3.4 billion.
What was the Salazar settlement?
The case was settled for $3.4 billion in 2009. $1.4 billion was allocated to be paid to the plaintiffs and $2 billion allocated to repurchase fractionated land interests from those distributed under the Dawes Act and to return it to reservations and communal tribal ownership.
How many American Indians accounts did the Cobell lawsuit ask the federal government to provide accounting for?
300,000 individual IndianThe Native American Rights Fund and private co-counsel filed this class action case in federal district court in Washington, D.C. in 1996 to force the federal government to provide an accounting to approximately 300,000 individual Indian money account holders who have their funds held in trust by the federal government ...
What is a Wau settlement?
Despite extensive efforts to contact all potential claimants, there still remain several thousand Individual Indian Money (IIM) account holders who are classified as “whereabouts unknown" (WAU). These WAU accounts total millions of dollars in potential settlement payments.
What did Elouise Cobell do?
An entrepreneur, advocate, and member of the Blackfoot Nation, Elouise Pepion Cobell (“Yellow Bird Woman”), fought tirelessly for government accountability and for Native Americans to have control over their own financial future.
What amount did Cobell end up settling for?
The Cobell settlement was approved by Congress on November 30, 2010 (Claims Resolution Act of 2010) and signed by President Obama on December 8, 2010. The $3.4 billion Cobell Settlement includes a $1.9 billion Trust Land Consolidation Fund and $1.5 billion in direct payments to class members.
What is an individual Indian Money account?
An Individual Indian Money (IIM) account is an interest-bearing account managed by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Trust Funds Administration (BTFA) on behalf of an individual who has money or other assets held in trust for them by the Federal government.
How much money does a Native American get from the government?
Ever wonder how much assistance the federal government allocates to American Indian tribes and communities each year? It comes to about $20 billion a year, give or take a few hundred million dollars, a document from the Department of the Interior shows.
Do Native Americans get money from the government?
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) does not disburse cash to individuals, and contrary to popular belief, the U.S. government does not mail out basic assistance checks to people simply because they are Native American.
How much money is in the Indian trust fund?
$634 millionHow much money is in the Indian Trust Fund today? At present, the Indian Trust balance sits at over $634 million. This money is mostly divided into two types of Indian Moneys held in trust: $400 million in Capital Moneys: All money that comes from the sale of surrendered lands or capital assets.
What was Eloise's lawsuit about?
It claimed that the Interior Department had stolen or squandered billions of dollars in royalties owed to individual tribal members, mostly in the West, in exchange for oil, gas and other leases.
How much money does the federal government give Native Americans?
Ever wonder how much assistance the federal government allocates to American Indian tribes and communities each year? It comes to about $20 billion a year, give or take a few hundred million dollars, a document from the Department of the Interior shows.
How much did tribes get from the cares act?
The CARES Act passed by an overwhelming bi-partisan majority, which provided $8 billion in financial assistance to tribal governments.
Did the Native Americans sue the government?
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 300,000 Indians, to seek redress for government mismanagement of trust funds through which billions of dollars in Indian money has flowed over the years.
How much money is in the Indian trust fund?
$634 millionHow much money is in the Indian Trust Fund today? At present, the Indian Trust balance sits at over $634 million. This money is mostly divided into two types of Indian Moneys held in trust: $400 million in Capital Moneys: All money that comes from the sale of surrendered lands or capital assets.
Does Cobell Settlement request bank account information?
Please be advised that these individuals are not acting on behalf of the Cobell Settlement. No one associated with the Cobell Settlement will ever request payment or bank account information for any services or information provided. More details
Is the Cobell Settlement still being distributed?
The US District Court for the District of Columbia (the “Court”) has issued an order closing the distribution phase of the Cobell Settlement. The complete order may be read here. Awards in progress for Class Members or heirs of estates that submitted documentation by the document submission deadline will continue to be distributed. Estates of certain deceased Class Members that are pending in federal or Oklahoma Probate will still have awards distributed to heirs identified in the probate process. The Order also provides an additional $19.8 million to the Cobell Scholarship Fund.
How much was the Cobell case settled for?
After over 15 years of litigation, the defendant and the plaintiffs both agreed that an accurate accounting was not possible and in 2010 a settlement was finally reached for a total of $3.4 billion. The settlement, known as the Claims Settlement Act of 2010, was divided into three sections: $1.5 billion was created for an Accounting/Trust Administration fund (to be distributed to IIM account holders), $60 million is set aside for Indian access to higher education, and the remaining $1.9 billion sets up the Trust Land Consolidation Fund, which provides funds for tribal governments to purchase individual fractionated interests, consolidating the allotments into once again communally held land. However, the settlement has yet to be paid due to legal challenges by four Indian plaintiffs.
What is the name of the case that was referred to as Cobell v. Babbit?
Dina Gilio-Whitaker. Surviving multiple presidential administrations since its inception in 1996, the Cobell case has been known variously as Cobell v. Babbit, Cobell v. Norton, Cobell v. Kempthorne and its current name, Cobell v. Salazar (all defendants being Secretaries of the Interior under which the Bureau of Indian affairs is organized).
How many plaintiffs were in Babbit v. Norton?
Kempthorne and its current name, Cobell v. Salazar (all defendants being Secretaries of the Interior under which the Bureau of Indian affairs is organized). With upwards of 500,000 plaintiffs, it has been called the largest class-action lawsuit against the United States in U.S. history.
Who is Eloise Cobell?
Eloise Cobell, a Blackfoot Indian from Montana and banker by profession, filed the lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of thousands of individual Indians in 1996 after finding many discrepancies in the management of funds for lands held in trust by the United States in her job as treasurer for the Blackfoot tribe.
Who owns Indian lands?
According to U.S. law, Indian lands are technically not owned by tribes or individual Indians themselves but are held in trust by the U.S. government. Under U.S. management, Indian trust lands Indian reservations are often leased to non-Indian individuals or companies for resource extraction or other uses.
How long did the Dawes Act last?
In its mission to "civilize" and assimilate Indians into mainstream American culture, the Dawes Act of 1887 broke up the communal landholdings of tribes into individual allotments which were held in trust for a period of 25 years.
How much of the Cobell Trust Fund has been distributed?
The overwhelming majority of the $3.4 billion Cobell trust fund settlement has been distributed but some Indian beneficiaries still haven't been paid.
How long did the $60 million settlement take?
The $60 million ceiling -- the maximum authorized in the settlement -- was hit after just four years.
Why was Elouise Cobell awarded the highest civilian honor?
The late Elouise Cobell was awarded the nation's highest civilian honor for efforts to hold the federal government accountable to hundreds of thousands of tribal citizens.
Which tribes are getting a second shot at the Land Buy Back Program for Tribal Nations?
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are getting a second shot at the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations.
How many acres does the Bad River Band own?
Through the acquisition of fractional interests, the Bad River Band regained ownership of 3,492 acres on its reservation in northern Wisconsin.
Where is the land buy back program?
The Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations has returned to the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana.
Who is benefiting from the second round of the land buy back program?
Landowners from the Umatilla Reservation are benefiting from a second round of the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations.
What is the settlement amount for IIM?
The settlement provides for a $1.5 billion fund to compensate an estimated 500,000 affected individual trust beneficiaries who have or had IIM accounts or owned trust land, ...
When did the DOI settle the lawsuit?
In late 2010, after nearly 15 years of litigation, the class action litigation initiated by key plaintiff Elouise Cobell v. Salazar against the Department of Interior (DOI) settled for $3.4 billion, and then-President Barack Obama signed legislation authorizing the reimbursement of funds to eligible class members. The final deadline for submitting documentation so that payment can be made has been set by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (the “Court”) as Nov. 27, 2017. Unfortunately, thousands of people who are eligible to receive funds have yet to come forward, others have failed to keep their addresses current with the claims administrator and still others have passed away and their heirs have yet to present a death certificate and/or the necessary documentation to substantiate the right to inherit.
Where to send documents to Indian Trust Settlement?
For details on the documents needed in connection with estates, visit www.indiantrust.com or contact the claims administrator by calling 1-800-961-6109; emailing [email protected]; or sending correspondence to Indian Trust Settlement, PO Box 9577, Dublin OH 43017-4877.
