INDIANS WIN FULL ACCOUNTING AS JUDGE REJECTS INTERIOR PLANS

[Wetzelbill]

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 -- U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth today ordered the Interior Department to conduct a full accounting of all individual Indian assets held in trust since 1887.
In the process, the judge rejected the department’s efforts to limit its fiduciary responsibilities and ordered long-delayed reforms to the troubled trust.
“This is a landmark victory,” said Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit that has demanded the government live up to its obligations to the trust account beneficiaries. “It is now clear that trust law and trust standards fully govern the management of the Individual Indian Trust and that Secretary Norton can no longer ignore the trust duties that she owes to 500,000 individual Indian trust beneficiaries,” observed Ms. Cobell.
In a 17-page order and two separate opinions totaling more than 350 pages, the judge said that Interior has “an unprecedented opportunity within its grasp: to take real steps now to redress some of the harm that has been inflicted against some of this nation’s most impoverished citizens.”


http://www.indiantrust.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.ViewDetail&PressRelease_id=94&Month=9&Year=2003

[Judi Lynn]

1. Sure glad they didn't give up when Norton/Bush shafted them

the first time!

From your article:

(snip) But the judge repeatedly admonished Secretary Norton and rejected her proposal to limit the accounting to only those trust accounts that were open 9 years ago when Congress passed major trust reform legislation. The judge also rejected Norton’s effort to limit the liability of the government as trustee for American Indians and imposed strict liability on the government trustees in accordance with trust law.

Dennis M. Gingold, lead lawyer for Indian plaintiffs, said this is a major loss for the government as well as the companies that have exploited the trust beneficiaries’ oil, gas, timber, coal and other natural resources for generations. “The Court has confirmed that individual Indian trust beneficiaries’ claims go back to 1887 and that the statute of limitations will not bar our clients’ claims. Moreover, the structural injunction confirms that the trust must be managed in accordance with highest fiduciary standards, standards that Norton has refused to accept. Nevertheless, we fully expect that Norton will continue to breach her trust duties and that when she does a receiver will be appointed. Our clients should no longer be required to suffer an unfit trustee-delegate.

Lamberth said he will no longer allow the Interior Secretary to manage the trust without close supervision because “the court has no confidence that Interior is willing to actually implement an adequate accounting,” he said. (snip)

[stopthegop]

2. get real!!

they've been shafted for years...Bush admin is just the latest...this problem is decades old..

[Wetzelbill]

4. I may add

that the Cobell lawsuit is only asking for an estimation on how much tribes are owed. As far as anyone can discern,(according Arthur Andersen, haha) the trust records were in such bad shape that they could only be audited back twenty years to 1976. (lawsuit has been since '96) In that time, 2 billion was unaccounted for, so they estimate that back to the 1880's to settle up with 12 billion. Unfortunately, it may be much more than that, but there is no way of knowing. The trust accounts weren't audited for over 100 years and were such a mess that hacking, embezzlement or slush fund usage may have occurred, but there is no way of knowing if, what, when or how. These accounts make the current situation in Iraq look well planned and managed.

[indepat]

3. As a student of trust law, may I applaud the judge's decision requiring

government trustees to act in accordance with trust law in fulfilling their fiduciary obligations. Now if only the Federal courts, especially the Supreme Court, the Congress, and the Fourth Estate were required to fulfill their fiduciary obligations to the American people, what a different and wonderful world this could be.

[roguevalley]

5. I remember glancing at something and it stated that after an

audit there was only about $67 in the accounts. It had to be an
error of reading for me to remember that amount. This is a disgrace
and needs fixing. A bundle of my relatives are going to get what they were promised, I hope, and a lot of people will get jail time.

[Zhade]

6. YES!

My ancestors would be proud (I mean, if they weren't all dead, of course).

Thanks to everyone anywhere who kept on top of this and to those who campaigned for justice.

Tohidu (Cherokee for "good peace")

[bemildred]

7. Yahoo!

About fucking time.

Now watch Interior try to stall some more.