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US to Pay $3.4bn to Settle Native Americans Land Case
The US government has agreed to pay $3.4bn (£2.1bn) to settle a long-running case over Native American land.
The claimants said funds from their land had been mismanaged. (AFP) The Cobell case, filed in 1996, alleged the government had mismanaged billions of dollars in income from natural resources on Native American land.
Under the deal the interior department will share $1.4bn (£859m) among 300,000 tribe members as compensation and set up a $2bn fund to buy land from them.
President Barack Obama said it was "an important step towards reconciliation".
"I heard from many in Indian Country that the Cobell Suit remained a stain on the nation-to-nation relationship I value so much," Mr Obama told Congress.
He said he had pledged as a presidential candidate to resolve the issue and was proud the step had finally been made.
The secretary of the interior department also said it would aid reconciliation.
"This is an historic, positive development for Indian country," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement released by the department.
Contentious case
The dispute dates back to the 1887 Dawes Act, which seized Indian land - much of it rich in natural resources - and gave it to white-owned companies to exploit.
Under the Act, the land was divided into plots and each Indian family was assigned a parcel of land, a concept alien to their culture in which all land belonged to the tribe.
The idea was for them to be "compensated" for the use of their land; however disputes arose almost immediately, perpetuated as ever smaller parcels of land were inherited by new generations.
Attorney General Eric Holder said the parties had tried to reach an agreement "many, many times".
"But today we turn the page. This settlement is fair to the plaintiffs, responsible for the US, and provides a path forward for the future," he said.
Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfoot tribe and who filed the complaint in 1996, welcomed the settlement, saying the administration had listened to Native American concerns.
But she said there was "no doubt" the final amount was "significantly" less than what those affected actually deserved.
The plaintiffs had claimed they were owed $47bn.
Ms Cobell said: "Today is a monumental day for all of the people in Indian Country that have waited so long for justice.
"Did we get all the money that was due us? Probably not... but there too many individual Indian beneficiaries that are dying every single day without their money."
On its website the department for the interior said that the litigation had included hundreds of motions, dozens of rulings and appeals, and several trials.
The agreement must be approved both by Congress and a federal judge.
- Posted in
24 Comments so far
Show All$2 billion to buy land from them? Is that considered compensation?
They must mean buy land for the native tribes.
Article fails to mention that most of the problem was the D of Interior embezzled the royalties.
My reaction exactly.
odoco
For the millionth time - nobody goes to jail for ripping off the 'little guy,' this time the original inhabitants of this land. Where there is impunity - there is no justice.
Wow! Pennies on the dollar!
A first step (and no doubt a tiny portion of the numbers due in reality) - as Lao tsu said - journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.
Who knows - maybe steps will continue with ears and eyes among the most deaf and blind of us growing too. Listen... can you feel it?
Can you imagine the mass-media-television-viewing-population having the indian country experience of virtually never seeing a reflection of themselves in the programming?
Well... one can dream ... billions of tv viewers actually do believe that it reflects their reality - then wonder why antidepressants are required.
Just a cheapball settlement of one of the many claims made by indigenous folks to receive some kind of payment for everything whitey ripped off--and continues ripping.
So that half-blackie (white liberals voted for the white half, after all) can continue looking down his nose at native peoples while he talks about "nation to nation".
If it's nation to nation, that means all the treaties, not ONE of which was not violated by the US government, are valid--and that because the US government bailed on every one of them, the US government should be on trial in The Hague for repetitive criminal violations of international law.
And that the 99% of liberals posting here should be paying back rent, punitive damages and packing their bags.
You pretty much nail it, but some of us aint libruls. Packing bags? You know that aint gonna happen.
Meanwhile, a couple of weeks ago the Supremacist Court ruled that the "Washington Redskins" could keep their racist name and mascot imagery. What blatant injustice
I know no such thing.
When things get really tough, you are not going to be permitted to adopt some parasitical New Age posture of learning survival skills at the feet of Native American elders.
You are going to have to get going.
If I were you, I would start figuring out WHERE.
Good luck.
Where are you going? there is no escape from the impending slow death of the earth. Are you not a human being? Are you immune from climate change and pollution? What New Age? It seems you have an optimistic outlook, I don't. I see no evidence of it.
Or, alternatively, humans can all kill each other in the upcoming wars for dwindling resources and get it over with. No corner of the globe will be immune from this. Sorry to sound so pessimistic, but can anyone give me some evidence otherwise?
To a great extent I have already gone, socialist--almost 20 years ago.
But if euroamericans pack their bags, not just in the colonial US but in colonial Canada, and they do so ASAP, I might be able to return to my ancestral home.
No big deal for me, I suppose, as I am quite content living in a village of mostly indigenous folks in Mexico.
Plus, I am 65 with end/syndrome kidney disease--so for me it's no doubt moot.
I do, however, practice what Gramsci called "pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will".
The hope of indigenous folks is that when all the colonizers are through killing each other over OUR resources--under the aegis of religion and racism--there will be enough left to support our lifestyle of treading lightly on the earth.
Notice that I said HOPE--which requires no evidence at all. Evidence is another eurocrock designed to enshrine manipulated science and pernicious technology.
I can dig that, however your concept of hope must not be confused with the Obama kind.
My concept of hope is always the exact opposite of anything the US government puts out there to be hoped for.
And that's the only way to connect with reality and move forward, in my humble native opinion.
Anything else is just icing for the big cake of colonial crap.
I don't vote. So I sure as hell would not vote for a plastic capuccino suit like Obomba.
Voting is, as I said before, not only an exercise in futility, it is the pledge of allegiance to the colonial and genocidal capitalist system.
>>>memoriasdelsaqueo wrote: Plus, I am 65 with end/syndrome kidney disease--so for me it's no doubt moot.
Have you considered going on a completely vegan diet of grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits for a few months? I imagine that it shouldn't be difficult being a vegan (no dairy, no fish, no animal products as food) in Mexico. You could take vitamin and calcium supplements, just in case... Just a thought...
Thanks, I appreciate your concern and I will consider it--but as I am a "foodie", and a card-carrying member of Slow Food, I don't know that I am quite ready yet for a dramatic change. As it is I eat no fish or shellfish (allergic), and very little animal products--lots of vegetables and whole grains and different legumes are a big part of my diet, fruits in moderation and probably way too many wonderful chiles.
I didn't mean raw food - you can be a "card-carrying member of Slow Food" and be a vegan, enjoying spicy, delicious dishes - just clarifying :)
"Manifest Destiny" and "Man's Dominion Over Nature" are land mines for catastrophe --
The entire concept of land as personal property is criminal.
I've never seen a Deed of Transfer with "god's" name on it!!
.
"According to all myth, the female - not the male -- gives life"
US to Pay $3.4bn to Settle Native Americans Land Case
Wrong this is just another treaty with the restless natives.
Sen. Snowe all $ for military none for health care will put a trigger on this. The trigger will be "when all natives are dead, the trigger will come into effect." Oh that's right no payment needed. No one to pay.
You really think this pig will fly in congress?
Accordion to my calculations, that's $11,334 per individual. Plus the privilege to sell their land to the US? This is considered justice?
I heard on NPR yesterday, that it's about $1,000 per person.
Partially correct by NPR. No less than $1500. After final approval, an initial payment of $1000 will be issued.
But, yes, there is no "lump sum" for 300,000 claims as presumed by GMonkey
http://www.cobellsettlement.com/class/index.php#rights
Indian Country Today printed a better account of the recent motion to settle, and how the monies would presumably be allocated once approved by Congress and a judge., so that could take how much more time? and how many filters between the final judgment and the individual account holder?
Consequently, did you know John McCain motioned for a settlement around $7Billion? Bush Administration rejected, and now Obama comes out with $3.4 Billion.
At the same time, individual Class Members don't have to accept the decision. Class Members can exclude themselves from the Trust Administration Class and file a lawsuit on their own for the same claim, but you must "exclude" yourself, otherwise your families claim will be settled forever. So, if you are an IIM Account holder, or the heir to an IIM Account holder, think about your options.
While the article above refers to 300,000 claims, there are actually over 500,000 current IIM Account holders who will all be impacted by Cobell v Salazar if, and when, it is approved by Senate, then a federal judge....
At the bottom of the article is an additional link to cobellsettlement.com, but here is a direct link to "rights" for the individual potentially impacted by the settlement:
http://www.cobellsettlement.com/class/index.php#rights
And a link to ICT's article:
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/home/content/78778397.html
added: The proposal by McCain, et al for $7 billion was a motion that if accepted, would have effectively extinguish all Native claims against the government. It was something proposed outside of the breadth of original lawsuit and would have included any and all claims against the federal government. The logical decision was to reject it outright.
The Associated Press article published in the Rapid City Journal today indicated the above article is mistaken:
"The government would also spend $2 billion to buy back and consolidate tribal land broken up in previous generations. The program would allow individual tribe members to obtain cash payments for land interests divided among numerous family members and return the land to tribal control."
This case was about the lack of full payment for the leasing of American Indian land by the U.S. Government Department of Interior. Many records were improperly kept or lost by the Government thereby making it difficult to determine a real number. This has been going on for a hundred years. Some estimates put the amount at One Hundred Billion. Corbell won in court case after court case but could never collect. The judge who heard all of the evidence originally ruled strongly in favor of the Native people; then, he was replaced. So there really is no justice, just more theft and death. This settlement is small relative to the money stolen.
This is only one side of the case. The other is that politicians made sweetheart deals with their political patrons and families leasing the lands for far less than market rates. Therefore, not only did the Native People not receive the money collected but also did not receive fair market lease rates. It's the same old thing.
Harry Reid's relative is now leasing Native Land to mine gold. It is Western Shoshone land. Harry tried to push legislation through Congress purchasing Shoshone land for fifteen cents an acre for twenty million acres. If you think genocide is not alive and well in America you are wrong. It never stopped.