Podcast

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder
Announce Settlement of the Cobell Lawsuit
December 8, 2009

Announcer:  This is a Podcast from the U.S. Department of the Interior

Secretary Salazar:  “After more than a decade of litigation over the U.S. Governments management of over 300,000 individual American Indian trust accounts, we have reached a negotiated agreement to resolve the Cobell class action litigation.”

Announcer: Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announcing the settlement of a long running class action suit over the U.S. Government’s trust management and accounting of over three hundred  

Under a negotiated agreement, subject to approval by Congress and the U.S. District Court, a fund totaling $1.4 billion will be distributed to class members to compensate them for their historical accounting claims, and to resolve potential claims that prior U.S. officials mismanaged the administration of trust assets. 

Attorney General Eric Holder said the settlement provides a path forward to the future, allowing the two parties to turn the page on one of the largest suits ever filed against the U.S. Government.

Attorney General Holder:  “What began in 1996, has seen seven full trials constituting 192 trial days, has resulted in 22 published judicial decisions, has been up to the court of appeals 10 times and has been the subject of intense and sometimes difficult litigation, but today we turn the page.”

Announcer: In order to address the continued proliferation of thousands of new trust accounts caused by the "fractionation" of land interests the settlement establishes a $2 billion fund for the voluntary buy-back and consolidation of fractionated land interests.  Today, it is common to have hundreds—even thousands—of Indian owners for one parcel of land. Such highly fractionated ownership makes it extremely difficult to use the land productively or to provide beneficial use for any individual.  Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes pointed out that often the administrative costs are far more than what the accounts pay out.

Deputy Secretary Hayes:  “There was a case recently that talked about a 40 acre parcel of land that was subject to an allotment.  It has 439 owners, it currently produces a thousand dollars in annual income, two thirds of the individual Indians receive less than one dollar per year from this.  The estimated value of the land is $20,000.  The administrative costs for the United States Department of the Interior in managing the accounts for these 439 owners is $40,000 per year.  This makes no sense to the individual Indians, to the Department of the Interior, to fiscal integrity, to the use of land going forward.  We’re extraordinarily excited that the plaintiffs recognize this fact and have worked with us to establish a fund to buy back those individual interests and return that land to productive use.”

Announcer: The settlement has been negotiated with the involvement of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It will not become final until it is formally endorsed by the court.  Solicitor of the Interior Hilary Tompkins worked directly with the plaintiffs and says the agreement is a step toward a meaningful trust.

Solicitor Tompkins:  “What I mean is the very definition of trust; assured reliance on the integrity, veracity, justice, friendship or other sound principle of a person or thing, confidence, faith, belief.  It is this definition of ‘trust’ which is essential to the federal government’s trust relationship with the individual Indians and Tribal governments of this great country and this settlement marks the beginning of restoring this trust.”

Announcer: Secretary Salazar also signed a secretarial order to establish a national commission to evaluate ongoing trust reform efforts and make recommendations for the future management of individual trust accounts.  This has been a podcast from the U.S. Department of the Interior; I’m Ron Tull, Washington.