Feds settle with the Indian Nations re: mismanagement of tribal accounts

[Gonesouth1234]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=16&articleid=20110317_16_A11_Apropo259861



Oklahoma Indians


By WAYNE GREENE World Senior Writer
Published: 3/17/2011  2:29 AM
Last Modified: 3/17/2011  5:12 AM

A proposed settlement to a massive federal class-action lawsuit alleging mismanagement of American Indian trust assets could mean tax-free payments of millions of dollars to Oklahomans - some of whom may be unaware of the case or the money awaiting them.


More than half a million American Indians in the western half of the United States - including about 35,000 in Oklahoma - would be eligible for payments under the proposed settlement of the 1996 federal class-action lawsuit, which attorney Keith Harper said was the largest settlement against the U.S. government ever.

But, he pointed out, the settlement deals with more than a century of gross government mismanagement of Indian assets.

"There is a temptation to say it is not enough," Harper said.

The settlement falls short of compensating every Indian fully, but it is a fair settlement in light of what is achievable in the case, he said. The settlement is larger than all previous Indian case judgements and settlements in U.S. history combined, he said.

Attorneys in the so-called Cobell settlement spoke to more than 100 people Wednesday meeting at the Creek Community Building in Tulsa.

The meeting was one of a series taking place in almost every state west of the Mississippi River as attorneys try to reach as many plaintiffs as possible.

Most of the potential beneficiaries of the case would receive much smaller payments, but some people have very big paydays awaiting them if the settlement is completed,
Geoffrey Rempel, an accountant for the case's lead plaintiff, said in a telephone interview.

Members of the Osage Nation who have individual Indian money accounts with the federal government are among those eligible for some of the biggest settlement amounts, he said.

The 1996 federal class-action lawsuit, filed by Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet tribe, alleges that the government mismanaged American Indian assets - including land, oil, natural gas, timber and grazing - for decades, resulting in the loss of billions of dollars.

After years of litigation, a federal judge gave preliminary approval to a $3.4 billion settlement on Dec. 21.

Only people with Individual Indian Money accounts with the federal government are eligible for settlement money.

The settlement puts account holders in two groups: the historical accounting class - those who had an open account with the federal government between Oct. 25, 1994, and Sept. 30, 2009, and whose account had at least one cash transaction; and the trust administration class - those who had an account recorded in federal data between 1985 and Sept. 30, 2009.

Account holders or their heirs can be included in either or both classes.

Each member of the historical accounting class will receive $1,000, and each member of the trust administration class will receive about $800, but people who have had a great deal of money in their accounts for a long time can qualify for much more.

A website associated with the settlement shows examples of settlements that could go as high as $125,000, but Rempel said settlements could go much higher, especially for people whose trust accounts included management of petroleum assets.

Harper told those gathered Wednesday night that the payments would be tax-free and could not be used in deciding eligibility for any federal aid programs.

If the settlement receives final approval in federal court, the $1,000 payments to historical accounting class members will begin as soon as September. Payments in the trust administration class will be distributed after the court is satisfied that most of the class members have been identified and their payments have been calculated.

Leonard Maker, an Osage Indian from Hominy, congratulated Harper and lead plaintiff Cobell, who was not present. "It's a great victory for us," Maker said.

Others at Wednesday's meeting objected that the amount of the settlement was too low to compensate for more than a century of government mismanagement. Others were concerned that attorneys' fees would be too high.

Harper said the judge in the case would set the attorneys' fees but that the contingency fee with plaintiffs called for 14.75 percent of a $1.5 billion portion of the settlement.

People who are not satisfied with their settlements or the fees can write their objections to the court or opt out of the agreement, Harper said.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=16&articleid=20110317_16_A11_Apropo259861

[Conan71]

Wow, the Tulsa World really scooped this one.  I think I first heard or read this about a month or more ago.

How would you like to be the attorney on this one? $1.5 billion? Wow.

Now when can all of us whitey's sue for all the other gross mis-management and negligence of the government over the last 100 years?  Quite certainly they've mismanaged all sorts of public lands, agencies, and committed all sorts of wrongdoings we should be compensated for.  We want ours!!