Calling it “the beginning of a new era” in the U.S. government’s relations with Native American communities, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar hailed a $3.4 billion settlement against the federal government last week.
A ruling on June 20 by U.S. Senior District Judge Thomas F. Hogan in the case of Cobell v. Salazar ended 15 years of litigation over misused royalties from Indian trust accounts and lands.
The settlement will pave the way for payments to as many as a half-million Native Americans involved in the class-action litigation.
A fund of $1.5 billion will be used to compensate class members for their claims regarding potential mismanagement of their trust funds and assets, and historical accounting. The agreement also established a $1.9 billion fund for the voluntary buy-back and consolidation of fractioned land interests, which have occurred through succeeding generations.
Fractionated lands are those held by 50 to 100 co-owners with no individual owner having greater than 10 percent of the entire parcel, or 100 or more co-owners of undivided trust or restricted interests.
The consolidation program, to be administered by the Department of the Interior, provides individuals an opportunity to receive cash payments for small divided land interests and free up the fractionated land for the benefit of tribal communities. The settlement also provides for an Indian Education Scholarship Fund of up to $60 million for American Indians and Alaska Natives.
“Judge Hogan’s decision that the settlement is fair and reasonable removed a cloud that had been cast over the federal government’s relationship with American Indians,” said Salazar. “His ruling…honorably and responsibly turns the page on an unfortunate chapter in the department’s history.”
Arizona tribes with members represented in the class action suit include Navajo, Hopi, Tohono O’odham, Salt River, San Carlos Apache, Pima-Maricopa, Colorado River and Gila River tribes.
The settlement is the largest class-action suit ever approved by the federal government. Class members will receive at least $1,000 each.
