$3.4bn to settle Native Americans case

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Registered: 03-18-2000
$3.4bn to settle Native Americans case
13
Wed, 12-09-2009 - 7:55am
US to pay $3.4bn to settle Native Americans land case

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8402329.stm


Members of the Lumbee Tribe in Washington DC (file image)


The claimants said funds from their land had been mismanaged


The US government has agreed to pay $3.4bn (£2.1bn) to settle a long-running case over Native American land.

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.






Elouise Cobell in New York (8 December 2009)
Ms Cobell said many Natives Americans were owed far more

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" that the final amount was "significantly" less than what those affected actually deserved.


The plaintiffs had claimed they were owed $47bn.


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.


 

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Avatar for ddnlj
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 12-09-2009 - 8:12am
It's good to see that America has so much extra money laying around that we can finance projects like this right now.
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Wed, 12-09-2009 - 8:36am
Don't you think American Indians deserve some

 


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Avatar for ddnlj
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 12-09-2009 - 9:05am

I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but lots of people deserve "justice", and right now I don't think we're in the financial position to provide monetary appeasements.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-28-2009
Wed, 12-09-2009 - 9:12am

<< could be put on the backburner for a while.>>

It's been on the backburner for a very, very, very long time. It's about time the government settled this matter and quit ignoring it.

Avatar for ddnlj
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 12-09-2009 - 9:29am
Wed
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Registered: 10-28-2009
Wed, 12-09-2009 - 9:52am

<<3.4 BILLION to a single group of people to make them happy.

I'm not against making this right, I'm against adding to our already dangerous nation debt because of appeasements. I think we need to get our nation as a whole back on track before we spend billions of dollars on fringe projects and groups.>>

I don't consider it appeasement or consider the American Indians a "fringe group" or "project". This country has decimated these peoples, tried to destroy them and their culture, taken their land, made tons of agreements with them and then disregarded those agreements, etc., etc., etc. This is something that is owed to these peoples and it is about time the American government did something about it. I'm glad to see Obama keeping that promise.

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Registered: 03-18-2000
Wed, 12-09-2009 - 10:06am

"I'm glad to see Obama keeping that promise.'


Me too.


>"Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continued their tours of Indian lands in Montana and South Dakota this week in preparation for Tuesday's primaries in those states. Native people in those states are expected to play important roles in deciding which candidate wins.


But despite the attention given to Indians in Montana and South Dakota, McCain's pledge of support on Monday is important to note as his most public declaration of support for Native causes this election season.


McCain's pledge also raises the question of his history on Native issues.


As twice chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, McCain introduced a number of bills favored by Indians. In fact, he was the only presidential candidate who has introduced bills in the Indian Affairs Committee."<


Segment from.....


http://www.reznetnews.org/blogs/red-clout/mccain-pledge-puts-candidate-indian-radar-14510

 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-30-2002
Wed, 12-09-2009 - 12:43pm
Considering we are squatters on THEIR land, having


Avatar for ddnlj
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 12-09-2009 - 1:20pm

My question is why didn't we do this when the country HAD money to spare? Why now when millions of Americans are out of work, we have trillions of dollars to pay back in war expenses (not to mention

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Registered: 10-28-2009
Wed, 12-09-2009 - 1:57pm

<>

Good question. I don't know why, but they didn't. Additionally, Congress has fallen down on funding health care for Native Americans which is another thing that is the government's responsibility and it is a necessity. It's absolutely shameful what this country's government has failed to do.

http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/nahealth/nabroken.pdf (lots of background on issues, problems, history)

http://www.nnwo.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=124:current-senate-health-bill-does-not-include-ihcia&catid=20:health&Itemid=2 (Congress STILL hasn't reauthorized the IHCIA)

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