JUNE 10, 1996

COBELL V. BABBITT FILED: HANDLING OF TRUST FUNDS

Ultimately entitled Cobell v. Salazar, this class-action lawsuit was brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by Elouise Cobell (Blackfeet) and others in 1996 against the U.S. Departments of the Interior and the Treasury for errors in accounting for the income from Indian assets held in trust by the Department of the Interior for Native Americans (the beneficial owners).  The case was settled for $3.4 billion in 2009.  $1.4 billion was to be paid to the plaintiffs and $2 billion allocated to repurchase fractionated land interests from Dawes Act distributees and to be returned to reservations and communal tribal ownership.  Additionally, a scholarship fund for Native American and Alaska Native students (the Cobell Educational Scholarship Fund) was established.  In late 2011, the Secretary of the Interior created the National Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform to evaluate the Indian trust system.  

Sources:  Indian Trust Settlement.  Retrieved, 5/29/2020, http://www.indiantrust.com/ Wikipedia
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