More waiting for Indian plaintiffs in $3.4B deal

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FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2009 file photo, Elouise Cobell, right, looks on as Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes testifies during a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. Native Americans who sued the federal government over lost royalties have been waiting nearly 15 years for the $3.4 billion settlement Congress passed last month. Now they'll have to wait some more. The plaintiffs expect it will be at least next August before Indian trust landowners see a dime, and six months after that before the last claims are settled with trust account holders.


More waiting for Indian plaintiffs in $3.4B deal
By MATT VOLZ
The Associated Press
Sunday, December 5, 2010; 5:08 PM

HELENA, Mont. -- Native Americans who sued the federal government over lost royalties have been waiting nearly 15 years for the $3.4 billion settlement Congress passed last month. Now they'll have to wait some more.

The plaintiffs expect it will be at least next August before Indian trust landowners see a dime, and six months after that before the last claims are settled with trust account holders.

That's because when the political wrangling ends, the red tape begins.

The lead plaintiff in the class-action lawsuit, Elouise Cobell of Browning, Mont., said the biggest obstacle by far to the settlement was obtaining congressional approval - indeed, it took nearly a year and a couple of false starts before the Senate authorized the deal.

"I want to run out and thank the whole world for getting it through the Senate," Cobell told The Associated Press. "We still have work to do. One thing about this case, it hasn't been easy. You don't take anything for granted. You make sure it all gets approved."