US Judgment Fund used to pay out out tribal trust settlements

Monday, March 10, 2014  

The federal government's Judgment Fund has been used to pay out a slew of tribal trust fund settlements.

Last year, the fund was used for a $188 million settlement for the Yakama Nation of Washington, The National Law Journal reported. Another $38.5 million settlement went to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.

Overall, $1.7 billion left the fund in 2013, down from about $4 billion in 2012 and about $3 billion in 2011. Those years included some big-ticket items -- a $345 million settlement for the Osage Nation of Oklahoma and the $3.4 billion Cobell trust fund settlement.

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