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Friday, September 26, 2003

The federal judge overseeing the Indian trust fund lawsuit issued decisions affecting an historical accounting and trust reform on Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth imposed deadlines on the Department of Interior to finish the accounting of funds owned by more than 500,000 American Indians. Although he ordered the accounting in December 1999, he said almost nothing has been done.

Lamberth identified the common law trust duties that apply to the administration of the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust. He said Interior has to abide by them while fixing the broken system.

Lamberth also recognized the ongoing role of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) in the suit. Although he said some of NCAI's concerns are beyond the scope of the case, he said that tribal governments must be considered.

Get the Story:
Cobell Lawsuit Ruling 'Historical' (THe Native American Times 9/25)
Indian trust judge orders audit to 1887 (The Daily Oklahoman 9/26)
Username: indianz@indianz.com, Password: indianz
Indians win full accounting (Federal Computer Week 9/25)
Interior Given Another Chance on Indian Fund Accounting (AP 9/26)
Accounting Ordered at Indian Trust Fund (The New York Times 9/26)
Username: indianzcom, Password: indianzcom

Decisions:
Historical Accounting | Fixing the System | Structural Injunction

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Cobell v. Norton, Department of Justice - http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/index.htm
Indian Trust, Department of Interior - http://www.doi.gov/indiantrust

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