Judge orders trust records to stay put

FROM THE ARCHIVE

Facebook Twitter Email
FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2002

A federal judge on Thursday halted the pending transfer of 32,000 boxes of Indian trust records, expressing concern about their safety in the wake of a highly critical court investigation.

The order came even though a top Department of Interior official issued a directive to stop the move. In a memo written on Tuesday, Deputy Secretary J. Steven Griles told the Office of the Special Trustee (OST) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) not to bother records belonging to 300,000 American Indians and hundreds of tribes.

"OST and BIA are directed to maintain records, both tribal and individual, in their current geographic locations," Griles wrote on April 16.

But U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said that wasn't enough. During a hearing held in federal court yesterday afternoon, he questioned the wisdom of sending the documents to a federal records center in Missouri where they could be destroyed.

"For Interior to then ship all these thousands of boxes," he said, "gives me some hesitation."

Noting that federal archivists routinely burn records unless given explicit instructions otherwise, he added: "That would trouble me greatly if that's what's been happening."

Sandra Spooner, a Department of Justice attorney defending Secretary Gale Norton, acknowledged she knew little about the state of 35,000 boxes of trust records already in the possession of government repositories. Yet she urged Lamberth not to act, citing the April 16 memo.

"There can be no irreparable harm in this case," she said.

Lamberth disagreed and issued his temporary restraining order to prevent any documents from being transferred without notice to his court. He also told the Interior to "take all steps necessary to ensure" the National Archive and Records Administration (NARA) won't get rid of any records.

Attorneys representing the Indian beneficiaries were pleased with the latest action, which was granted at their request. A motion for more permanent assurances will be filed soon, said Keith Harper, the Native American Rights Fund attorney on the case.

"The records are the lifeblood of the trust," he said. "You cannot discharge duties without the records."

Harper also said there were greater implications to Indian Country. "The movement of these trust documents is the direct breaking of a promise to tribes," he charged.

Three tribes, in fact, are refusing to turn over trust documents to the department. The Oglala Lakota Tribe of South Dakota, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of South Dakota and the Confederated Umatilla Tribes of Oregon won't give records to the Special Trustee.

According to special master Alan Balaran, they have good reason. In a report objecting to the records move now halted, he said the OST "is incapable of administering the trust records program without oversight."

Get the Order:
Temporary Restraining Order (4/18)

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust, Department of Interior - http://www.doi.gov/indiantrust
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Trust Reform, NCAI - http://130.94.214.68/main/pages/
issues/other_issues/trust_reform.asp