Keith Harper, an attorney for the Cobell v. Kempthorne trust fund case, is leading the Interior Department transition team for president-elect Barack Obama.

Harper, a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, has worked on the Cobell case since it was filed in 1996. Interior was held in contempt and breach of trust for failing to fulfill its trust obligations to over 500,000 Indian beneficiaries.

Aiding Harper in the effort are two former Native American Rights Fund colleagues -- John Echohawk, the group's executive director, and Robert Anderson, a staff attorney. The Obama transition team has instructed them not to talk about their work, Indian Country Today reports.

Three other prominent Indians -- Mary Smith, Mary McNeil and Yvette Robideaux -- are working on justice, agriculture and health issues for the transition.

Get the Story:
1.2 percent Indian representation on Obama’s transition team (Indian Country Today 12/5)

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