"The federal government is finally moving to resolve a century-old legacy of its mistreatment of Indian tribes.

Recently, a tentative $3.4 billion agreement was announced to settle claims that the government mismanaged Indian trust accounts.

Generations of Native Americans failed to receive revenues that the Interior Department collected from oil, mineral and other leases on their land.

The disgraceful history began with an 1887 law designed to undermine the tribal system by splitting up reservation land and granting parcels to individual Native Americans. But they weren't given full control of the property. The land was placed in trust, and the government was supposed to collect and distribute leasing royalties."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Feds finally right century-old wrong (The Arizona Republic 12/18)

Relevant Documents:
Agreement | Press Release | Q&A | Audio

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