"Elouise Cobell beat the bureaucracy and reached a settlement for Indians, who have long been disserved by the government that was supposed to protect their interests.

It was another piece of unfinished business left hanging over our heads by people and institutions that failed to follow the Golden Rule.

I called Cobell, who was in Seattle last week, invited by her niece to speak to a law class at the University of Washington.

She said she told the students, "Sometimes you're forced into activism because something is so seriously wrong that you can't ignore it.

"If I ignored it, I would be terminating myself as an Indian person."

Cobell, 65, filed a lawsuit in 1996 to get the federal government to do right by Indians whose assets the government managed — actually mismanaged — for more than a century."

Get the Story:
Jerry Large: A little justice for Indians (The Seattle TImes 12/6)

Cobell Settlement Documents:
• Agreement | Press Release | Q&A | Audio

Relevant Documents:
• Elouise Cobell | President Obama | DOJ/DOI/USDA | Roll Call
• NCAI | Sen. Dorgan | Sen. Baucus | Rep. Cole | Rep. Pallone

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