Makah Nation settles trust mismanagement lawsuit for $25M

Monday, April 23, 2012  

The Makah Nation of Washington accepted $25 million to settle its trust mismanagement lawsuit.

The tribe sued the federal government in December 2006. The lawsuit sought damages for mismanagement of the tribe's trust funds and trust assets.

“The settlement money is not a gift or windfall to the tribe,” Vice Chairman Michael J. Lawrence told The Peninsula Daily News. He said it “is an estimate of how much money was lost to the tribe through the United State's mismanagement of the Makah tribe's trust funds and breach of its trust responsibility."

The tribe plans to use the money to buy timber land, pay off debt and for economic development and employment programs.

Get the Story:
Peninsula tribe to receive $25 million as part of federal settlement (The Peninsula Daily News 4/21)

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