The Interior Department is seeking nominations for the board to oversee the scholarship fund that was created by the $3.4 billion Cobell trust fund settlement.

The board will have five members. Two will be selected by DOI, according to a notice published in the Federal Register today.

Two additional members will be selected by the Cobell plaintiffs. They are Turk Cobell, the son of the late Elouise Cobell, and Alex Pearl, a law professor who is a member of the Chickasaw Nation.

The fifth member will be selected by the American Indian College, the group that's been chosen to administer the scholarship fund.

"We look forward to working with the special trustees of the Indian Education Scholarship Holding Fund to discuss how we will implement and raise additional funding to improve access to education for all Indian people, regardless of financial circumstance, transforming Indian Country," AICF President and CEO Cheryl Crazy Bull said in a press release.

The AICF will be working with the American Indian Graduate Center to award up to 20 percent of scholarships for graduate students.

“We congratulate our colleagues at AICF on the award of this historic scholarship fund to their administration. AIGC is humbled and honored to be part of it. Elouise Cobell’s legacy will live on through our future scholars,” AIGC Director Sam Deloria said in a press release.

Nominations must be submitted to DOI by April 12, according to the Federal Register notice.

Federal Register Notice:
Request for Nominations to Serve on Board of Trustees for the Cobell Education Scholarship Fund (March 13, 2013)

Related Stories:
American Indian College Fund to administer Cobell scholarships (3/12)