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MAY 1, 2001

California Lawyer Magazine's current issue features an article about the Cobell v. Norton lawsuit in which former Assistant Secretary Kevin Gover questions the plaintiff's monetary settlement request.

The plaintiffs, led by Blackfeet Nation of Montana banker Elouise Cobell, have said settlement of the trust funds would cost the government around $10 billion. Gover in response says the amount is unreasonable in light of the nature of most of the estimated 300,000 account holders.

"Sixty percent of the trust accounts are worth less than $25 a year," Gover told California Lawyer. "It's not as if Indian country would be prosperous if all the money had been paid. A settlement is not going to change the way the reservation Indians live."

Get the Story:
The Billion Dollar Payback (California Lawyer Magazine 5/1)

Relevant Links:
Trust Management Improvement Project - http://www.doi.gov/bia/trust/tmip.htm
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Senate Subcommittee on Interior Appropriations - http://www.senate.gov/~appropriations/interior/index.htm

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Trust funds still causing trouble (4/11)
Interior: Indian Overview (4/10)
BIA official: Organization was in 'disarray' (4/5)
Trust fund to get new lawyer (4/4)
Industry insider named to Interior (3/30)
Interior: Trust reform is working (3/22)
'Emergency' trust fund meeting requested (3/21)
BIA Memo: Trust reform out of control (3/16)
More trust documents reported destroyed (3/16)
Norton targeted for contempt (3/15)
Trust fund investigation continues (3/9)
Report: Litigation threatening reform project (3/8)
Message to Norton: Don't Threaten Us (3/7)
Interior to provide anti-retaliation evidence (3/6)
Mona Infield: Indian Country's Linda Tripp? (3/5)
EDITORIAL: Pay Indian account holders ( 3/1)
Norton hit on trust fund mess (3/1)
Landmark trust fund decision upheld (2/26)
Interior contempt trial recommended (2/22)
Ex-employee says harassment started at top (2/15)
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