FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
COBELL APPEALS TO CONGRESS TO BLOCK INTERIOR'S 'CRUEL ACTION'
WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 --
Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit over the government's admitted mishandling of Indian Trust accounts, has urged leaders in Congress to block the Interior Department's "contrived and cruel action" that will punish Indians for their victories in the landmark court case.
"Imagine the absurdity and viciousness of making Indian programs pay for the consequences of the government's own breach of trust!" Ms. Cobell stated in letters that were sent Thursday to 18 leaders of Congress.
The letter represents the latest action that the representatives of 500,000 Native Americans have taken in an effort to thwart Interior's plans to cut Indian programs across the nation to pay the legal fees and expenses of the Cobell litigation.
The plaintiffs in the case were recently granted $7 million in expenses and legal fees for their efforts to secure an accounting of funds that the government was supposed to be holding in trust accounts for Indians.
Even though lawyers for the Indians filed their initial application for interim fees nearly two and a half years ago, Interior officials have expressed surprise at the award. Associate Deputy Interior Secretary James Cason has notified tribal leaders that the government intends to cut various programs to pay some of the expenses.
"It's a matter of robbing Peter to pay Paul to pay them," Cason has told a reporter.
"That's just not right," Ms. Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Nation from Browning, Mt., told the Congressional leaders. The legal expenses are to be paid under provisions of the Equal Access to Justice Act, a 1980 law that protects individuals from "unreasonable government action."
"The Interior Department is turning that law on its head," Ms. Cobell wrote.
"This is not "equal access to justice" -- but precise and targeted injustice," she said. "It is simply the action of a mean-spirited government. It is wrong and should be stopped by Congress."
The entire text of the letter, along with a list of the members of Congress who were sent a copy, is available at Indian Trust
For additional information:
Bill McAllister
703-385-6996
202-257-5385 (cell)
Contents
February 2006 Reports
Last updated on February 27, 2006