BIA official Warns Ute Mountain Tribe
A Bureau of Indian Affairs official has warned members of the Ute Mountain Tribe in Colorado that the Interior Department may begin to withhold trust payments from them,
an action that would defy the explicit instructions of a federal judge.
"We are greatly alarmed by the comments of Priscilla Bancroft,
superintendent of the BIA's Ute Mountain agency," said Elousie Cobell,
lead plaintiff in the long-running class action lawsuit over the
government's mismanagement of individual Indian trust accounts.
In an interview with The Cortez Journal, Ms. Bancroft was quoted as saying
that an order issued by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth on Oct. 20
could lead the BIA to stop payments to members of the tribe.
"We've been through this before," Bancroft told the newspaper. She said that
the BIA, in retaliation, deliberately withheld trust fund distribution
checks for eight months or more because Indian people were enforcing the
trust duties that continue to be breached by Interior Secretary Gale
Norton and her staff.
Judge Lamberth has repeatedly directed the Interior Department to disconnect its computers from the Internet because critical electronic trust records are vulnerable to computer hackers and individual Indian trust funds and other assets can be stolen
without a trace.
"This statement by Ms. Bancroft confirms what we have been telling the judge: that BIA officials are blaming him and our lawsuit for their inability to control the security of critical trust information," Ms. Cobell said. "Now the BIA is once again getting ready to retaliate against some of the poorest people in America by withholding their desperately needed trust funds."
This shows the utter disregard Interior Secretary Norton and her Interior Department
subordinates have for Judge Lamberth, Ms. Cobell said. He has stated
from the bench that Indian people should not be hurt by his order and
that Interior must continue to make all scheduled payments to individual
trust account holders, she pointed out.
"We requested -- and the judge agreed -- that Interior must continue to make these payments without delay. His Oct. 20 order explicitly says: "that the Interior
defendants may reconnect, for specified periods not to exceed five (5)
business days per month, any Information Technology System that houses
or provides access to Individual Indian Trust data, for the purpose of
receiving and distributing trust funds, or for the purpose of conducting
other necessary financial transactions."" (Page 5 of order)
"Yet once again we have an explicit statement by a BIA official that says to the members of this tribe: 'We're going to hold your money hostage,'" said Ms. Cobell. "I call on Interior Secretary Norton to issue an immediate instruction to all BIA officials,
directing them to cease make such false statements and finally behave
like a fit and honest trustee," Ms. Cobell said. "That is the least that
Ms. Norton owes Indian people as trustee."
"Until she acts, the more than 500,000 Indians who are trust beneficiaries should be warned that the BIA is likely to retaliate against them. This just shows how unfit
Secretary Norton is as a trustee." The full text of the judge's Oct. 20 order is available at
Indian Trust
To view the latest information concerning this case, go to
Indian Trust
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Special thanks to Teresa Ana-hoo-ey for sending this info on!
Contents
Last updated on November 04, 2005