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- The Bush
administration is proposing sweeping changes to the
Cobell settlement bill that would phase out the federal
government's trust management responsibilities and force
consolidation of Indian lands. Within 10 years, the
Interior Department would no longer manage the 54
million acres held in trust for individual Indians and
tribes. The goal is to turn the system into a
"beneficiary-Within 10 years, the Interior United
States cannot be held liable for any damage claims.
To facilitate the major shift, the administration wants
to consolidate the Indian land base through voluntary
and involuntary mechanisms. Highly fractionated parcels
would be whittled down to just 10 owners in the next 10
years. And the administration is asking Congress to
resolve all tribal trust claims in addition to the
Cobell suit over the Individual Indian Money trust.
Takings claims, land claims and environmental claims
would not be affected. These proposals were contained in
a briefing paper released by the Senate Indian Affairs
Committee on Monday. Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), the
chairman, and Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), the
vice chairman, have not approved the changes. But the
leaders are asking Indian Country for their comments on
the ideas, which mark the first time in over a year that
the Bush administration has responded to the Cobell
settlement bill. - "To gain
support for a multi-billion dollar bill, it may be
necessary to incorporate significant changes to the
management system for Indian trust assets. As proposed,
these changes would not remove the trust status of
Indian lands, but would reallocate significant
decision-making authority and legal responsibility from
the federal government to the Indian tribes and
individuals,"To gain support for a multi The
document, also called "New Issues for S.1439," did not
attribute the proposals to any particular party. But the
Cobell plaintiffs tied them to the administration, whose
officials have raised similar ideas in the past about
the Indian trust system.
Jim Cason, the associate deputy secretary at Interior,
has advocated for the resolution of all tribal and
individual Indian trust claims. David Bernhardt, the
recently-confirmed solicitor, has lobbied Congress to
limit the liability of the United States.
Cason's testimony to the committee on July 26, 2005,
also outlined each of the proposals now up for debate as
Congressional staff hold meetings across the country to
get input on the bill. The first meeting took place in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, yesterday. The last will be held
November 9 at the Senate Russell Office Building
inWashington, D.C. Other meetings have been scheduled in
Cabazon, California (October 24); Rapid City, South
Dakota (October 25); Albuquerque, New Mexico (October
31); and Bismarck, North Dakota (November 2).
Congress returns to work on November 13 after the
elections. Lawmakers will dedicate most of their time to
passing the appropriations bills that keep the
government operating.
The outlook prompted one Democratic staffers on the
committee to label chances for the bill's passage as
"dire." But a Republican staffer was more optimistic
when both spoke at the National Congress of American
Indians annual conference earlier this month.
Either way, McCain and Dorgan have tried the delay to
the Bush administration. "I think it's incomprehensible
that the administration would not be able to come up
with at least a response with what is a product of years
of effort on the part of this committee and the
interested parties," McCain said in September.
Dorgan said Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been cooperative.
"It's the White House and the Office of Management and
Budget that have not given us a number," Dorgan said via
video at NCAI
The Cobell case was filed in June 1996. The federal
courts have affirmed the duty of the federal government
to account for billions of dollars that have passed
through the system. - More
than two dozen tribes subsequently filed lawsuits for
accounting, mismanagement and related claims. But some
cases -- notably the Navajo Nation's $1.8 billion claim
-- have been pending in court for years longer than
Cobell
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