The Bobcat Nation

HELENA — A federal judge has given preliminary approval to a $3.4 billion settlement for Native Americans who say the government mismanaged their land royalties.

Attorneys for lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell of Browning, Mont., say a search can begin for hundreds of thousands of potential beneficiaries whose names and addresses have been lost.

The plaintiffs say the government has contact information for only half the people who may be eligible for benefits, a number they now say could reach 600,000.

U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan on Tuesday ordered the formal notification period to begin in 30 days.

Congress approved the class-action settlement this month after nearly 15 years of litigation.

YES!!! i think i'm 1/3200 indian so i better be seeing some of that action!

Well, when you willfully enter into a contract/treaty and a court of law finds that you didn't honor your end of it, this is the unfortunate result.

Considerng the value of the land the United States extracted from the tribes as a result of their treaties (and the tax revenue derived from those lands since then), I'm sure the U.S. government is still showing an incredibly healthy ROI on the amount of consideration given as a result of the treaties ... including the amount of this judgment.

On a side note ... the business owners in and around the reservations better stock up on their inventory right before these checks go out (if they do go out)!

Billings_Griz wrote:

HELENA — A federal judge has given preliminary approval to a $3.4 billion settlement for Native Americans who say the government mismanaged their land royalties.

so you're saying I should buy stock in Budweiser?

Gorak wrote:

Billings_Griz wrote:

HELENA — A federal judge has given preliminary approval to a $3.4 billion settlement for Native Americans who say the government mismanaged their land royalties.

so you're saying I should buy stock in Budweiser?

or open a casino...

Rough crowd...