Ray, Thanks for that!
Harry _____________________________________ Ray wrote: >To the gang, > >Here is some interesting stuff for you guys. > >Ray Evans Harrell > >UpClose tonight, September 20: > >Elouise Cobell > > >Sometimes looks can be deceiving. You'd never suspect that a 5-foot-4 banker >who never >finished college would win one of those MacArthur 'genius" awards and take >on the federal >government through sheer grit and determination. But as Nightline Producer >Jay Lamonica >first discovered a few years back, looks are indeed deceiving: > >Elouise Cobell is mild-mannered and polite. Cobell has spent most of her >life on the Blackfeet >reservation in northwest Montana. She's a mother, a rancher and she helped >start the first >tribal-owned bank on a reservation. She's also suing the federal government >for billions of dollars... >and so far she's winning. She was one of nine children who lived in a small >house without electricity, >plumbing or telephone. She grew up listening to stories about her ancestor, >Mountain Chief, the last >hereditary leader of the Blackfeet, and how the Blackfeet ruled the northern >plains and followed >the huge herds of buffalo. Then the white man came, the buffalo were >exterminated and the Blackfeet >were herded onto the reservation. > >One of the stories she heard was what happened on Ghost Ridge during the >winter of 1883-4. >The US government promised to supply winter rations to the Blackfeet, who >had been disarmed >and confined to the reservation. Instead, the food was sold on the black >market and more than >500 Blackfeet starved to death. They are buried in a mass grave on Ghost >Ridge. Cobell heard >other stories when she was younger. > >The land that had been given to individual Indians, including her parents, >was to be held in trust >for them by the US government who would rent it out to mining, oil, timber >and grazing interests >and then pass along the money to the landowners. No one was sure how much >they were >supposed to get and in many cases, even where their land was located. >Payments have been >intermittent and seemingly random. > >The government provided with little or no information about their holdings >or the money held in >trust for them. Cobell is the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit >against the federal government >filed six years ago. The judge in the case, Royce Lamberth, has said he "has >never seen more >egregious conduct" by the federal government which has "engaged in a >shocking pattern of >deception of the court." > >Two Cabinet members were held in contempt of court in 1999 for not producing >the trust >documents as ordered by the judge. A fine of more than $600,000 was paid and >the government >has admitted that many of the documents have been destroyed or are lost. >Secretary of Interior >Gale Norton is now on trial for contempt in the case. The judge also ruled >the government had >not lived up to its trust obligation. Another trial will be held to >determine how much the plaintiffs >should receive. Cobell estimates up to $137 billion is unaccounted for since >1887. >This week a federal judge held Interior Secretary Gale Norton in contempt >for failing to comply >with his orders to fix problems with the US Indian trust fund. So tonight, >Sam Donaldson talks >with Elouise Cobell. Don't be fooled by her genteel manner. She's fiercely >determined to force the >government to, as she puts it, "do the right thing." If you think you've >heard all about the plight of >Native Americans, you haven't met Elouise Cobell. > >Richard Harris >Senior Producer >Nightline UpClose ****************************** Harry Pollard Henry George School of LA Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: (818) 352-4141 Fax: (818) 353-2242 *******************************
