There is an urgent
short term need to provide financial and consumer protection information to
tribes and Native peoples.
By mid-2013, $3 billion in individual and tribal trust fund
settlements will come to Indian Country. The Keepseagle and Cobell class
action legal settlements with the federal government have both been settled
and will start lump sum payouts to individual recipients before the end of
2012. These more immediate payouts in Keepseagle and Cobell amount to more
than $2 billion to individual recipients. In addition, more than 50 tribal
trust settlements, totaling more than $1.0 billion, have been settled and
payouts have either already been made or are due shortly, with another
estimated 60 tribal settlements in the pipeline to be resolved.
NCAI, in partnership with tribes, regional and national
organizations, federal agencies, and others, is launching a national
campaign, Protect Native Money, to address the short and long term needs
for financial education and consumer protection in Indian Country. An
update with more information on the settlements and Protect Native Money
is available here.
Keepseagle Settlement
The Keepseagle Settlement
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for discrimination in the USDA Farm
Loan Program was settled on December 27, 2011 for $780 million. Efforts
have concluded in identifying those farmers and ranchers who qualify.
Payments to the 4200 recipients in Track A were mailed August 23, 2012.
Each will receive $50,000. Those 170 individuals in Track B received up to
$250,000 with payments in September. An“Alert
for Native Farmers and Ranchers” has
been developed through the campaign and was included in both mailings.
The settlement also includes payment of the taxes on settlement
proceeds and payment/reduction of outstanding debt.
The top states with recipients are: Oklahoma,
South Dakota, Montana, Arizona, North Carolina, New Mexico, and North
Dakota.
The Cobell Settlement
The $3.4 billion Cobell
v Salazar is final and will soon go into implementation.
The Obama Administration has vowed to distribute the initial payments by
the end of 2012 now that all appeals have been exhausted. Payments of
$1,000 will be made to an estimated 400,000 Native individuals possibly in
December 2012. The remaining payments will go out within six months of the
first payment. $1.5 billion of the $3.4 billion is slated for individuals
in this initial payout.
A majority of the recipients are in
the following states: Montana, North and
South Dakota, Idaho, Washington, California, Arizona, Oklahoma, Nebraska,
and Minnesota. $1.9 billion will go to tribes for land consolidation
programs to repurchase fractionated interests from individuals over the
next ten years.
Cobell Educational Toolkit for Tribes
NCAI has prepared a toolkit for tribal leaders about
the Cobell settlement
that includes:
April 2012 - Trust Claims
Settlements
On April 11, 2012, the federal government settled trust
claims with more than 50 additional tribes for $1.023 billion. These 50 +
tribes will each decide how their claim will be used or distributed but it
could be anticipated that some percentage of this $1.0 billion will go to
American Indian individuals through per capita distributions.
Learn about the tax and benefit implications
of the tribal trust settlements.
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Resources & Links:
Cobell
Settlement
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