Settlement Between Indian Tribes and U.S. Department of the Interior

The U.S. Department of the Interior recently settled with 41 American Indian tribes for $1 billion in litigation over the federal government’s mismanagement of assets held in trust. The settlement also includes new agreed upon “information sharing procedures” to help with the management of trusts. The Interior Department handles 2,500 tribal trust accounts for over 250 tribes and manages around 56 million acres of trust lands.

The conflict between tribes and the Interior Department has been going on for a long time and Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. notes that this settlement is a fair and honorable resolution of these long-standing grievances.  Furthermore, it strengthens the relationship going forward between the government and Tribal nations.

See Justice Department Announces $1B Settlement in Indian Trust Litigation, The Blog of Legal Times, Apr. 11, 2012.