Elouise Cobell - whose Indian name was Yellow Bird Woman and who was a great-granddaughter of a renowned tribal leader, Mountain Chief - was a heroine to American Indians for winning a 15-year legal battle on June 20, 2011 so the federal government has agreed to pay $3.4 billion in compensation for mismanagement of Indian trust funds since the late 1800s. She was 65 and lived on the Blackfeet reservation near Browning, Montana. Cobell was the lead plaintiff in Cobell v. Salazar, one of the largest and most complicated class-action lawsuits ever brought against the U. S. Over 300,000 members of many tribes will receive payments under the settlement. Read the October 17, 2011 New York Times obit.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Indian Legal Leader Passes
Elouise Cobell - whose Indian name was Yellow Bird Woman and who was a great-granddaughter of a renowned tribal leader, Mountain Chief - was a heroine to American Indians for winning a 15-year legal battle on June 20, 2011 so the federal government has agreed to pay $3.4 billion in compensation for mismanagement of Indian trust funds since the late 1800s. She was 65 and lived on the Blackfeet reservation near Browning, Montana. Cobell was the lead plaintiff in Cobell v. Salazar, one of the largest and most complicated class-action lawsuits ever brought against the U. S. Over 300,000 members of many tribes will receive payments under the settlement. Read the October 17, 2011 New York Times obit.
