Chickasaw Nation Media Relations Office

The process of notifying individual Indians of their right to participate in the historic $3.4 billion class action Settlement, Cobell v. Salazar, is underway. The Cobell settlement involves claims of federal mismanagement of more than 300,000 Individual Indian Money accounts and other individual trust accounts.

Current estimates project that most Class Members will receive about $1,800, with some Class Members receiving much more depending on the level of activity in their IIM accounts.

Only Native Americans who have had Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts or other individual trust assets managed by the federal trust are eligible for any settlement funds.

Class Members who receive a formal notice in the mail about the Settlement and who are currently receiving IIM account statements do not have to do anything to receive payment.

Individuals who believe they should be part of the Settlement but do not receive a notice in the mail or are not receiving IIM account statements need to fill out a Claim Form as soon as possible. Claim forms are available at the Indian Trust website www.indiantrust.com or by calling 1-800-961-6109 toll-free number.

If you believe you may be an IIM account holder, you can find out by going to www.indiantrust.com or by calling 1-800-961-6109. The Bureau of Indian Affairs also offers assistance, and can be reached at 580-436-0784.You may also email info@indiantrust.com or send questions by mail to the address below.

Indian Trust Settlement
P.O. Box 9577
Dublin, OH 43017-4877

Cobell Settlement background

The $3.4 billion Settlement was reached between the Departments of the Interior and Treasury and the individual Indian plaintiffs in December 2009. The Settlement resolves the government's failure to provide an historical accounting for IIM accounts and also resolves claims that the government mismanaged funds and other trust assets, including royalties owed to individual Indians for oil, gas, grazing, and other leases of individual Indian lands, mostly in the West.

The Settlement provides a $1.5 billion fund to compensate an estimated 500,000 affected individual Indian trust beneficiaries who have or had IIM accounts or own trust land. The Settlement creates two groups of Class Members eligible to receive money from the fund—the Historical Accounting Class and the Trust Administration Class.

• The Historical Accounting Class comprises individual Indians who were alive on September 30, 2009, who had an open IIM account anytime between October 25, 1994 and September 30, 2009, and whose account had at least one cash transaction.
• The Trust Administration Class comprises individual Indians alive on September 30, 2009, who had an IIM Account at any time from 1985 through September 30, 2009, recorded in currently available electronic data in federal government systems, as well as individual Indians who, as of September 30, 2009, had a recorded or demonstrable interest in land held in trust or restricted status.
• The estates of deceased Class Members will also receive a Settlement distribution if the deceased beneficiary's account was open as of September 30, 2009, or their land interest was open in probate as of that date. Other eligibility conditions and requirements for each Class are detailed in the Settlement Agreement.

Under the Settlement Agreement, $1.9 billion will fund a Department of the Interior program to buy fractionated interests in trust or restricted land from willing sellers to benefit tribal communities and aid in land consolidation. Depending on the level of participation in the land consolidation program, up to $60 million will be set aside to provide scholarships for higher education for American Indian and Alaska Native youth.

Information about the Settlement and legal rights is available to all American Indians and Alaska Natives

The website www.IndianTrust.com and toll-free number 1-800-961-6109 are available to provide more information about the Settlement and the legal rights of Class Members. Individuals who are unsure whether they are included in the Settlement should visit the website or call the toll-free number for more information.

Individuals wishing to keep their right to sue the federal government over mismanagement claims covered by the Settlement must exclude themselves from the Settlement by April 20, 2011. Class Members can also submit written comments or objections about any Settlement terms that concern them by April 20, 2011.