Interior Secretary Salazar Offends Native American Plaintiff

By Anne Medley, 3-12-09

As the government continues to bail out banks and other institutions across the country, Blackfeet tribe member Elouise Cobell is wondering why Native Americans still haven’t been paid for natural resources and other royalties overseen by the Interior Department since 1887, the AP’s Mary Clare Jalonick reports.

Cobell, the lead plaintiff in a 12-year-old, class-action Indian trust case against the U.S. government, reacted to comments made by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar this week that an upcoming federal appeal might settle matters between the two parties.

“I don’t want words that say ‘let’s resolve it,’” Cobell said. “I don’t want us Indian people to be ignored any more.”

Calling Salazar’s comments “an insult to Indian people,” Cobell called for the Department of Justice, the Office of Management and Budget and other government parts to talk directly with the plaintiffs.

To read the full AP story, click here.