Deadline looms for trust fund claims

0 Comments | Indian Country Today (Lakota Times), December, 2005 | by Melmer, David

Melmer, David Indian Country Today (Lakota Times) 12-14-2005 WASHINGTON -- Billions of dollars will potentially be lost if tribes do not file claims with the Department of Interior to negotiate settlements that will recoup lost revenues owed to the tribes for leases, royalties and sale of property. Any tribal claims are subject to a statute of limitations established by Congress in 1999 and which runs out Dec.

31. The revenues owed the tribes come from non-reconcilable funds that were to have been paid to tribes for royalties and leases, sale of land and other negotiations handled by the Interior as part of the department's fiduciary responsibility over the past decades. So far only three or four tribes have reached a settlement with the government, nine...