In 1998, Congress started investigations in to BIA mismanagement of Indian trust funds. These trust funds was created by the Dawes Allotment Act of 1887 which is the money coming from Indian allotments and deposited into government trust accounts for Indian Allottees and their heirs.
In 1992, Congress released a report called “Misplaced Trust: The BIA’s Mismangement of Indian Trust Funds.”
Then in 1994, Congress approved the “American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act” that created the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians” to fix BIA’s forever mismanagement problems.
In 1996, Ms. Elouise Cobell filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Individual Indians. There was two basic issues: fix the broken BIA system and conduct an accounting of all IIM money no matter when desposited. So soon after the Dawes allotment and Indians were forced to become farmers, govt solution to fix Indian problem, money from leasing, forced land sales, sales of natural resources; oil and gas, etc. this money was the govt responsibility and the accurate accounting of it. The govt failed in these two issues so a forced and unfair settlement was agreed upon and the distribution of $3.4 billion.
During trust reform starting in 1997, OST alone received about $100 million per fiscal year to fix the broken trust and still does today. There are other trust reform funded activities of outsourcing but unclear of total amount. But Cobell documents say that is about $5 billion today. This amount exceeds what the settlement amount is and many wonder why?
BIA was also receiving about $2.5 billion annually but OST never fixed their system and OST was also under investigations for mismanagement of their appropriated funds.
What many don’t understand is that the Indian funding to fix the broken system fixed nothing. It was also used to defend the govts mismanagement of Indian trust and appropriated funds. Congress sat by the sidelines acting like the good guy wanting to fix and spank the govt when it was just a public show of corruptees making the Indians and Indian Affairs look bad to the American public. Why? If Indian Affairs can’t fix their broken systems and spend billions of tax payers money trying to do it, then why have them? Just abolish them and end the Indian problem forever. In essence, the U.S. was appropriating their own funds to fight themselves and prove how corrupt their own system are and always have been to the whole world.
Without Cobell, the govt would have paid us nothing. They already said they paid us our money so don’t expect nothing. And also, they would have said the broken system was fixed and its not. They lied in federal court and also got away with that.
The broken trust is not even a trust at least not according to public standards. That is what the Cobell legal team proved in federal court. They proved so much how evil the government is and it is recorded in U.S. Courts forever. I also believe that we will have a broken Court system after this settlement is complete. The Cobell took on and fought the most powerful Nation in the world. The Cobell paid for their own legal services while the U.S. had an endless taxpayer budget to fight this forever. Who do you think was going to win?
If there ever is another Cobell type lawsuit in the future and we don’t pay our attorneys what they are worth, then what kind of attorneys would we get in the future? Who would want to take on a lawsuit for Indians if they are not going to get paid properly and fight the U.S. in Court? Will Indians ever see any justice in this Country?
I was not in the courtroom when this was going on but I was in BIA and OST and witnessed their legal weaseling.

Thomas M. Wabnum
BIA/OST, Budget Analyst (retired)
IIMAccountholder
Prairie Band Potawatomi

Congress and Govt pretended to provide centuries of injustice and find out how much the U.S. owed the Individual Indian. Rough guestimates that Indian money deposited into Treasury starting from 1887 to 2009 was $187 billionish. D.C. Judge Lamberth ordered acctg to prove how much was dispersed to Indians and what they cant prove is what they owed. Thats why trust reform was a planned failure to keep from lets say paying us $90 billion plus interest. This money was not protected by Trust principles meaning we should have received top dollar for sale of all products, highest interest rate obtainable, best govt employees, highest standards of a Trustee to take care of the beneficiary. that didn’t happen. U.S. was homeless and needed land n someone elses money and it was political power for politicians.
Treaties and Trust promises were great but they had no intentions of honoring them because they were going to kill us off anyway and their debt to us and our land would be free and clear to them.
So the 120 yrs of collecting trust fund money from Treasury was never recovered. Instead a cheaper payout from some other Treasury account was used to pay the $3.4 settlement.
Many Individual Indians and Tribes don’t understand how much it will cost to fight the most powerful country in the world and of all times in Court lets say to payout the $90 billion. If legally forced, wouldn’t you rather pay $3.4 billion instead of $90 billion?
During Cobell court, our Attorneys were kicking Govt butt everyday exposing their planned evil corruption against us and U.S. citizens. When fighting the U.S. you need multimillions because the U.S. will purposely delay court proceedings just to run up the court tab.
What citizens should be asking is how much the govt spent on the legal fruitless actions and I bet, I know, it is way over the $233 million the Cobell legal is asking for.
My Tribes has the most Treaties with the U.S. once had the largest land base (over 25 million acres) and population with all the natural resources to go with it. Were we forced on a Bataan Death March now called the Trail of Death to other lands that we bought with our own money. That was used by govt until gone as we were also killed off. I am an IIMAccountholder and I say pay the Cobell attorneys their request from money we never had if it was not for this lawsuit. At least we are gettn something, its better than the govts lies.

Thomas M. Wabnum
BIA/OST retired
Prairie Band Potawatomi