Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in Cobell v. Norton, the six-year, multi-billion dollar, landmark class-action lawsuit to enforce the trust duties owed by the United States to 500,000 individual Indian trust beneficiaries, will be visiting Oklahoma this week. The case was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. in June 1996 and is presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth.
Cobell - accompanied by two of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in this litigation - will meet with individual Indian trust beneficiaries in Miami, Pawhuska and Wetumka on Wednesday, August 21, and Thursday, August 22.
The purpose of these meetings is to update beneficiaries on developments in the case and listen to their concerns about the century-old mismanagement of their trust lands and trust revenues.
Cobell - accompanied by two of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in this litigation - will meet with individual Indian trust beneficiaries in Miami, Pawhuska and Wetumka on Wednesday, August 21, and Thursday, August 22.
The purpose of these meetings is to update beneficiaries on developments in the case and listen to their concerns about the century-old mismanagement of their trust lands and trust revenues.
Ms. Cobell underscored the need to meet with members of the class to ensure that their concerns are addressed and that accurate information is provided to them and explained:
"It is important for us to sit down with members of our class throughout Indian Country to keep them informed about the on-going misconduct of the White House and the Interior Secretary and brief the trust beneficiaries on the status of our case. Equally important, we expect to learn a lot from other beneficiaries so that those of us who have been fighting for the last six years can be sure that their interests are protected as fully as possible. I'm very excited about coming to Oklahoma."
"It is important for us to sit down with members of our class throughout Indian Country to keep them informed about the on-going misconduct of the White House and the Interior Secretary and brief the trust beneficiaries on the status of our case. Equally important, we expect to learn a lot from other beneficiaries so that those of us who have been fighting for the last six years can be sure that their interests are protected as fully as possible. I'm very excited about coming to Oklahoma."